
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 16, 1993                   TAG: 9312160157
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

32 APPLY TO BE CHIEF OF SCHOOLS

As of Wednesday, a dozen people from outside Virginia and 20 from within had applied to replace retiring Superintendent Bayes Wilson, Roanoke County School Board Chairman Frank Thomas said.

Thomas said several of the applicants came from within the county school system, but he would not be more specific.

It's "more than one," he said.

Assistant Superintendent Deanna Gordon has expressed interest. Director of Instruction Garland Life, who applied for the position along with Wilson 13 years ago, also is eligible. Neither could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Applications may continue to arrive throughout the week, Thomas said. The deadline to postmark applications was midnight Wednesday.

Thomas said he may not know until Monday the total number of applicants because School Board Clerk Ruth Wade, the only person authorized to pick up the mail from a post office box, was on leave because of the death of a family member.

"No one else has any access to anything except her," he said.

Thomas said the 12 applications from outside Virginia arrived from "all over the country - more than just the surrounding states."

He said he was "very pleased" with the number of people who responded to the county's job advertisement, which was distributed to 438 people nationwide.

Now, said Thomas, the applications - minus the cover sheets identifying the applicants - will be turned over to a 10-member citizens' advisory committee, which will screen them. The committee - made up of parents, teachers, school personnel and business and community leaders - will whittle the applications to a "short list" of about a dozen names, Thomas said.

The School Board also will review all of the applications, he said, "to be sure that we agree with the short list."

He expects the committee to turn over its list by the second week in January. The School Board will determine which applicants it wants to interview by the third week in January, Thomas said.

Interviews likely will be held during the last week in January and the first two weeks in February.

"We want to allow ourselves plenty of time," he said, in case the board wants to bring someone back for a second interview.

Thomas said the board would announce its choice by the end of February. Wilson will leave the job June 30.

by CNB