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Spillane's Exit Raises Concerns in Fairfax

In addition to the usual worries that typically plague parents and educators at the start of a new school year, many Fairfax County parents and teachers find themselves distracted by concerns over who will lead the nationally acclaimed 147,000-student system and whether the district will lose momentum during the months-long search for a new superintendent.

Robert R. Spillane, 62, who has led the county system for 12 years, steps down Sept. 10. Spillane made the decision to retire last spring after School Board members, citing the need for a change in leadership, decided not to renew his contract beyond June 1998.

The board's decision drew intense criticism from many business leaders, parents and other supporters who credit Spillane with turning the Fairfax system -- the 12th-largest in the nation and the largest in Virginia -- into one of the country's premier school districts. "People are a little apprehensive about what is going to happen . . . about what's going on in the search -- why it's taking so long," said Shirley Nelson, president of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs.

"I don't think the system will suffer in the next six months, but if we go much longer than that without a permanent superintendent, I think we will see some degradation," Nelson said. "Dr. Spillane was such a motivator and source of inspiration for the system. If we don't have someone in there to continue that, we will lose some momentum."

The school system will not be leaderless with Spillane's departure. Deputy Superintendent Alan Leis, a veteran of the system, will serve as interim superintendent.

Leis, 48, has served in the system in a variety of capacities, including assistant superintendent for personnel services and coordinator of instructional services for Area I, and as a principal and a teacher. He has been in the system for 24 years. He taught in the District and in Arlington County before coming to Fairfax.

His wife is a teacher in the system, and he has two daughters who attend Fairfax schools.

Leis said he has no plans for major changes or upheaval in the system during his time as interim superintendent.

"I see my role as helping [the system] move forward in the transition to a new superintendent, but not being put on hold," he said.

Leis's immediate priorities will be "bonds, boundaries and budgets," he said.

Fairfax voters will go to the polls in November to vote in a referendum on $233 million in school building projects.

The money, which would be spent over several years, would finance construction of a $57 million high school in western Fairfax scheduled to open in 2001, an $11 million elementary school in south Centreville scheduled to open in 1999, additions to seven schools and renovations for 25.

Leis and school staff also will begin work on attendance boundaries for three new schools scheduled to open for the 1998-99 school year. And he will begin work on the new budget.

At this point, Leis said he has no interest in the permanent job.

"I really want to focus on the next couple of months and doing what needs to be done to move the system forward -- not competing for the job of superintendent," he said.

The School Board has spent $59,400 to hire Heidrick & Struggles, a Washington-based consulting firm, to conduct the search for Spillane's successor. The search is being led by firm partner Jan Greenwood.

The board also has appointed a 40-member committee of residents, parents and business leaders to assist in the search. Former School Board chairman Gary L. Jones, a Republican, and former Virginia secretary of education James Dyke Jr., a Democrat, are co-chairmen of the committee.

School Board Vice Chairman Mark H. Emery (At Large) said the School Board expects to have a list of candidates to be brought in for interviews by the end of September. Only finalists' names will be made public.

Although the School Board will make the decision on whom to interview and hire, the community advisory committee will have an opportunity to speak with finalists for the job.

Jones and Dyke will work with the School Board throughout the process, Emery said. It probably will be January before a new superintendent will be on the job, he said.

Emery said the system will not suffer in the interim.

"Dr. Leis is eminently capable of managing the system," Emery said. "And one of the things that has made this system work as well as it does are the teachers in the classrooms and the building principals. They are remaining intact."

During the kickoff of the annual Fairfax County Public Schools leadership conference earlier this month, Spillane exhorted the system's top administrators and staff not to become complacent in the system's successes.

"Our great history will not lead to a great tomorrow unless Fairfax sustains the momentum of the past and continues making innovative changes that will improve the way we educate our children," Spillane told the audience.

It's a message that should be heard by the entire community as the district looks for Spillane's successor, many observers say.

The system should not be content to hire someone who will simply accept the status quo or bend to the wishes of the School Board, they say.

"Not only should school educators take heed to this warning but all Fairfax County parents and citizens should," Nelson said. The board should look for a superintendent who "can deliver the quality of education that the Spillane years did and more."