THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 27, 1995 TAG: 9511230028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
Your editorial ``Getting to the `who''' (Nov. 9) should have included a paragraph beginning with ``Getting to the `what'''
School administrators are chosen from principals and teachers who have served the system without making waves and who kowtow to those in control. Many suffer from combat fatigue and, to parody Harry Truman, can no longer stand the heat of the kitchen, so they escape to the dining room. Most have advanced degrees in education, the most useless of college courses, instead of training in business or management.
People who spend money instead of earning it lack the knowledge of how to get the maximum value for a dollar. Some administrators have been taught to spend it all so next year's appropriation will be at least as high as this year's.
The late Bill Story, a former Chesapeake superintendent, told me that his administration returned money to the system instead of spending to the limit. If he could do it, so can administrators in Virginia Beach if they are picked for ability rather than for being good old boys.
JOHN B. GRAVATT
Virginia Beach, Nov. 13, 1995 by CNB