THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504220292
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette, who has led the city's schools since 1991, is one of four finalists for a superintendent's job in Georgia.
Faucette said Friday night that he has no interest in the job, but he did not rule out the possibility that he would consent to an interview.
``I'll be superintendent in Virginia Beach as long as the school board wants me to be,'' he said. ``My interest is at the Beach, I love living at the Beach, and I'm extremely proud of what we're doing at the Beach.''
Faucette said he allowed a consultant friend to nominate him recently for the vacant superintendent's position in Gwinnett County, a fast-growing suburb of Atlanta. But Faucette said he had expected the friend to alert him if he was to be seriously considered for the job.
Instead, the Gwinnett School Board met Thursday night and narrowed the consultant's list from 54 candidates to four, including Faucette.
Board Chairman Joel Taylor said they were intrigued by Faucette's credentials.
``I think, at least on paper, he has experienced many of the challenges we have experienced as a community here,'' Taylor said.
Taylor and his board have set aside five days during the first week in May to interview there. Faucette said he wanted to talk to Gwinnett's consultant before deciding whether to go for an interview.
But he emphasized that he does not have an interest in leaving Virginia Beach. One big reason is that his mother, in her 80s, lives in Southampton County, about an hour and a half from Virginia Beach.
``My interest is in Virginia Beach,'' he said. ``That's just it.''
Gwinnett is offering what would amount to a significant pay increase for Faucette - a base salary of $135,000, plus fringes, compared with his base salary now of $120,000. Faucette said the pay would not be an enticement.
``If the School Board of Virginia Beach really supports me . . . I'd work for less than I do now,'' he said.
Gwinnett County's school district is similar in size to Virginia Beach's - about 80,000 students, compared with the Beach's 75,000. Student enrollment in Gwinnett is growing by about 5 percent a year, nearly the same as the Beach experienced until recent slowdowns; the system, Gwinnett officials said, cannot build schools fast enough to keep pace.
Gwinnett's Taylor said his board is looking for someone who will develop a plan for shared decision-making, an approach that calls for giving principals, teachers and parents more control over decisions that affect their schools. The board also wants someone who is familiar with total quality management, a method for boosting efficiency and customer service that originated in private industry but has gained favor in the public sector.
Faucette has tackled all of those issues since he arrived in Virginia Beach.
He has established shared decision-making in Beach schools, where councils of parents, teachers and administrators have a say in everything from how to improve student performance to how to spend their schools' budgets. He has trained employees in total quality management, and has made that a criterion for hiring some of his top administrators.
He has had trouble, however, dealing with school crowding. The number of portable classrooms has increased from 355 last year to 375 this year, despite promises that the numbers would go down.
Faucette and other school officials say that's because City Council traditionally has not given them enough money for construction to keep up with enrollment growth and increasing demands for space-consuming programs. City officials have charged that Faucette and the School Board are not spending money wisely. Faucette said budget problems would not prompt him to seek other employment.
``I can promise you there's nothing going on with the budget, the current one or the one for next year, that has piqued my interest in leaving Virginia Beach,'' he said.
Faucette told only School Board Chairwoman June T. Kernutt about the opening in Gwinnett.
Some other board members expressed surprise that he would allow his name to be on the list.
But Kernutt said she would be surprised if a superintendent of Faucette's caliber were not recruited to join other school systems. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Virginia Beach Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette
by CNB