THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 13, 1995 TAG: 9505130255
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Gwinnett County, Ga., School Board Chairman Joel Taylor says Virginia Beach schools Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette has accepted an offer to head the county's system.
Faucette says he has not.
``I haven't said no,'' Faucette said Friday, the day he had promised to make a decision on the job that was offered to him Wednesday after a unanimous vote of the Gwinnett County board.
``I promised the board here that I would not make any firm decision until they have a chance to meet and discuss it,'' Faucette said.
Faucette's ambivalence has left both school districts pondering his next move.
Virginia Beach School Board Chairwoman June T. Kernutt worked Friday to get other board members to agree to an emergency, closed-door session Monday night, a day before the board's regular meeting.
Faucette said he could be persuaded to stay in Virginia Beach if the board offered him ``support and security,'' meaning general agreement with his educational philosophies and the promise that he would not be fired, at least for the next two years, the duration of his contract.
He has said that money is not an issue, although he would get a substantial raise by moving to Georgia. His base salary now is $120,000 a year, while Gwinnett is offering $135,000 to $150,000.
The Gwinnett board is convinced that Faucette is theirs.
``He has accepted our offer, pending just the contract negotiations and the background check, which would be standard for any candidate,'' Taylor said Friday.
The Gwinnett board's offer came after some unusual twists in the hiring process. Faucette's name was included on a long list of candidates, which the board honed to four without speaking to any of them. The board then interviewed the four and chose Faucette, without making the customary visits to the candidates' districts.
``We felt that all four candidates had some good qualities and some good experience,'' Taylor said. ``But in our discussions, we felt that we were so unanimous for Dr. Faucette that he was the one we really wanted without having an alternate.''
``Of course,'' Faucette said, ``I'm flattered by the offer.''
Faucette initially said he was not interested in the job; he later agreed to be interviewed. Monday, he wrote to Taylor, Kernutt, Virginia Beach school principals and top administrators, saying he was withdrawing his name from consideration.
Later that day, Taylor said, Faucette told him would keep his name in the ring.
``This is a really big decision for me,'' Faucette said. ``It's a decision that will affect my career and my family.''
Taylor said his board was impressed with Faucette's experience in Virginia Beach, a district similar in size to Gwinnett County.
Virginia Beach has close to 76,000 public school students; Gwinnett, a suburb of Atlanta, has about 80,500.
Taylor's board was won over primarily by Faucette's emphasis on shared decision-making, which calls for parents and teachers to have more input into school decisions.
The Gwinnett board members also liked his focus on accountability, or finding ways to hold schools, teachers and administrators responsible for their performance.
In Virginia Beach, for example, parents are asked annually to rate their satisfaction with their children's teachers.
``We feel that we can be a school system of national excellence with Doctor Faucette leading us,'' Taylor said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Sidney L. Faucette
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT by CNB