THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 18, 1994 TAG: 9408180549
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
After less than a year on the job, Hal W. Canary, chief financial officer for the city's school system, was placed on leave Tuesday by Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette.
Faucette told School Board members of his decision during a closed meeting Tuesday. Neither Faucette nor Canary could be reached Wednesday to comment.
Canary, who is paid an annual salary of $70,271, will continue to receive pay during the leave, which ends Nov. 1, said Deputy Superintendent James L. Pughsley.
It was unclear Wednesday whether Canary would have a job waiting at the end of the leave. One school official said privately that Canary is expected to offer his resignation.
A certified public accountant, Canary was president of his own financial consulting firm in Memphis and came highly recommended when Virginia Beach schools hired him last September.
In a previous job as finance director for Germantown, Tenn., a Memphis suburb, Canary earned high marks for improving Germantown's bond rating and had won awards for financial reporting.
School officials reached Wednesday declined to comment publicly on why Faucette placed Canary on leave, saying it was a personnel matter. Privately, officials said Canary's style of budget management had not mixed well with Virginia Beach's system.
Some board members have expressed unhappiness, for example, with monthly financial statements issued by Canary's office, saying they were difficult to read and not helpful when trying to make decisions on money matters. And at least one member criticized Canary for failing to produce an interim year-end financial report.
Canary was working under a probationary status that applies to all new employees, and the school system is not obligated to renew his contract, officials said.
As chief financial officer, Canary supervised a staff of 40 employees and was responsible for budget development, purchasing, and accounting and payroll functions.
Faucette has named Mordecai L. Smith, director of budget development, as interim chief financial officer. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Hal W. Canary
by CNB