THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 27, 1995 TAG: 9512270112
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
You can bet Allen S. ``Sammy'' Cohen will sorely miss a few things next month when he leaves his job as finance officer of Currituck County Public Schools.
The casual dress code at the 3,000-student system is chief among them.
``It's great not having to wear a tie,'' he said, grinning, from his office in a brick building behind the Knapp Teacherage in Currituck.
If his neckwear initially feels like a noose, it'll be understandable. Cohen, 44, is returning to the Virginia Beach school district, where a $12.1 million budget deficit for 1994-95 has led to a special grand jury investigation. A $6.6 million budget shortfall is expected for the current school year, reports indicate.
Cohen, himself a product of the Virginia Beach public school system, held the same job - director of accounting and payroll services - for several years until two years ago, when then-Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette had the position eliminated in a downsizing move.
Cohen's dismissal and two others' demotions led to federal employment discrimination lawsuits against the Virginia Beach School Board that were settled this month.
``There are a lot of people there with a lot of integrity, and, as a team, we're going to see this thing through,'' Cohen said of the challenges ahead of him.
The school system already has a deficit-reduction plan to try to end the 1995-96 school year in the black, Cohen said.
``I want to do everything I can to help out the financial situation,'' he said shortly after his pending move was announced at a Currituck County school board meeting.
``I miss the people there that I used to be with. They're a good school system, just like Currituck is a good school system.''
It was after Cohen and nearly all of the district's top financial leaders left that Virginia's second-largest school system, with 77,000 students, began to experience severe budget problems.
A special grand jury is expected to subpoena witnesses and examine school district records. The panel then can either release a report or recommend indictments to a regular grand jury.
Cohen is no newcomer to stepping into embattled organizations.
He assumed the role of finance director for the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority after it was rocked by scandal.
In September 1993, all six housing authority commissioners were ousted from their appointed posts on charges of inefficiency, neglect of duty and misconduct in office. Cohen was among those who helped clean up the agency's financial records.
Besides tie-less attire, Cohen said he would greatly miss the people he's worked closely with in Currituck.
``It has been absolutely wonderful working here,'' he said.
Cohen, a graduate of Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, was drawn to the Currituck job after seeing a newspaper advertisement.
``We'd always traveled 168 to Nags Head - my wife and I had a house down there. I always liked this area - very beautiful, country atmosphere,'' he said.
Since taking the Currituck job about 1 1/2 years ago, Cohen has commuted from his home in the Thalia Village section of Virginia Beach.
His wife, Dana, is a part-time teacher at Norfolk Christian School, where their 10-year-old son, Gabriel, attends school. The couple has another son, Daniel, who is a junior at Old Dominion University.
Cohen also attended ODU, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. He later earned an MBA in public administration from Golden Gate University through classes offered at a naval base.
Cohen, a certified public accountant, spent 15 years with the Virginia Beach Finance Department before moving to the city's public schools administration in 1989, where he remained until 1993.
Cohen spent a year at the Chesapeake housing authority before coming to Currituck County.
``We all worked together here,'' he said of his current staff of four. He'll supervise five times that number at his new job.
Among the finance department's biggest accomplishments during Cohen's brief tenure in Currituck has been automation.
Computer systems are being upgraded, and the county's six schools are being networked with central offices to speed the flow of information.
Purchase orders are being computerized to reduce paperwork and time, and the school board's financial statements and reports have become more readable, he said.
Cohen said his family still has plans to retire in Currituck County.
``I will dearly miss this place,'' he said. ``I surely will.'' by CNB