DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709140068

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  155 lines

PROCEDURES, NOT POLICIES, POSE PROBLEM FOR JENNEY BEACH SCHOOL CHIEF'S PERSONNEL DEALINGS HAVE BEEN CRITICIZED

Eighteen months after his arrival, there is speculation in the school division that Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney has hurt his tenure here with decisions this summer that perplexed, agitated or angered even some of his supporters.

The decisions, focused primarily on personnel changes, have led to criticism of Jenney, other administrators and the School Board. The planned involuntary transfer of 14 teachers from Glenwood and Pembroke elementary schools - a move that some viewed as retribution for the teachers' speaking out against their former principals - has remained a lingering issue in the division. Jenney has denied that the moves were retaliatory.

And while board members overwhelmingly say they still support the superintendent, most also say they don't agree with the way some of the decisions were handled and feel that the public outcry could have been avoided.

``I can't speak for other board members, but personally, I have a lot of confidence in Dr. Jenney,'' board member Tim Jackson said. ``But I think some of the decisions his staff has made clearly adversely affected him in the eyes of the public and the eyes of the board. The only person the board can hold accountable is him.''

Board member Daniel Arris said, ``My confidence level in Dr. Jenney has not diminished one bit. (Recent events) may have been a setback to his popularity, and I think that's unfortunate because I think he's doing a very, very good job.''

Arris said board members have had conversations with Jenney, ``just pointing out to him that the board had more embarrassing moments over personnel issues this summer than other issues combined. That's been brought to his attention.''

Jenney said making an unpopular decision was inevitable, but that it doesn't make the decision wrong.

``You reach a point . . . in your administration where you have a disagreement. It's usually when you make a decision about people and they don't like the decision you make,'' he said. ``If you clear away the emotions, the issues are related to labor management.

``I don't disagree that perhaps the timing of how we processed the decision could have been better. That doesn't make the decision wrong; it simply clouds the issue.''

Among some of those employed by the district, however, there is the feeling that, despite the board's support, Jenney has hurt himself.

``I think Dr. Jenney has done himself damage, great damage this summer,'' said one administrator who asked not to be named. The administrator said people in the division were less upset by some of the decisions than the way they seemed to be handled.

``It's the process and the lack of finesse. It's not what happened.''

The decisions include moving a large number of assistant principals, trying to demote longtime district administrator Wylie French to an assistant principal's job, and, most notably, involuntarily transferring 14 teachers from Pembroke and Glenwood elementary schools, all of whom had spoken out against the former principals of those schools.

``It's like we have created fights we didn't need to create. And they're administratively created, not board-created,'' board member Rosemary Wilson said.

Jenney said, however, it's easy, but not necessarily wise, to maintain the status quo.

``Sometimes you have to take on the battles because it's in the best interest of the organization, and I would agree they aren't pleasant. But if you're going to move forward to be effective, you still have to take those battles on,'' he said.

Ultimately, French was made principal of Virginia Beach Middle School, and seven of the teachers returned to their schools. But negative perceptions remained.

One district administrator said there probably was agreement that some of the transfers were appropriate but that the situation was poorly handled, leaving the appearance that people were being punished.

``It just wasn't a real smart move,'' he said.

Later in the summer, at Jenney's annual address to the city's principals before the start of school, he emphasized that employees work for the division and not any one school. And he quoted from books about the tactics used to undermine leaders and resistance to change.

Of the speech, one who attended said the principals had come expecting a pep rally. Instead, when they left, ``(they) weren't angry, weren't afraid, weren't intimidated. But they were turned off.''

Based on previous surveys of principals, Jenney said he expected about 10 of the principals would not like the speech, but that most would accept it or be fired up by it.

``It wasn't my intent to try to rain on the parade. There was an issue that was present and I needed to clarify our position so everyone would know what it was. I also thought I was giving them tools to understand the environment in which we found ourselves,'' he said.

Jenney has earned and kept supporters beyond board members since his arrival here. Some of them argue that the current criticism is part of an ongoing internal power struggle within the Beach schools based on alliances to long-gone superintendents.

``I think people are on a witch hunt. I've seen it before with other superintendents,'' one district insider said.

Michael Katsias, a local businessman who is active in the division, said of Jenney, ``I think he's working extremely hard and doing a good job.''

Supporters list Jenney's accomplishments - from his emphasis on sound finance to his work on the district's strategic plan to his candor in releasing information not favorable to the school system, such as recent test scores that showed a disparity between white and black students in achievement.

``I thought that was very brave,'' board member Nancy Guy said.

Still, even some who believe Jenney is the right man for the job question his style and his understanding of the culture of Virginia Beach. One on one, Jenney is thoughtful, talkative and warm. Before a group, however, he seems cold, distant and hard, which can translate into insensitivity to concerns.

Jenney said it's not a reflection of his level of concern, it's just the way he believes in doing business.

``There's a piece of me that I will always hang on to privately. Because I don't portray warm and fuzzy doesn't mean I can't be warm and fuzzy. It simply means I'm just conducting business,'' Jenney said.

At the same time, some say Jenney still doesn't understand Virginia Beach and the way things are done here, a problem they feel is linked to his reliance on high-level staff he brought with him from outside the area.

One principal said of this ``inner circle'' of Jenney's advisers, ``Unfortunately, the advisers lack the history, lack the knowledge (of Virginia Beach) and have themselves trusted the wrong people for information.''

Jenney said, however, that he listens closely to people - including several of his top administrators - who have spent their careers here.

``There are always pluses and minuses to being from the outside,'' Jenney said. ``The concern about being from the outside is not unique to Virginia Beach. It exists in every community in which I've worked.''

Earlier this month, a memo from Jenney to his cabinet members raised concern among some board members.

The memo advised the cabinet that all School Board questions to them should be funneled through the superintendent's office before the matter is discussed with the board member. The memo was based on a board policy adopted under a previous administration but laxly enforced of late.

While some on the board see it as a reasonable request intended to winnow down board demands on staff, others worry that it will interfere with their ability to get information. And, again, the issue of finesse comes up.

``My only concern is, I wish he had communicated his concerns to us before putting out a letter to staff. (The memo) will probably be something we discuss on Tuesday (at the board's meeting),'' Jackson said.

Wilson said, ``It's just very disconcerting that anyone in the community can get information before I can. Simple questions. It's very frustrating.''

Jenney said the memo was never intended to restrict the flow of information but was meant to keep staff focused.

``We have a strategic plan that's supposed to guide us toward student achievement, and we've all had the opportunity to be trained in quality strategies which clearly are supposed to align all of our activities behind the plan,'' Jenney said. ``If you have random activity which does not relate to the plan, it is neither productive nor desirable.''

Most board members said they are confident that the superintendent, and the district, can put the summer behind them and move on.

Board member Guy said she still has great confidence in Jenney at a substantive level, but has been concerned ``mightily'' at some points by his public manner that she thinks makes it more difficult for him to impart his vision to the rank-and-file. She also thinks, however, that the superintendent recognizes that some things this summer could have been handled differently.

``I do think he has learned from this,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Timothy R. Jenney

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