Dr. Timothy R. Jenney, former superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, likely will become the next superintendent of Fort Bend Independent School District.
| Timothy Jenney |
Meeting Saturday morning, the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name Jenney as the lone finalist among 51 original candidates for superintendent.
In a strong show of unity among board members who’ve been sharply divided recently over several issues, trustees stood together in front of the board room to vote for Jenney, thanked each other for their work, then shook hands and hugged.
Board President Steve Smelley thanked the other trustees who “worked together as a team of seven to bring forward” a man “who we believe will truly deliver to our students and our community a standard of excellence that has the potential to be of historical proportions.”
“He is an individual who has demonstrated unparalleled leadership skills who we believe will advance this school district to world-class standards for our children, our employees and our community,” Smelley said.
Jenney, now a vice president at Regent University in Virginia, was superintendent of the Virginia Beach, Va., public school system from 1996 to 2005.
Contacted Saturday in Virginia Beach, Jenney said he missed the action, and the interaction that comes with a superintendent’s position. He said he’s been a superintendent for 22 years, and in public education for 32years.
“I’m looking forward to this being the last stop. Sometimes – perhaps always – progress creates some friction,” Jenney said. Nevertheless, “I want this to be the last superintendent’s job I have, for all the right reasons.”
The district has been looking for months to replace Dr. Betty Baitland, who is on paid leave until the end of 2006, after renegotiating her contract with the district last year. Dr. Manuela Pedraza, formerly director of the district’s human resources department, has been serving as acting superintendent.
From reading about the district and speaking to board members and others, Jenney acknowledged he’ll face challenges assuming he becomes FBISD’s next superintendent.
“I think it goes without saying, I’m going to be working on student achievement, and working collaboratively with the school board,” he said. Also, “Growth is an issue; a real positive challenge, but a challenge nonetheless.”
Under Texas law, since Jenney has been named as a finalist for the superintendent post, the board must wait 21 days before voting on whether to formally offer him the job. Trustees left no question that is what they intend to do.
During those three weeks, the district will begin the process of negotiating a compensation package with Jenney.
He said he and board members have had “very informal” discussions about the parameters of his compensation package, and have agreed that both he and the district will conduct negotiations through legal representatives.
Jenney said he believes, based on his dealings with the board and the district so far, that those negotiations will go well.
Trustee Cynthia Knox, who traveled along with Smelley and Bryant to make a site visit in Virginia Beach on Thursday and Friday, said that district is slightly larger than Fort Bend ISD, with about 83,000 students.
Jenney, who was named a Broad Fellow in 2002, also had been superintendent of the School District of Greenville County, in Greenville, S.C., from 1994 to 1996.
A 1974 graduate of Michigan State University, Jenney obtained his Master’s degree from Western Michigan University, his Ph.D. from Michigan State, and earned an MBA from The College of William and Mary in 2004.
Knox said she believes Jenney has proven experience running a large district, where “test scores rose significantly under his leadership.” Also, she added, “he promotes equity and erases disparity.”
Trustee Lisa Rickert said she believes Jenney was “head and shoulders above the rest” of the candidates for the position. “He really wants to come here,” she added. “He sees Fort Bend as the pinnacle of his career.”
Board Vice President Ken Bryant said he started out on the site visit trip with some concerns. But now, “I am convinced Dr. Jenney will guide us through the difficult times we may face, as well as take us to the next level.”
Trustee Sonal Bhuchar said she was impressed at the number of innovative programs Jenney put into place at the Virginia district, “that have taken the district many levels ahead.”
Several board members said when Jenney began working at the Virginia district, it had some serious problems. A municipal district, it is run by the Virginia Beach City Council. It had a $12.5 million deficit. And board members were facing a legal challenge because the district hadn’t met state standards.
“Dr. Jenney inherited that,” Bryant said. “He turned that district around. He partnered with other government entities to build a huge technology center.”
Smelley said Jenney worked with the city council to create several permanent revenue streams for the district, from the city budget.
Bryant said he believes Jenney left the Virginia Beach district in part because he’d overcome all the challenges he had taken on.
“He left Virginia Beach much better off than when he arrived,” said Trustee Stan Magee. He added that Jenney satisfied questions he raised about being able to attract quality teachers, and retain them through “quality pay.”
Rickert said board members were cautioned by Dr. Benjamin Canada of Executive Search Services, which was hired to conduct the superintendent’s search, that no candidate exists who could meet all criteria set for the position. Yet, “I believe we have found a rare candidate who encompasses all aspects of what we are looking for.”
Trustee Laurie Caldwell said the search process was “grueling,” as board members put in hundreds of hours doing research, interviewing and traveling.
There were some signs that labor may have brought board members somewhat closer.
Magee, hinting at past disagreements between trustees, said Saturday “this board is absolutely phenomenal. I believe in the next five years, if we all work with (Jenney)…I think we can really say we’ll be at the top in Texas.”
Jenney called his interview experience “one of the most positive searches I’ve been in.” He called board members “unified,” and said “they stuck to their time objectives,” adding, “I couldn’t be happier with the whole process. Especially given the outcome.”
