THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606260372
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 73 lines
The City Council on Tuesday replaced School Board Vice Chairman Robert F. Williams with a retired banker active in civic affairs.
The council also re-appointed board incumbents Anita O. Poston and Junius P. Fulton III to two-year terms.
By unanimous vote, the council bumped Williams for Conrad A. Greif, a retired vice president of NationsBank. Greif chairs the Norfolk City Environmental Commission, serves on the Mayor's Task Force on Ocean View and is a member of the Ocean View Coordinating Committee, a coalition of businesses and civic leagues.
``Everything he has done to devote himself to public service has been with an A-plus grade,'' said Councilman Randy Wright, who nominated Greif. ``He'll bring that same kind of vitality to the School Board.''
Poston and Fulton, both attorneys, have served on the board since 1990 and 1994, respectively.
Council members met behind closed doors to hash out the appointments. One councilman said privately that Greif had the backing of four of the seven council members. Following tradition, however, the council cast a unanimous vote in public to show support for the board.
``I think Dr. Williams served the school system in an excellent fashion,'' Mayor Paul D. Fraim said. But he added, ``There are any number of considerations that go into into selecting a complete school board.'' He called Greif an ``excellent addition.''
Councilmen Paul R. Riddick and Herbert M. Collins Sr. called the vote political. ``Some councilmen are feathering their nests for the '98 election,'' Riddick said.
During two terms on the board, Williams, a research scientist at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, pushed for increased academic rigor. He focused on improving reading skills, hammering at declining scores on the sixth-grade Literacy Passport Test. This year's results show improvement on the reading portion for the first time in five years.
Williams also hatched Norfolk's plan to introduce character education into the school curriculum next year.
Fellow board members elected Williams vice chairman in 1994. Contacted by phone Tuesday night, Williams shrugged off council's decision to remove him.
``That's the way it goes,'' Williams said. ``The City Council is directly accountable to the citizens, and they must appoint the board that moves the school system ahead as they wish.''
The City Council is the last in South Hampton Roads with the power to appoint its School Board. Voters in other cities in the region have approved elected boards; a group of Norfolk citizens is circulating petitions to put the issue to a referendum.
Greif, 59, who has lived in Norfolk since arriving for a Navy stint in 1955, is no stranger to education. He just completed a five-year term as a director of Trinity Lutheran Church Day School, which serves pre-kindergartners to fifth-graders. He is a member of the church.
He's also active in civic and community groups, having served as president of Crime Line and an officer of the Bayview Civic League. His wife, Jeanne, taught 21 years in Norfolk public schools. His two daughters graduated with honors from Norview High and Old Dominion University.
``I am interested in helping young people focus and project their lives,'' said Greif, an Ocean View resident. He said he's coming to the board without an agenda.
``I am going in there almost as a sponge to listen,'' Greif said. ``I look for that opportunity to listen and to fit in and work with them in any capacity I can.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Junius P. Fulton III - In
Anita O. Poston - In
Robert F. Williams - Out
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOL BOARD by CNB