NORFOLK -- 'My brother's a pastor,' begins Stephen Jones, PhD, ' and he talks about seasons in your life, and this is a season that I'm passing through to another season.'
Jones, the superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools, announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of his contract June 30. He began considering the possibility of retiring last year.
'This is a hard decision, but when you get to this point in your life, and you've got 39 years of service at some point, you want to pass the baton on, and I've reached that point,' the superintendent says.
Jones took over as head of the school division in 2005. During his tenure, he believes the district has made advances. Examples he gives include the quality of staff members who have come on board and the accreditation of many schools.
The superintendent recognizes places where his district has had trouble. Some of those areas include testing irregularities at Lafayette-Winona Middle School and Campostella Elementary School. The problem at Lafayette-Winona prompted an investigation lead by the Virginia Department of Education, with Norfolk Public Schools looking into the irregularities at the elementary school.
Despite the correlation some people will make, Jones insists his decision to retire now is fueled by personal reasons, in particular, a desire to spend more time with his children and grandchildren.
'I understand people wanting to connect those dots. I mean, you guys do a good job of doing that,' Jones says, 'because, you know, that's what you do, but I think you need to talk to board members and folks in the field and ask them how they feel about the role that I've played, but, more importantly, the progress of the school district.'
'While we all recognize there (are) things that we still need to do,' school board chair Stephen Tonelson, PhD says, 'the last four years have been a very positive time for Norfolk Public Schools.'
Tonelson believes the board would have renewed Jones' contract had the superintendent not chosen to retire.
'It was his decision to make. It was not anyone asking him anything,' Tonelson explains. 'His family is very important to him, and this is pretty much a 24/7 job, so I think he was ready to say, 'I need to slow down a little bit.''
Jones says one of his main concerns now is the anticipated $40 million deficit the district faces as it prepares its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Originally, NPS expected the shortfall to be $28 million.
'I know that the testing irregularities are important, and we'll work through that, but I'm worried about the possibility of hundreds of people losing their jobs and retirements that people have worked for all these years maybe not being solvent, so those are the bigger issues that I'm concerned about, and I would hope that the public would focus on those things and help me work together through those.'
Despite his retirement, Jones plans to stay in Norfolk.
An e-mail also was sent to all district employees this afternoon, school officials stated.
Dr. Jones took over in Norfolk in July 2005.
He'd had recently come under fire for changes to the district's grading scale and testing problems at two schools.
A spokeswoman for Norfolk Public Schools says this is not a forced retirement.
Before coming to Norfolk, Jones was superintendent of the Syracuse City School District.
He's had a 39-year career in education.
NORFOLK SUPERINTENDENT E-MAIL
January 20, 2010
To All Norfolk Public Schools Employees:
Happy New Year to each and every one of you. The purpose of this email is to inform you of my decision to retire as Superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools, effective June 30, 2010. This decision was not made hastily; after 39 years of service in the field of education, and having endured some personal tragedies as well as some professional challenges, I feel it is time to enter into a new season in my life.
I think we can all agree our school district has contributed to making our city a better place to live and raise a family. We would not be able to make this claim had it not been for the outstanding contributions our employees make on a daily basis. Having worked in several school districts, I can think of no other district that exemplifies commitment and dedication to its youth more than the Norfolk Public Schools' employees.
Although we have much to be proud of, much remains to be done. I am confident our Board of Education and the administrative leadership that will be in place will guide the district through these challenging times.
In closing, know in the upcoming months I will do all I can to address the issues we face, and I know I can count on your support and assistance in these endeavors.
Sincerely,
Stephen C. Jones
Superintendent of Schools
