THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010388
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Frankland P. Babonis withdrew from the Virginia Beach School Board race after being advised to do so by a group that had endorsed him earlier in the day.
In a routine background check, The Virginian-Pilot determined that Babonis lacked the bachelor's degree he claimed on his resume and was not enrolled at the college where he said he was seeking his graduate degree.
Members of Kids First, a conservative education watchdog group, were notified Monday.
Babonis announced Monday night that he was leaving the race for the Princess Anne Borough seat for family reasons. Earlier in the day, he said in an interview with The Virginian-Pilot that he had checked with Columbia Southern University to confirm his status with them but misunderstood their response.
``It was a misunderstanding with them and I'm correcting the situation,'' Babonis said. ``My understanding was I had (the degree). I've just got to finish my thesis.''
On Tuesday, Babonis said he talked with Kids First members, family and friends before announcing his decision to leave the race. The need to correct the inaccuracies on his resume in combination with family concerns led to his decision.
``My family situation is more important to me. I felt my wife was more important to me,'' he said.
Babonis said he notified Kids First because he did not want to embarrass the organization. He also said he may run again for the board in two years.
John T. Early Jr., chairman of Kids First, said his organization recommended that Babonis pull out of the race after being informed of the inaccuracies on his resume. Earlier in the day, the organization had announced its endorsement of Babonis for the board post.
Bob Mayes, chairman of Columbia Southern, said Babonis had been evaluated and awarded 120 credits based on his life experience in occupational safety and health but had never taken a class at the school. He said Babonis never completed his thesis, a requirement for obtaining the bachelor's degree, nor did he send in the check necessary for his enrollment.
``He has enough credits if he gets a thesis together. We don't just award degrees on life experience,'' Mayes said. ``He never enrolled here.''
According to his resume, Babonis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in safety engineering in 1995 from Columbia Southern. It lists him as currently enrolled in the Fairhope, Ala., school's Master/Doctorate program in Safety Engineering with an anticipated doctorate in 1997.
In a February 1995 acceptance letter to Babonis, Mayes notified him of his admission to the graduate program and listed the classes he would take. It refers Babonis to the school's registrar to complete his ``official enrollment.''
Mayes described Babonis as ``well-qualified'' but said the school could not give him a degree until it had received his check and thesis.
``He assumed he had a diploma from us,'' Mayes said. ``I hate he assumed that (but) I think he really did think he had one.''
Columbia Southern is licensed by the state of Alabama and accredited by the Accrediting Commission International which deals primarily with religious and theological schools, as well as a few trade and specialized schools.
Babonis said he expected to finish his thesis by the end of the week and had sent in his tuition check on Monday. He was not aware of the problem with his degree until contacted by The Virginian-Pilot last week. The newspaper became aware of the inaccuracies during a routine background check conducted on all of the candidates.
Two years ago, Charles Vincent was elected to the Beach school board but later was discovered to have a doctorate from a college not licensed to confer it. Babonis said he sees no parallels between his case and Vincent's.
``If I had something to hide, I wouldn't have volunteered all of this to you,'' Babonis said. ``I don't see nothing parallel at all.''
Kids First has been highly critical of the Virginia Beach Education Association's endorsement of Vincent two years ago.
On Monday, when the Kids First endorsements were made public, its chairman, John Early, said that the group was moving carefully in its selections.
The group conducted background checks, Early said, but apparently the problem with Babonis did not surface. ``We don't want to be hurried,'' he said. Others made ``too many mistakes in '94. Too many phony degrees. Too many fake credentials.''
After being contacted by Babonis later in the day, Early said there was no comparison to the Vincent episode.
``Once we received the facts, once we received full information, we took quick and decisive action,'' Early said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Frankland P. Babonis pulled out of the race after his educational
credentials were found to be false.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD RACE CANDIDATES
ELECTION VIRGINIA BEACH by CNB