Superintendent of Schools Paul Stapleton had his contract renewed
Monday night by the Halifax County School Board on a 7-1 vote. The
renewal extends Stapleton's contract for four more years, good through
June 30, 2012. Stapleton said the contract included only his current
salary of $152,625 with no bonuses or incentives added. Only ED#1
trustee Douglas Fisher opposed the contract renewal.
  The vote on Stapleton's contract followed the reading of five
typewritten pages, listing achievements completed by the Board during
his past three year tenure. ED#6 trustee Sandra Rister said she felt
before the Board took action that the public needed to be reminded of
those achievements so they would understand just how much Stapleton's
leadership had meant to the citizens of the county. Those achievements
listed facilities improvements including the completion of the two new
elementary schools and the expanded and renovated Middle School with
all three projects being carried out under budget and on time. It also
included the consolidation of the County's elementary schools from 12
to 7 in order to provide an expansion of service and to establish
proper grade levels in K-5 to improve curriculum and SOL test results.
The listing also included fundraising, the creation of new programs,
including the Academies and the recipient of grants. In the area of
instruction the listing pointed to the County schools accreditation
under the state's Standards of Learning, and federal AYP (Annual Yearly
Progress) and the introduction of Academies. It also listed the
inclusion of dual enrollment courses at the high school, which could
save parents up to $60,000 for two years of college. The listing also
included a number of "firsts" which added the four year old Arts
Academy, the SMART Lab at the Middle School, the teaching of Chinese
and the first "sister schools" program with Italy, Brazil and China.
After reading the listing of achievements, ED#3 trustee Arthur Reynolds
moved to confirm the new four year contract for Stapleton. Fisher, the
lone dissenter, explained following the meeting that he had received a
petition listing some 70 names, as well as receiving several telephone
calls, opposing the Superintendent's contract renewal. "I had to do
what my constituents wanted," Fisher said in defending his vote.
Earlier in the Monday night meeting two citizens expressed their
opinions about renewing the superintendent's contract during the
citizen comment period. First off, Eugene Moorefield told Board members
that he had worked with Stapleton for many years during his time as a
highway supervisor in Charlotte County and found him to be "the right
man who seizes the moment."
But Cheryl Watts pleaded with Board members to delay taking action on
the contract renewal until new trustees are elected in the upcoming
November General Election. By allowing the new members to decide on the
contract negotiations, Watts said the new trustees would be more
"answerable to the public they serve." She noted that she had received
many calls, some out of frustration, from citizens who felt that the
current Board might not get what they wanted if contract talks were not
settled now. "People know that I am not afraid to stand before you and
express my feelings, while some of them find you very frightening."