Saying farewell to Dr. Nick

Superintendent W. Randolph Nichols' tenure in the Chesapeake school system has been one of strong guidance, fiscal accountability and dependability. An announcement that he plans to retire in June, after a half-century with Chesapeake Public Schools and 14 years as the division's superintendent, has been greeted universally with praise, gratitude and a bit of regret.

Nichols' retirement means the school system will soon be seeking only its fifth superintendent in 60 years.

A native of Ahoskie, N.C., Nichols, 72, rose through the ranks of the division, beginning as a teacher and track coach at Great Bridge High School in 1959. "Dr. Nick" has held a variety of posts, including assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent. Because of his tenure, he has forged pivotal relationships with the City Council and the School Board, teachers, the Chesapeake Education Association and other organizations.

Nichols' constancy helped smooth over the occasional discord, whether over school construction, rezoning or money from the city. His finance background has been an asset for a system that has a $397 million annual budget, 39,000 students, 5,830 employees and 47 schools.

That was especially key as the city grew rapidly while trying to maintain standards, competing interests that meant Nichols frequently challenged the City Council to provide the money necessary to educate the additional students caused by the city's housing boom.

Nichols enjoyed advantages other localities lack. Poverty wasn't the consuming issue it can be in other cities. Because of the school division's strong reputation, affluent families were eager to move there. The city has some of the highest test scores in the region, and all of the schools have received full accreditation.

His successor will face the challenge of building on Nichols' record as the school system matures. More should be done, for example, to improve schools in low-income neighborhoods. Working with the School Board, the new superintendent needs to make sure the system continues to challenge each and every student. Some observers say the system also should do better about upgrading technology in all of the schools.

Those debates are for the coming months. For now, it's time to wish Nichols well for his lifetime of public service to Chesapeake and to generations of students.