THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140361
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
The Citizens Advisory Committee appointed to help search for a new superintendent of schools has recommended delaying the selection until a special grand jury probe of district finances is completed.
In a letter to School Board chairwoman June T. Kernutt, the committee also recommended that the search continue and be broadened so that additional candidates are considered.
It appears unlikely that the board will take the committee's advice. Most of the board members contacted Wednesday said they felt ready to move ahead with the decision.
``I'm ready to proceed,'' said board member Joseph D. Taylor. ``I respect their opinion, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with what they advise.''
The committee met with the three finalists chosen by the School Board in the search for a successor to Sidney L. Faucette, who left the district last summer to head schools in Gwinnett County, Ga.
The finalists are Bob Bowers, superintendent of the South-Western City School District in Grove City, Ohio; Timothy Jenney, superintendent of the Greenville County Schools in Greenville S.C.; and James L. Pughsley, interim superintendent of the Beach schools since July and deputy superintendent prior to that.
Committee members were supposed to evaluate the candidates and make individual recommendations, which they did. Afterward, they decided to step beyond their original responsibility. They wrote the letter to Kernutt suggesting the decision be delayed because of the special grand jury's work.
``All three candidates were good candidates, as far as I was concerned,'' said committee member Maury E. Bailey, who represented the Council of Civic Organizations. ``One of them was a little bit better - I won't say which - than the other two. But we were told not to get together and make a recommendation as a group.''
Kernutt has said she is hopeful that the School Board will make a decision before Christmas. Kernutt could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Other committee members offered different reasons for suggesting the delay - from concerns about the pool of candidates, to the desire to ensure that Pughsley, if appointed, could begin his tenure without the specter of the special grand jury's investigation.
The grand jury began meeting earlier this month to scrutinize the district's financial practices. The school division finished the last fiscal year with a $12.1 million deficit. While Pughsley has not been implicated in any wrongdoing in the shortfall, his position in the district's administration while the crisis was brewing has left some with concerns.
Jerry Deviney, who represented the district's secondary principals on the committee, was not one of those with such worries.
``I went into that as a representative of the secondary school principals who supported Jim Pughsley,'' Deviney said. ``Frankly, I came out with that (support). His interview was an affirmation of that.''
Vickie Hendley, president of the Virginia Beach Education Association and that group's representative on the committee, said she felt that neither of the external candidates had the experience to be compared with Pughsley.
``He is certainly the candidate of choice of these three people,'' Hendley said.
``The school system is in very good hands right now'' under Pughsley, she said, which allows time to extend the search ``to see if there is any competition out there. And, if the grand jury is a gray cloud over his head, let's remove that issue so he has the chance to be successful.''
Jane Brooks, who represented the city's PTA council, said she was impressed by all three candidates, but that some of the committee members felt rushed.
``I don't close any doors when it affects the education of our children,'' Brooks said.
School Board member Ulysses Van Spiva, who has said the selection process was moving too quickly, said he thinks the committee's letter underscores his concerns.
``I thought that was exactly right on target. We had some outstanding people on that committee,'' he said. ``Some very important people.''
The board chose a Charlotte-based professional search firm - Sockwell & Associates - in the fall to help find a new superintendent. The consultants collected 39 applications, and the board saw profiles of a smaller group of candidates and interviewed five people in November.
The three finalists emerged from that group.
Committee member Edward E. Brickell, president of the Medical College of Hampton Roads and the former superintendent of Virginia Beach City Schools, said he was surprised the School Board had only three final candidates. Brickell also said he had expected a much larger initial talent pool from which to pick.
``This is a fateful expression of the feelings of the eight members who were there,'' Brickell said.
``I had anticipated a much larger number of applicants, much larger,'' he said. ``This is a very attractive position for a career administrator.''
Board and committee members expressed some concerns that the candidates might look elsewhere if a decision is delayed. The superintendent's job in the 89,000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) school district recently became vacant. Pughsley's wife is a school principal in Charlotte. On Wednesday, he declined to respond to questions about other job opportunities.
The board members who supported moving ahead want to get past what they feel is a critical decision for a district that has weathered its share of crises in the past year.
``I do feel our school district needs stability,'' said board member Robert W. Hall. ``The longer we go (without a decision) the less stable we are.'' MEMO: Staff Writer Tom Holden contributed to this report.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS BUDGET by CNB