THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 TAG: 9502080493
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
When Norfolk needed a new superintendent in 1993, the School Board didn't hesitate.
It hired a consultant to conduct a national search for candidates.
``We wanted to include existing (Norfolk schools) employees as well as candidates from around the country,'' said Ulysses Turner, who was a board member then and now is chairman. ``We wanted the best possible superintendent that we could find from around the country.''
In Chesapeake, however, the process of finding a successor to Superintendent C. Fred Bateman hasn't been so easily decided. Bateman will retire this summer after 15 years at the helm.
Debate continues about the School Board's decision to consider only candidates who work within the school system and to broaden the search only if the internal applicants don't pass muster.
The board today is scheduled to interview the three who applied by the Jan. 30 deadline.
The board has refused to release the candidates' names. But sources have identified two: Deputy Superintendent William R. Nichols, 57, and Oscar Smith High School Principal Glenn L. Koonce, 45. Both have spent their education careers in Chesapeake.
Some school officials privately have expressed worry about the low number of applicants, drawn from an only slightly larger pool of Chesapeake educators who meet strict eligibility requirements set by the state and the city's School Board.
Board Chairman Jessie Lee Jr., however, said the board is sticking by its intention to give internal applicants the first priority.
``I'm pleased with what has happened, personally,'' he said. ``It will work, in whatever direction we have to go.''
Board members briefed the City Council on Tuesday night about the selection process. A couple of council members expressed concern that the search was limited, but most said they were confident that the board would choose a qualified superintendent.
Few decisions are as tough or contentious for a school board as hiring a top administrator.
The Chesapeake board's decision to look initially for an insider is not surprising, said Ulysses Van Spiva, a member of the Virginia Beach School Board and a former chairman of Old Dominion University's Department of Educational Leadership.
``When a school board feels relatively comfortable with the kind of leadership they've had in the past, they tend to go inside for a superintendent, assuming that they have someone inside they are comfortable can do the job,'' said Spiva, who has researched the process that boards use to select top administrators.
``I would have been a little bit more surprised had they gone outside immediately,'' Spiva said.
Bateman has been viewed as a highly successful superintendent, with a stable, deliberative leadership style.
Supporters of the board's decision to look for an insider say they want a superintendent who is appreciative of the city's history and will not deviate drastically from the direction Bateman has set.
``To build on the legacy of Fred Bateman would not be, in my opinion, an exercise in poor judgment,'' said Jim D. Graham, president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and leader of the Wise County school district.
Limiting the search does not necessarily mean the board will get a poor variety or quality of applicants, said Arthur W. Gosling, president-elect of the superintendents' association and head of Arlington County schools.
Gosling and Graham said it would be unfair to open the search to candidates from outside Chesapeake if the board favored internal applicants.
``If you're going to open it up, then I think that needs to be done in good faith,'' Gosling said. ``I don't think it's appropriate to open it up just to say, `We're going to open it up,' if your intention is to hire an internal candidate.''
Board member James Wheaton, one of two who voted against the decision to limit the search to internal candidates, said he still had reservations about a process that initially won't tap into that pool of interest.
``I'm just glad we haven't foreclosed the option of expanding the search,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
C. Fred Bateman will retire this summer after 15 years at the helm
of Chesapeake schools.
by CNB