THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996              TAG: 9602230441
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Medium:   55 lines

HALL RESIGNS FROM SCHOOL BOARD, BEACH'S 2ND TO GO IN TWO WEEKS HE RESIGNS JUST AS BOARD SEES SIGNS OF BETTER TIMES.

Veteran School Board member Robert W. Hall has become the second person to resign from the district's governing body in as many weeks.

Hall notified board chairwoman June T. Kernutt in writing of his resignation effective Feb. 21.

``I just lost my enthusiasm for the job, and I think that's a primary ingredient,'' he said Thursday. He declined to comment further.

At Tuesday's board meeting, the school district showed signs of making its way out of perhaps the darkest period in the division's history. It welcomed new superintendent Timothy R. Jenney.

Board members took the first steps toward resolving the issue of consolidating some financial offices with the city. A financial update indicated the district might be able to avoid the most painful cuts it has faced during a year of severely restricted spending.

Hall's resignation, however, was a new blow to the state's second-largest school division which has been battling to put its financial house in order for more than a year.

``Mr. Hall has worked hard for nine years,'' Kernutt said. ``He probably feels it's time for him to retire. I'm sad, but he deserves a very nice retirement.''

Hall, 70, had been on the board for 9 1/2 years, longer than any other current member. He served with five superintendents and two interim superintendents, and through an enrollment boom that saw more than 10,000 new students join the district. He represented the Princess Anne borough.

Board member Susan L. Creamer, who represented Blackwater on the board, resigned earlier this month following the 7-4 vote to reinstate Mordecai L. Smith on a probationary basis as director of budget development. Creamer voted against the reinstatement, Hall voted for it.

Hall had announced he would not run for re-election in May. City Council members are not expected to make an appointment before the March 5 filing deadline for the upcoming election.

The board is beginning one of the busiest times of the year. The proposed budget was introduced at a meeting on Tuesday, and the document is sure to receive close scrutiny.

During the past six months, the district has weathered the discovery of a $12.1 million budget shortfall at the end of the last fiscal year, stringent spending measures this year to avoid a repeat of that crisis, and the search for and hiring of a new superintendent. A special grand jury, which began investigating the district's finances in December, is expected to release its report at any time.

KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD RESIGNATION by CNB