THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010454
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE AND TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Ulysses Van Spiva and D. Linn Felt announced their resignations from the School Board on Thursday, one day after a special grand jury released a report calling board members ``unfit for further service.''
Their decisions were the first of possibly five more resignations that may arise following the jury's demand that the board members and the district's chief financial officer leave office or face prosecution for malfeasance of office.
``I don't believe if I stayed on the board this stuff would stop in due time,'' Spiva said shortly before a workshop on the proposed 1996-97 budget. ``It's distracting us from doing what we should for the children.''
As word circulated, the other board members who fell under the jury's wrath considered their options in light of Commonwealth's Attorney Robert J. Humphreys' promise that if they did not leave he would prosecute them.
Conviction of malfeasance of office is a misdemeanor that carries a modest financial penalty of $250 and the more severe sanction of job loss.
Felt's resignation followed public comment at a budget workshop in the board's meeting room, which was packed with residents and district employees.
``While I flatly deny malfeasance on my part, the grand jury report makes it impossible for me to remain on the board,'' Felt said.
At the conclusion of their remarks, both Felt and Spiva received standing ovations from district employees, many of whom believe their livelihoods have been hurt by the City Council trimming school budgets in recent years.
Their resignations bring to four the number of board members who have stepped aside during the district's struggle to regain its financial foothold after last year's $12.1 million deficit came to light.
Robert W. Hall resigned on Feb. 21, saying he had lost enthusiasm for the job, and Susan L. Creamer left Feb. 6 in protest after the board rehired Mordecai L. Smith as budget development director, himself the subject of intense grand jury criticism. The jury did not suggest that Karen O'Brien and Donald F. Bennis step down because they have served the board less than a year.
The remaining board members asked to step down are Tim Jackson, Ferdinand V. Tolentino, Elsie M. Barnes, June T. Kernutt and Joseph D. Taylor II.
Spiva served almost eight years on the School Board, first as an appointed member and then, starting July 1, 1994, as an elected one. His term would have expired June 30, 1998. Felt began serving on Jan. 1, 1993. Both resignations are effective March 20.
Spiva's decision caught many district observers by surprise. Because of his longstanding and vehement defense of the board after the $12.1 million budget deficit surfaced last year, many believed he would be the last to resign, if at all.
``I'm surprised myself'' Spiva said. ``My wife could not believe it last night when I told her.''
His defense notwithstanding, Spiva could no longer tolerate the blistering criticism from a report that called the district's financial managers incompetent and reckless.
``It's not worth it to have this kind of public display, these public charges,'' Spiva said. ``Chances are, I could not serve the board effectively.''
He took strong exception to the report's harsh language, which he described as ``demeaning.''
``It is like the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. It is the unkindest cut of all, to paraphrase Shakespeare.''
In defense of his record, Spiva said written and videotaped records of board meetings exist that show he did all he could to bring the district's financial problems to public light.
Reaction from board members remained subdued throughout much of Thursday, but some of the district's most important people - the parents of students - weighed in with their thoughts.
Joyce Hodges, mother of three students and president of the Green Run High School Booster Club, said she was sympathetic to the board's situation, but she still thought they should resign.
``I think they're probably good people,'' she said. ``But I think they're misguided, that they probably led with their hearts rather than their heads.''
Hodges also said she wishes there was greater recourse against former superintendent Sidney L. Faucette, who was harshly criticized in the report.
``In our household, if a check bounces, I'm responsible,'' she said. ``If he were CEO of a corporation, he'd have been held accountable. He has no accountability, it seems to me.''
With four School Board members now gone, attention Thursday turned to those who remain. School Board Chairwoman Kernutt declined to comment.
Taylor, whose family owns the Taylor's Do-It Centers, a local hardware chain, was understated.
``There was a little harsh verbiage in there,'' said Taylor. ``I'm just not really saying anything until I decide what to do. I want to say something publicly. It really was a shock.
``I certainly thought that superintendent Faucette and Mr. Smith would get what they deserved, and it seems like they did,'' Taylor said. ``And some board members deserved it, but overall it was much more than I expected. I think we're all just trying to decide what to do.''
Barnes, a professor and chairwoman of the Department of Political Science and Economics at Norfolk State University who was elected on July 1, 1994, said, ``I will have a statement on Sunday. For practical reasons, I'll wait until then.''
She said she would have no further comment.
Board members Tolentino and Jackson maintained their silence. They did not return repeated phone calls Thursday. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN color photos/The Virginian-Pilot
D. Linn Felt, shown shaking hands with supporters after announcing
Thursday that he was resigning
Ulysses Van Spiva
Graphic
THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS' PLANS
Elsie M. Barnes: Says she will issue statement Sunday.
Joseph D. Taylor: Says he is undecided.
June T. Kernutt, Tim Jackson, Ferdinand V. Tolentino: Have not said
what they will do.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BUDGET by CNB