THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995                   TAG: 9506300230
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER       PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   56 lines

OFFICIALS AGREE ON SCHOOL SYSTEM AUDITS WHO SHOULD DO THE AUDITS, AND HOW, REMAINS UNDECIDED.

School officials and City Council are agreed on one thing: The school system needs periodic audits of its finances and programs.

What they have not finished debating yet is who should do the audits, and how.

City Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff thinks audits should be conducted by someone who is independent of the school system, such as the city's internal auditor. School officials believe they can handle the job themselves.

``There are many different ways to approach the same problem,'' said Councilman John M. de Triquet, during a meeting Tuesday between council and representatives from the school system, in which he praised school officials for their cooperation with council's deliberations.

Deputy Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols assured council members that he has a plan for his staff to begin conducting the audits when he takes over as superintendent Aug. 1.

Nichols said he will convene a five-member committee of administrators - four permanent members and one who will rotate depending upon the department being audited - that will scrutinize all the school system's operations. The committee, Nichols said, will highlight programs that are efficient and will improve or toss out those that aren't.

Nichols pointed out that his committee, made up of education experts, would have more knowledge of the intricacies of school system finances and programs than outside auditors; therefore, audits would be more efficient.

Nichols assured council members that he would be willing to make tough choices uncovered by audits, such as the need to cut staff.

``I've got to believe in an organization as large as our school system, we've got to have programs that are not producing in the way we expect them to produce,'' he said.

School Board Chairman Maury Brickhouse said the board would watch the committee closely to ensure its objectivity.

But Councilman Krasnoff challenged Nichols to prove that the committee would be independent enough to make the audits worthwhile.

He said Nichols' plan is a ``good management tool.'' But, he said, ``There seem to be many organizational impairments'' to a committee of school administrators conducting independent audits of the school system.

Other council members seemed more open to Nichols' plan. The council is expected to decide later this month whether to proceed with its own audits of the school system.

Councilman Peter P. Duda Jr. said of Nichols, ``The bottom line is that this gentleman has the confidence of the School Board, he has the confidence of a lot of the citizens, and I think we ought to give him the opportunity to perform.'' by CNB