THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050456
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
Timothy R. Jenney will start his new job as superintendent of the state's second-largest school district on Feb. 20.
The board voted 10-0 to approve a three-year contract, and Jenney signed it Thursday. The base salary, $120,000 in the first year, is the same as that paid former Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette, and is the second highest for a superintendent in Hampton Roads after the $131,000 that Roy D. Nichols Jr. receives in Norfolk.
The contract expires June 30, 1999.
Jenney has been superintendent of the Greenville County (S.C.) Schools for 18 months and was paid $110,000 a year.
``During the (selection) process and as we went through it, I really sensed the board is ready and willing to move ahead and make some changes to improve instruction effectively and efficiently,'' Jenney said by phone from his Greenville office Thursday. ``I'm just enthusiastic that the governing board of a public school system is ready and willing to do that.''
After a tumultuous seven months, some Beach board members were visibly relieved after the contract's approval.
``I'm really excited about him coming. I felt really positive this morning and throughout the negotiations,'' said board member Karen O. O'Brien. ``I can't tell you how positive I feel about him. I think he's going to heal and that's what we need.''
Jenney will also get a $500 per month car allowance as well as mileage, family health insurance and a $5,000 annuity each fiscal year. In addition, the district will pay up to $10,000 in moving expenses and a housing allocation of $1,000 per month through the end of June or until Jenney sells either of the homes he owns in Tulsa, Okla., or Greenville.
Vincent Cibarelli, executive director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, said the salary and benefits are consistent with those afforded other superintendents around the state and with the responsibilities of the job.
The contract is pointedly different from Faucette's - indicating that both sides were twice shy in the negotiations after feeling they'd been bitten in the past.
Jenney has candidly acknowledged that part of his interest in leaving Greenville, a system with about 55,000 students, was prompted by an acrimonious board dominated by a majority accused of micromanaging.
In the Beach, which has about 77,000 students, board members have increasingly questioned Faucette's role in financial problems that have plagued the district into this year.
The superintendent's list of duties in Jenney's contract includes several sections which detail his responsibilities, including ``fully and completely'' informing the board of relevant information.
Jenney said the additional sections were ``unique in terms of language,'' adding that everyone responds based on past experiences.
``I would expect the board of trustees of Virginia Beach want to make sure they are informed,'' he said. ``They don't want to be caught by surprise.''
Board chairwoman June T. Kernutt said those sections ``give emphasis to some things that were already in our policies.''
Anxiety levels have been creeping up in the Beach district, particularly among administrators, over Jenney's appointment. Several staff members have said privately they are concerned about what role, if any, they will have under the new superintendent.
Jenney said he was not ready to discuss possible staff changes.
``It's really something that's going to take some time to analyze,'' he said. ``There are a whole lot of people I need to consult before any decisions are made.''
James L. Pughsley, interim superintendent since July, was the internal favorite for the permanent post. He reportedly was offered the job and declined it. District employees saw Pughsley as a source of stability in a district that has been rocked by crises during the last few months. A special grand jury investigation of the district's finances is ongoing, prompted by a $12.1 million budget shortfall in the last fiscal year. And stringent spending restrictions have been put in place for this year.
Pughsley said Thursday he will stay on for the time being, but declined to discuss his plans until he meets with senior administrators next week.
Jenney has been praised for his financial management skills as well as his successes working with parents and business community representatives. When it became public late last year that he was a finalist for the Beach job, some in Greenville waged a campaign to persuade him to stay and urged the board there to work with him.
In Virginia Beach, the board began looking for Faucette's replacement after he left last summer to head the schools in Gwinnett County Ga. An executive search firm coordinated the effort, and 39 people eventually applied for the job. That field was narrowed to five candidates, whom the board interviewed. From that group, three finalists emerged - Jenney, Pughsley and Bob Bowers, superintendent of the South-Western City School District in Grove City, Ohio.
Late in the search, Pughsley and Bowers announced they were withdrawing their names from consideration.
The board voted on Dec. 22 to offer Jenney a contract with the details to be negotiated. Board members were unanimous in approving the contract with vice chairman D. Linn Felt absent.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL
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