THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603020020
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: KEITH MONROE
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
To say Virginia Beach has received a wake up call would be a gross understatement. The report of the special grand jury on the mismanagement of the Virginia Beach schools is a grenade under the bed.
The question is, where does the Beach go from here? For the schools the matter is simple enough in theory. New Superintendent Timothy Jenney, his administration and teachers have to perform. They have to manage what has been mismanaged. They have to provide a quality education to every child in the system. And be able to prove it by the numbers.
Unfortunately, the fallout from the Faucette regime will make that hard. It has poisoned everything. The schools have been running lean, if erratically, and may actually need more money to fulfill their core mission. But they aren't likely to get it now that a public perception has been planted of widespread waste, fraud and abuse.
Once the Beach had it made. Unstoppable suburban growth gave the schools rising funds and favorable demographics. Even with large classes and no expensive frills, Beach schools could outperform those of their neighbors. But growth has slowed, the demographics have shifted, the Beach has its share of at-risk kids and school performance reflects the change. These are forces beyond the control of teachers and administrators, but that doesn't prevent them from getting the blame.
The Faucette fiasco only makes matters worse. When I moved to Hampton Roads, I was told by Realtors, residents and the man in the street that if my child's education was a factor in choosing a place to live, I had no choice. The Beach had the best schools.
Well, today it must be all but impossible to make that pitch. And many residents must feel like victims of academic bait and switch. Compared to the buffoonery at the Beach, the school administration of Roy Nichols in Norfolk looks like the reign of a philosopher king. From a public relations point of view, Iago had it right. ``Who steals my purse steals trash,'' he said. ``But he that filches from me my good name . . . makes me poor indeed.''
By that reckoning, the $12-million overdraft of the Faucette regime pales into insignificance. The real loss is of reputation. The cost is incalculable, and the stain will keep on spreading long after the last tainted board member resigns.
Which returns us to the question of what is to be done. In an ideal world, the Beach would think seriously about returning to an appointed School Board made up of people with the requisite expertise and insulated somewhat from political pressures and temptations.
It is ironic that, in an era when politician is the worst epithet you can hurl at a person, the Beach and other localities have chosen to turn school boards into political battlefields inviting the interest of assorted hustlers, grandstanders, amateurs and ax-grinders whose only qualification is the ability to extort votes from a testy electorate.
The grand jury proposed an alternative approach, to keep an elected School Board but to give it taxing authority and unmediated responsibility for the school budget. The blood runs cold.
In the real world, neither solution is available. Until further notice, the Beach is going to have to live with an elected School Board whose purse strings are controlled by City Council. And both bodies are going to have to struggle to rebuild an atomized reputation brick by weary brick.
Those who will ask the citizens to entrust them with the heavy lifting have until Tuesday to file for election. On Wednesday, when the list of candidates is published, will a huge sigh of relief rise from Virginia Beach because help is on the way? Or a cry of renewed terror at learning that the nightmare continues?
MEMO: Mr. Monroe is editor of the editorial page of The Virginian-Pilot.
by CNB