THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 22, 1995 TAG: 9505220033
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
Four years ago, the School Board hired a leader who it hoped would end the turmoil caused by a turnover of three superintendents in two years.
But Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette's announcement last week that he will resign in July, to take a job in Georgia, has elicited an uncomfortable sense of deja vu. Officials and parents are crossing their fingers that Virginia Beach has not entered the company of large school districts nationwide that keep top administrators for only a few years.
``I hope we don't become a school system that's a training ground for superintendents who are looking to move on,'' said Vickie J. Hendley, president of the Virginia Beach Education Association.
School Board Chairwoman June T. Kernutt said she doesn't see Faucette's resignation as an omen that high turnover is the system's destiny. Faucette's tenure, she said, wasn't short enough to signal that.
``Dr. Faucette gave Virginia Beach stability, and I think that's important,'' she said.
Faucette's 1991 arrival followed the tumultuous reign of Superintendent E. Carlton Bowyer. The board fired Bowyer after a little more than a year because he enraged teachers and parents by trying to ram through classroom reforms.
Faucette enjoyed a remarkably long three-year honeymoon, disturbed only this year by problems he had balancing the budget.
School Board members have been nearly unanimous behind most of his major education initiatives, even the controversial ones.
The board, for example, supported his move toward shared decision-making, in which parents and teachers have been given more say in school decisions. The new system wasn't always popular with principals and central office administrators, who used to hold most of the decision-making power.
``He was really effective in making sure that everybody felt that they had a voice, and I think that's important, because I think we lose sight of that sometimes in education,'' said Martha S. Christensen, 42, a parent member of the Thalia Elementary School planning council.
The board also stood behind Faucette when he proposed ``traditional discipline,'' tougher rules for student behavior. The program was criticized by parents whose children ran afoul of the new rules.
And the board backed Faucette's determination to establish the Literacy Center, a program for students who repeatedly fail the state's Literacy Passport Test, against the ire of parents who thought their children would be stigmatized by attending the center. Parents since have warmed to the idea because the center has been successful in helping students master basic reading, writing and math skills.
Faucette also persuaded teachers, traditionally opposed to being evaluated by people outside education, to let parents comment annually about their classroom performance.
``I think that he pushed several things that most people really didn't think it was possible to do,'' said Gerald G. Gibbs, a former School Board member.
``I think what's good (about the school system) is that it's flexible,'' said Jennifer L. Kim, 17, a junior at Salem High. ``Like, Salem High School was able to have an eight-bell school day, and other schools were able to try block scheduling. It's good that we're flexible so we can try new things to better educate the students.''
The eight-bell day, longer than the schedule at other city high schools, allows students to take more classes. Block scheduling, piloted this year at three city high schools, rotates schedules to allow for longer class periods.
Over the past year, though, some cracks have formed in Faucette's armor.
City officials and some School Board members have questioned his management of the budget. The school system has faced shortfalls this year of more than $12 million.
``The only thing I could say was wrong with Sid Faucette were some of the budget decisions he's made,'' said Fran H. Jamison, 17, a senior at Cox High. ``I'm the editor of the school newspaper, and we've got a budget freeze on right now. I think that could have been avoided if we hadn't had things like the $42,000 flagpole at Ocean Lakes.'' Ocean Lakes High School, which opened this year, has an electronic flagpole that automatically unfurls the American flag.
Faucette has also had trouble winning the kind of unanimity he used to get from the School Board, last week arguing with one board member during a meeting.
Some board members worry that the days of unanimity behind anything may be over, now that Virginia Beach is in transition from a board that was appointed by the City Council to one that is elected by voters. Last May, six of the 11 board members were elected. Next May, the remaining five seats will go on the ballot.
``I think that's had an effect, I really do,'' said Kernutt, who was elected. ``We'll just have to wait and see whether that effect is positive or negative.''
It could make conditions difficult for future superintendents, who will have to navigate the political waters.
But Gibbs said he believes the problem of keeping good leaders in public education goes deeper than that.
``In many cases people have unreasonable expectations of their school system,'' he said. ``They expect the school system to do things that really should be family and community responsibilities.
``The fact of the matter is, school systems can't do it, or can't do it very well. If they try, it's very expensive. People get to a sense of frustration. . . . The first handy target is the superintendent.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Sidney L. Faucette
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB