It's official: Norfolk schools superintendent is out

NORFOLK

The School Board unanimously accepted Superintendent Richard Bentley's resignation Wednesday, saying the division didn't progress rapidly enough or have a clear vision since he was hired less than 16 months ago.

Bentley submitted his resignation on Monday after the board and he "mutually agreed to end his tenure," Chairman Kirk Houston said at the board's meeting. "He was not forced out."

Bentley did not attend the board meeting and did not return a call seeking his comments after the end of the board's meeting.

"I regret that the Superintendent and the Board were unable to reach and implement a common vision for the school children of Norfolk," Bentley said in his formal resignation letter. He said his resignation was effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Bentley's premature exit, in the midst of the school year, might seem controversial and untimely, Houston said. But, "every day we delay... another child fails, another high school senior may fail to graduate," he said.

"We're not saying the current condition of the Norfolk schools, or the scores... are Dr. Bentley's fault," Houston added. "There is a sense of urgency we have on the board for improving the scores."

Ten of Norfolk's 45 schools missed full accreditation this fall - one of the worst records in the state - with Lafayette-Winona Middle being denied accreditation for the second consecutive year. The ratings are based largely on the performance on the Standards of Learning tests, but the city's high schools also were hurt by high dropout rates.

Last month, several City Council members faulted Bentley and the board for the poor accreditation record. But Houston said the council did not foment or spark any moves that culminated in Bentley's exit.

Though Houston told reporters no single issue decided Bentley's fate, he said in a news release that the high number of schools not fully accredited was unacceptable.

Under his contract, Bentley will receive a separation package of $236,540, with his contract formally ending Dec. 31. His annual salary was $200,000, with a four-year contract.

Word of Bentley's impending departure leaked out earlier to the public and media, and several residents criticized the board at the meeting for allowing, or encouraging, him to leave.

"I read today's paper with shock, amazement and sadness," parent Charles Melcher said. "My question would be: How do you think you're going to find a qualified guy to come here after a qualified guy gets short shrift?"

Another resident, Douglas Knack, said the public deserved to know the facts and reason "for this travesty."

"If you expected Dr. Bentley to solve the problems in the city in 16 months, you set him up for failure, and that failure is not his, it's yours," he said.

"Dr. Bentley was leading in the right direction," Peggy Scott, a Norfolk Council PTA officer, said. "Teachers and principals knew their opinions were being heard."

The harshest indictment came from Thomas Calhoun, president of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers.

"You are the problem - it's not the superintendent, it's the inconsistency at the top," he told the board, which is appointed by the council. Calhoun said frequent turnover on the board undermined continuity in the division's leadership. "I will be so glad when the city gets fed up with this system."

Associate Superintendent Michael Spencer will be interim superintendent. The division said he'd agreed to delay assuming his new, impending job as headmaster of The Williams School during his interim role.

Houston said the division would search nationwide for a new superintendent and wanted Bentley's replacement to be in office by July 1.

In August 2010, Bentley came to Norfolk from the Ysleta school district in El Paso, Texas, where he was an associate superintendent for six years. He is a former teacher and middle school principal.

Norfolk's previous superintendent, Stephen Jones, retired in 2010 after the state found improprieties in how Standards of Learning tests were administered in some schools. The scandal stoked a crisis of confidence among school staff and in the division's credibility with the public.