Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070117
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The survey, released at the May 17 School Board meeting, will be the focal point of a retreat that had been planned for July, then pushed back to August.
At Tuesday's meeting, several board members said they had conflicts with the August date and the retreat has now been set for the middle of September at the earliest.
The problem, said Regina Smith, is that by September the results of the survey will be six months old and the board's attention will be turning to the school budget.
"They're getting dangerously close to budget time and [the survey] won't be given the attention it is due," said Smith, who serves as president of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs. "Those are two big issues that should be given equal attention, not at the same time."
Bartlett, whose contract will be up for review Sept. 1, has had a rocky first year as superintendent.
While he has maintained a majority of support among school board members, he's had run-ins with teachers, administrators and a group of students who accused him of inappropriate conduct at a leadership conference.
In the climate survey, teachers gave Bartlett a D-, while principals rated him at D+. School Board members did not fare much better, receiving grades of C- and D+ from teachers and principals.
"Personally, I think it's totally inexcusable to have information concerning the schools lay around so long," said Jim Johnson, chairman of the Focus 2006 Planning Commission and next year's Blacksburg High School PTSA president. The report's author, Wayne Worner, "said in his report if [the School Board] lets it lay, they will have big problems," Johnson added.
Chairman Roy Vickers said the information in the climate survey still will be useful, no matter when the retreat is held. His main concern is to make sure Worner, a Virginia Tech consultant who designed the survey, can attend the meeting.
"Worner designed this survey, performed the survey and decided what statistical analysis to use," Vickers said. "He can explain it much better than someone else - it's just logical that he be there."
Worner said the earliest date he could be available for the retreat is August 20. A previous commitment will keep him busy through July, followed by a two-week vacation to his family home in Minnesota.
"It's my recollection that there was a request to hold it in mid-July, after the new board members came on," Worner said. "But I just couldn't do it then."
For now, the retreat date remains in limbo until board members Lou Herrmann and Peggy Arrington, who were absent at Tuesday's meeting, can confirm the target dates of Sept. 10 and 11.
"I'm not nervous about holding off on the retreat, but I'm nervous about the perception people have of 'will the survey still be valid?'" Vickers said. "I don't want that perception. I take this survey very seriously, and I just want to get this thing done."
In other business:
The board adopted a mission, vision statement and goals as suggested by the Focus 2006 Planning Commission. This is the first time the board has adopted all three plans and Bartlett commended the board for its commitment to carrying out the commission's goals. In the past, Barlett has been accused of not supporting the commission.
A reorganization plan in under way in the central office to move six employees from administrative positions to instructional positions within the schools. No action was taken on the plan.
by CNB