THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601180408
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
The School Board has unanimously turned down former Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette's request to pay his legal expenses related to the ongoing special grand jury investigation of the district's finances.
The board voted late Tuesday night not to pay the fees. Faucette left the district in June to head up schools in Gwinnett County, Ga.
As superintendent here, Faucette's contract granted him legal counsel ``in matters relating to his official duties within the scope of his employment.'' Faucette was out of his office and unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon.
His letter to the board reads in part:
``. . . the School Board is obligated to defend me in the pending action, including indemnifying me for any costs and attorney fees expended to the extent that I determine that I need counsel in this matter. I will expect the School Board to incur the costs of counsel.''
Board member Robert Hall, who made the motion to deny Faucette's request, said he did not view such counsel as a defense.
``A grand jury is a fact-finding inquiry,'' Hall said.
Board member Ulysses Van Spiva said he would consider revisiting the issue if charges were filed against Faucette.
``He doesn't really have to have a lawyer for the grand jury,'' Spiva said.
Beach attorney Joseph L. Lyle Jr., who has counseled the board on matters related to the deficit since August, said the vote was ``consistent with my advice'' on Faucette's request.
In December 1994, Faucette warned the board that the district faced a potential deficit if stringent spending measures were not put in place. He consistently reassured board members after that, however, that the situation was under control. Faucette has said from Georgia that he based those assurances on the advice of his financial staff.
Last August a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall was discovered; an independent accounting firm eventually set the deficit at $12.1 million. A decision was made in November to convene a special grand jury, which began calling witnesses in December.
The grand jury cannot subpoena Faucette from out of state, but it can request that he return to testify. ILLUSTRATION: The grand jury cannot subpoena Sidney Faucette from Georgia, but
can ask that he return to testify.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB