Chesapeake superintendent signs on for another 2 years

By Amy Couteé

The Virginian-Pilot

Chesapeake

Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols will remain the public school division’s leader for at least another two years.

After an hour-long closed session and a unanimous School Board vote Monday night, Nichols, 70, signed a two-year contract that will give him a total of 51 years with the school system.

The terms of his new contract were not immediately available. Nichols, who has led the division since 1995, told board members he looked forward to continuing his work and taking students to a higher level of achievement.

“Thank you for the confidence you’ve shown in me,” he said.

School Board Chairman Tom Mercer praised Nichols’ leadership, saying he knew that the superintendent’s decision to renew his contract was “born of your love for your job and your love of Chesapeake Public Schools.”

Nichols, whose previous contract was set to expire this summer, had considered retirement. But on Monday night, he emerged from the closed session with a list of things he wants to accomplish. In the next two years, Nichols said, he wants to raise teacher salaries, tackle the achievement gap, make literacy a focus, deal with school crowding and reconsider how the division educates the gifted.

Since he took charge of the system, safety officers and security cameras have been put in schools and teacher salaries have neared the national average.

Nichols has been named Virginia Superintendent of the Year, been a finalist in the National Superintendent of the Year competition and amassed a number of advocacy, education and partnership awards.

Amy Couteé, (757) 222-5216, amy.coutee@pilotonline.com