SCHOOLS

DAYTON BOARD CHOOSES MCGILL

* The choice came down to local knowledge or an out-of-towner's fresh eye for the superintendent's job

`We have a job ahead that I believe we can do with great energy and purpose,' she said. `That is to educate the students of Dayton Public Schools. Not one person is removed from being responsible for the children of this community.'

McGill, chosen 6-0 over deputy superintendent Ann Levett-Lowe, was given a one-year contract that calls for her to be paid $96,000. Williams made $114,000. McGill will receive benefits similar to those Williams had, including a monthly expense account of $1,000 and the use of a board-owned vehicle.

Absent board member Jean Booker, in a statement read by board president Ed Hickman, hailed the quality of both candidates but said she would have abstained because she felt Lowe was `more aware' of the district's concerns.

After Friday's board meeting, board members Clayton Luckie and Joey Williams said that they felt the district needed an outsider's viewpoint.

`Both (McGill and Levett-Lowe) were quality candidates, but there was a desire from the board to look at someone from the outside,' Williams said.

`I always wanted an outside person to get a look at how the district is run,' Luckie said. `With these two individuals at the top, I think they will work together well.'

McGill said when she left the district in 1992, she never expected she would return as superintendent.

`I didn't make any projection as to where I would be,' she said. `It's been interesting to me to watch my life unfold. It's been an interesting journey and a wonderful one.'

The main purpose of Friday's special meeting was for the board to review its final budget for the upcoming school year. Budget director Jan Schultz and treasurer Kennon Goff said the financial situation is likely toworsen before it gets better.

Despite trimming $26 million from this year's budget, including cuts of 180 teachers and 52 administrators among 296 total job reductions, the district's deficit is projected to grow by $2.5 million this school year. The budget assumes the student population of about 25,000 will drop by about 2,000.

`Despite the cuts we've made, we still have a long way to go,' Joey Williams said.

The district is following a conservative forecast and some financial obligations could be resolved that would cut the deficit from $19.8 million, Schultz said. She expects a deficit will remain for three to four years.

`It took three to four years to create this and it will take time to get out of it,' Schultz said.

The deficit dropped from $20.8 million when the board eliminated a $1 million contingency fund from this year's budget. The board-generated contingency fund, which is not among other state-mandated contingency funds, was not backed by cash.

The district has been operating under a temporary spending plan since June 30. Board members said they expected to approve the final budget later this month.

Several board members remain concerned about payments James Williams received from the district in July. According to district records, Williams received:

* $1,603.61 on July 1 for his monthly expense allowance.

* $2,199.89 on July 5 for unused vacation.

* $14,660 on July 19 for a tax shelter annuity.

* $2,300 on July 30 for life and disability insurance for the upcoming school year.

* $25,974.47 on July 30 for vacation leave and sick time for the upcoming school year.

Luckie has taken issue with the $25,974.47 for vacation and sick time, saying that money should have been included in the $225,000 buyout of the last year of Williams' contract that the board approved last week.

According to Goff, Williams had a five-year contract that expires Aug. 31, 1999, and a one-year deal - agreed to last year by the board - that runs from Aug. 1, 1999 to July 31, 2000. The board wants to buy out the one-year deal.

Goff said under Williams' five-year deal, he can receive an expense allowance and annuity payment for July 1999. But because the one-year deal overlaps the five-year deal in July 1999, Williams technically could demand those payments under both contracts.

Goff said he was obligated to pay Williams as the contract stipulated. But he notified Hickman that Williams had been paid for some July benefits under the five-year deal so the board could consider that while negotiating the buyout. Several board members said Hickman never alerted them.

Luckie said the board's attorneys are reviewing the payments to see if they were proper. He and Joey Williams said they would like to see the buyout figured adjusted to compensate for some of the payments James Williams received.

Jerrie McGill was an assistant superintendent of Dayton schools and is a Baptist minister. See profile, Page 4A.

JERRIE McGILL

* AGE: 62

* Personal: Married. Husband retired from Ameritech. Son works in banking in Atlanta; daughter is a social worker in Dayton.

* Education: B.S., Miami University; M.A., Michigan State University; Ph.D., Ohio State University; Master of Divinity, Payne Theological Seminary.

* Background: Ordained a Baptist minister in 1998 at Dayton's Tabernacle Baptist Church. Currently, she works with the church and as an educational consultant. Served as associate vice president, minority affairs, at Wright State University, 1993-94; assistant superintendent of Dayton schools, 1988-92, heading educational, planning, research and fiscal services. Previously taught at the University of Dayton and Central State University.

Category: EDUCATION & SCHOOLS Keywords: DAYTON SCHOOL BOARD SUPERINTENDENT JERRIE MCGILL