Russo, who has been superintendent of the Moore County Schools since 1999, interviewed for the position last week. He is the Hampton school system’s only finalist.
The Hampton school board hosted a public forum for Russo Tuesday night. The board discussed the forum during a work session Wednesday.
Hampton school board Chairman Lennie Routten said if board members reached a positive consensus during the work session they intended to visit Moore County on Thursday, to gain more perspective on Russo’s performance as superintendent.
The Pilot was unable to confirm Thursday whether Hampton officials made the trip to Moore County.
More than 100 people showed up for the Tuesday forum to hear Russo, who said the forum went well.
“It was a great opportunity,” Russo said. “I sensed that it’s a community that is very interested in education, like here in Moore County. It was a good chance to address questions and basically give my philosophy and my perspective to the staff members and community members that were there. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the opportunity.”
Routten said it was a positive experience.
“It was excellent,” he said. “I didn’t hear one person say one bad thing. There was nothing but glowing remarks.”
Teachers, parents, students and administrators attended the forum. The public submitted its questions on cards.
Routten read the questions to Russo, who spoke for most of the 80-minute session.
“The questions ran the gamut,” Routten said.
Topics discussed by Russo included leadership style, budget issues, facilities, student achievement gaps, student safety, discipline and technology.
Routten was critical of an article that appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the Daily Press in Hampton. The article documented some of the issues that have swirled around Russo during the last year in Moore County, including the investigation into the SAT program and the missue of state remediation funds.
“I received three or four negative remarks about the article but asked those people to attend the forum and meet (Russo) face to face,” he said. “There was one question related to ethics, and I thought he handled it very well.”
The earliest the Hampton school board could vote to to hire Russo is March 3, according to Routten.
“The board could come to a consensus (before March 3) and send a letter of notification to the state board that a candidate has been selected,” he said.
Support Russo
Some members of the Moore County Board of Education hope Russo will remain here.
Board Chairwoman Penny Hayes said Tuesday that Russo would “have to do what’s best for him and his family.” She also said that if he doesn’t get the Hampton job, she would be pleased to see him stay in Moore County.
“We’ve got somebody now that I have confidence in,” she said. “If he does not get that job, I would still vote to extend his contract.”
The Moore County board was set to vote Feb. 4 on whether it would extend Russo’s contract for two more years, through June 2007. Russo asked the board to delay the vote until an ongoing investigation into school system vending contracts is complete.
Russo, whose application to Hampton City Schools was submitted no later than Jan. 22, said his decision to ask the board to delay the contract extension vote was based in part on the fact that he had applied for job in Virginia.
“It’s a combination, I’m not sure I can say it’s one or the other,” Russo said. “The most important thing is to work with the (Moore County) board to make sure that everyone is comfortable with the resolution of the vending contract so we can make sure our schools are getting the amount of money they deserve. We want to resolve the questions so there are no doubts.”
When asked if the scrutiny that has surrounded him over the last year influenced his decision to pursue the Hampton position, Russo declined to comment.
‘Nature of the Beast’
Russo said the position with Hampton is the only one he has applied for. He said it’s “the nature of the beast” for superintendents to receive calls relating to employment opportunities on a regular basis.
Russo said a retirement incentive recently passed into Virginia state law is one of the main reasons he decided to pursue a position in Hampton.
“One of the biggest advantages or opportunities that makes sense is the opportunity to buy up to 14 years of credit (toward retirement),” he said. “Since I don’t have a lot of years in a lot of states, this would be a wonderful way to get some years.”
Russo already has nearly six years’ credit toward retirement in Virginia as a result of prior experience as an administrator in the 1980s.
He said the Hampton district would also provide him with challenges that would make the job a rewarding experience.
Russo pointed out that the interview process works both ways.
“You have to be comfortable with the people you talk to and you decide if you want to continue to pursue it,” he said. “I was very comfortable with the board; it’s a good group of people.”
Jennifer Garner, the only current board member serving when Russo was hired, said she would be sorry to see him go.
“If he’s offered the job and takes it I would be happy for him and his family, especially after what some members of the community have put him through over the last few months,” Garner said. “I also feel that it would be a great loss for this community because in my opinion he has done an excellent job and has done what the board that hired him asked him to do.”
Garner said she was not aware that Russo was actively seeking another position. She said she doesn’t know if Russo contacted Hampton or if the system contacted him.
“It’s been a concern of mine since last summer,” she said. “Any time a superintendent gets inside two years left on a contract, the headhunters start calling.”
Dale Frye was one of three board members expected to vote against an extension.
“If Dr. Russo is offered the job in Virginia and if he wants it, I wish him the very best in that endeavor,” Frye said.
Charles Lambert, another board member expected to vote against a contract extension, declined to comment pending a resolution to the matter. Board Vice Chairman Wiley Barrett, a Russo supporter, also did not want to comment.
The Pilot was unable to reach board members Blanchie Carter, Clayton Evans or Allan Beck for comment.
