THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200470
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
The School Board made two critical decisions Tuesday evening aimed at restoring the division's long-term fiscal credibility.
Board members voted to send the largest operating budget request in the school district's history - almost $400.1 million for 1996-97 - to the City Council, and to hire former assistant city manager Giles G. Dodd as Interim Chief Financial Officer.
Although school officials describe the proposed budget as lean, it would put the district back on solid financial footing if approved, they said. And Dodd's reputation in the community should help reassure those who have questioned the system's stability.
``Even though we're asking for over $400 million, this $400 million includes what we reasonably need to educate our students in the manner Virginia Beach is accustomed to,'' said board member Elsie M. Barnes.
Board chairwoman June T. Kernutt said the board members ``had some tough choices to make in this budget and we made some tough choices. I think that needs to be recognized.''
About $60 million in additional requests were not included in the budget, school officials said. And a large portion of the increase over this year's $358 million operating budget was needed to fully fund programs and positions not adequately supported in previous financial plans, officials said.
Board members originally considered a $392.4 million budget that offered little expansion or innovation. After two public hearings during which dozens of students, parents and employees lobbied for their causes, the board decided on a handful of additions to the document which must be approved by City Council. They include:
A 2 percent salary increase for employees, $6.1 million. This would be in addition to a step increase for eligible employees already in the proposed budget.
Fifty additional students at Kemps Landing Magnet School, $134,500. This is in addition to funding included in the budget for 100 more students.
Materials and supplies for new advanced English, math and science courses in the middle schools, $166,000.
Board vice-chairman D. Linn Felt acknowledged that the budget could face strong opposition before the council and urged ``those people who made this great case before the School Board to make their case before City Council.''
Dodd's appointment is the first major public move of Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney's tenure and it was a strategically crucial one in a city with a long memory.
Dodd worked locally as comptroller for Princess Anne County in 1955 and rose through the ranks of city government from director of finance to assistant city manager for administration/director of finance - a job he held from 1985 to 1993.
He served most recently as finance director and finance assistant to the City Manager in Greenville, S.C., under Aubrey Watts, formerly Virginia Beach's City Manager. Jenney was superintendent of the Greenville County schools before coming to Virginia Beach in February.
Dodd will serve until the end of June and will take on several responsibilities beyond those usually assigned to the Chief Financial Officer. Those include:
Assisting the district in studying consolidation of services with the city.
Evaluating the financial department's structure in its delivery of services.
Preparing and providing a five-year plan to establish financial stability in the school division in conjunction with the city and external auditors.
Jenney cited ``47 years of credibility and expertise'' in appointing Dodd to the interim post which he will begin April 8.
The evening was one of transitions for the board as Delceno Miles was sworn in by the City Council as the board member for the Blackwater borough. Her first night on the board was the last for three members who have resigned in the wake of the special grand jury's report on the district's finances. Barnes, Felt and Ulysses Van Spiva were given a standing ovation by their board colleagues and those in the audience at the end of their final meeting.
The City Council, meanwhile, proceeded with finding temporary replacements for those board members who were originally appointed by the council and have resigned. A public hearing will be held on April 2 to take comment on three nominees - former City Council member Roger L. ``Buddy'' Riggs for the Beach borough seat; Tom Fraim, who has been president of the Sandbridge Coalition and chairman of the city's Erosion Commission, for the Princess Anne borough seat; and retired district administrator Fred G. Benham for an at-large seat. All of those seats will be up for election in May. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Giles G. Dodd's appointment is crucial in a city with a memory.
by CNB