Monthly Archive for March, 2005

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Griffin Attempts to Fire Purnell

Published by Waldo on March 29, 2005 in Education and Politics. 1 Comment

The ongoing saga of Superintendent Scottie Griffin just got uglier. You’ll recall Assistant Superintended Laura Purnell blew the whistle on Griffin in a lengthy letter to the school board last month. Now Griffin is attempting to give Purnell the boot by eliminating her position in June, and has asked the school board to do so during their Thursday meeting, the Progress reports. In Purnell’s letter, she acknowledged that in becoming a whistleblower, she knew that she was risking her job, but felt that it was more important that she say something than that she keep her job safe. Nearly all of the officials that the Progress interviewed said that Purnell should be protected from being fired. The decision rests with the school board, not Griffin.

The letter in question, by the way, seems to have been validated: the Progress, for the first time, quotes from the letter, and attributes it to being authored by Purnell, rather than allegedly by Purnell. It’s also noteworthy that James Fernald is not the only reporter that received credit for this: veteran political analyst Bob Gibson has been brought in, a sign that this story is getting bigger and more politically sensitive.

I expect that things are only going to get worse from here. Should the overall issue of Griffin vs. some parents be reframed as Griffin vs. Purnell, the assistant superintendent may find herself painted as a liar or a racist. Some teachers, many of whom are preparing to sign their contracts for next year, may see the result of Thursday’s meeting as a sign of whether or not they should continue to teach in the Charlottesville school system. If the board doesn’t fire Purnell, Griffin may break her public silence and stop speaking through surrogates, which would certainly take things up a notch.

Council May Put Art in Place Back in Budget

Published by Waldo on March 28, 2005 in Art, Politics and Taxes. 3 Comments

City Manager Gary O’Connell’s budget recommended ending the Percent for Art fund, but that’s not keeping Council from continuing to fund the Art in Place program. Several members of Council want to provide the $5,000 annual allocation by way of their $85,000 reserve fund, rather than going through the traditional funding process, John Yellig reports in the Progress. There are no shortage of folks in this town who are seriously opposed to Art in Place getting either public funding or public space, though there are also many people (myself included) who believe that public art is important in a “world class” city. (We’ve had debates about Art in Place before.)

Rob Schilling is, of course, opposed to this allocation, but he’s refusing to say whether or not he supports Art in Place. In fact, he’s generally opposed to the use of the reserve fund, telling the Progress: “It became very clear to me that this is something the city manager sets aside so the council can pay off their friends. It was like handing out candy on Halloween.”

Sheras Not Running for HoD

Published by Waldo on March 28, 2005 in Politics. Closed

Democrat Peter Sheras has announced that he will not be running for the 57th House of Delegates seat, WINA reports. Since Del. Mitch Van Yahres’ announcement of his retirement back on the 5th, a wave of potential candidates appeared, but three of us removed our names last week. With UVa psychologist Peter Sheras out, that leaves UVa professor Jeffrey Rossman and developer Kim Tingley as the only Democrats who have made it publicly known that they’re interested, other than declared candidate David Toscano.

David Toscano may be the only Democratic candidate. However, in addition to Rossman and Tingley, there are also interested folks who haven’t said anything publicly — perhaps others will step forward.

School Board to Survey Staff About Administration

Published by Waldo on March 26, 2005 in Education. 1 Comment

In yesterday’s closed session of the Charlottesville School Board, it was decided to survey the staff to determine what they think of the administration, James Fernald reports in today’s Progress. It looks like the survey is intended to assess the staff’s take on beleaguered Superintendent Scottie Griffin, despite the official stance that it’s about the administration on the whole.

Two board members — Dede Smith and Muriel Wiggins — were opposed to the idea, saying that the questions used on the survey don’t actually help to figure out what staff thinks about the administration. There are a few more closed school board meetings coming up in the next week, but it’s not publicly known if they have anything to do with Griffin.

Speed Trap Notices and Size Claims

Published by Waldo on March 24, 2005 in Crime and General News. 1 Comment

Dope that I am, I read WINA‘s weekly notices of speed trap locations around town, and figure I know where the police will be and where they won’t. In this week’s Hook, Lisa Provence explains how the system works, with a little help from Sgt. Mike Farruggio.

My favorite bit in the piece is an offhand mention by Albemarle Lieutenant John Teixeira, who describes Albemarle as nearly as big as Rhode Island. Wha? So I checked the Census. Lo and behold, Rhode Island is 1,045 sq. mi. (counting only dry land), and Albemarle is 723 sq. mi. I don’t know if “nearly as big” is the phrase, but it’s not bad. Augusta County, however, is 970 sq. mi., and Rockingham is 851 sq. mi. I’d say if anybody around these parts of Virginia gets to claim that they’re nearly as big as Rhode Island, it’s the folks to the west of us.

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