THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408190509
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Vanee Vines
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
A look at actions taken by the School Board during its regular meeting last week: Servicemaster to go
Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette announced Tuesday that the school district no longer wants to do business with a private custodial company that had overseen the district's custodians for about a year.
And the School Board voted unanimously to support his decision to take steps to cancel the district's contract with ServiceMaster of Illinois.
Canceling the $1.4 million contract could take four to six months, Faucette said, adding that the company did not pass muster on two of the district's key goals: freeing up principals to focus more attention on classroom instruction and reaping appreciable savings.
School officials are preparing to again take over custodial operations themselves. The administration will brief the board Sept. 20 on new and perhaps more efficient ways of doing that.
Princess Anne schedule
The schedule that governs high school students will continue to govern Princess Anne Middle School students, at least for the near future.
The board voted unanimously to keep the school on that same schedule for now, but to put Princess Anne in line with other middle schools no later than September 1995. The district will hold public hearings on the matter at a later date.
Princess Anne Middle has operated on the same time slot as high schools because officials say it would take more time and additional buses to carry students from the city's rural areas to Princess Anne Middle by the time all other middle school students arrive at school.
Last school year, other middle schools started at 8:10 a.m. and ended at 2:35 p.m. Princess Anne Middle began at 7:35 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m. Some Princess Anne students rode buses that also carried high school students.
One of the school's PTA leaders told the board Tuesday that parents were fed up with the Princess Anne quirk.
Board Vice Chairwoman June T. Kernutt had asked the district to review schedules of all city schools because of scheduling problems with Princess Anne Middle.
On Tuesday, Kernutt - who motioned to make the Princess Anne switch no later than September 1995 - said she was ``willing to be patient a little while longer'' as the administration tries to work things out. However, board member Susan L. Creamer said she was ``disappointed in this delay.'' Getting Technial
For the past several years the city has dipped into its own bank account to place fax machines in the homes of City Council members who did not already have one. (The machines are returned to the city when a council member's term expires.)
School Board members, however, voted against giving themselves fax machines, or personal computers. Ulysses V. Spiva had urged the administration to look into the idea.
According to district statements, placing a fax machine in each member's home could have cost at least $1,040 for the machine and telephone hook-up, per person. Computers recommended for the 11 board members would have cost the district $3,025 each.
Board members voted twice on what was essentially the same question: Should fax machines be placed in the homes of board members who wanted them? On the first vote, Chairman James R. Darden, Spiva, Elsie M. Barnes and Charles W. Vincent were the only members who voted in favor of the idea. The second time, only Spiva and Vincent voted for it. Both men had sung the praises of fax machines as convenient, time-saving tools.
Standing policy does allow the district to loan the board chairman a personal fax machine, a measure board members unanimously supported.
But computers?
No!
Members voted unanimously to can the idea of loaning a district computer to anyone on the board. Hear ye, hear ye
The board tabled a decision to tinker with the times when public hearings are held as part of its regular meetings. This year, the board opted to change the public hearing slots to 5:30 p.m. during even months and 3:30 p.m. during odd months.
The later hour was added to accommodate residents who work or have other responsibilities in the afternoon. Board members split on whether to stick with or again switch the times.
Donald L. Felt offered a compromise: Give the new arrangement more time to work. The board tabled the issue until the November meeting. Robert W. Hall voted against the postponement.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB