Allison Pasek/The Gazette Although Beatrice Tignor, school board chairwoman, believes the Prince George's County Public School System has made great strides, she admits it is still making up for a problematic past. "We've just let our schools get into deplorable condition," she told The Gazette during an editorial board meeting Tuesday.

This wasn't an easy year for Prince George's County schools.

CEO Andre J. Hornsby resigned days before several ethical lapses in his contract dealings were revealed. Attendance was down and while there has been improvement in test scores, the system continues to lag behind most school systems in the state.

The system also has struggled with recruiting and retaining teachers, repairing buildings, a controversy over an expensive gym under construction and addressing the specter of gang violence in the high schools.

Still, Board of Education Chairwoman Beatrice Tignor said she believes the system is on the right track to marked improvement and will be able to attract and hire a new

CEO before the appointed board's term expires at the end of next year.

The search begins

In the wake of Hornsby's resignation, Tignor said it remains the appointed board's responsibility to hire a new CEO. This despite pressure from politicians either to abdicate that charge to the elected board or to choose someone with the approval of the system.

"I'm operating under the current law, which is House Bill 949 [the bill that established the appointed board] which gives us the authority to hire a CEO for the school system; it doesn't say how many or how often," Tignor said. "The ability to deal with academics and politics is something the new CEO will have to have on their resume."

Tignor said it would be "very hard to find a new CEO" and that the board had yet to codify a procedure by which to hire a CEO but discussions would begin in the next two weeks.

She said the board intended to hire a new CEO for the 2005-2006 school year and that she was not particularly concerned about the return of the elected board in 2006.

"I can't wait to see what another board might vote to do," she said.

Tignor said it could take as much as six months to a year to hire a new CEO, but that the board "intended to move expeditiously."

Tim Quinn, managing director of the Broad Center for Management of School Systems in Los Angeles, which trains superintendent candidates, said hiring for the upcoming school year would be tough but not impossible.

"I've seen it done in four weeks. But they would have to start interviewing rather quickly," Quinn said.

The board has been under pressure to hire a national recruiting firm to put together a pool of candidates that would give the board a strong group from which to choose, but Tignor said nothing has been decided.

"We won't have a problem attracting candidates but like everything else it's getting the candidate you want," Tignor said. "We haven't said male or female, tall or short or anything like that. We're looking for characteristics like who is a good leader."

Quinn said it was a tossup whether a rapid search was a good idea.

"I've seen it work well but it can go badly," he said.

Tignor said little about her feelings on the way Hornsby's term ended, choosing to remember him, she said, as an administrator "who raised test scores" and improved academic achievement. She did say, however, that she was "disappointed" by the controversy over his administrative practices.

Renovations and resources

While the county school system is coping with renovating many aging schools -- some are still without air conditioning and at least 62 have leaking roofs -- Tignor said the system has made strides in improving the poor conditions in schools countywide.

She admitted that schools had been neglected in past years.

"We've just let our schools get into deplorable condition," Tignor said. "We could probably use $2 billion to repair our schools and that was the estimate four or five years ago. But we'll be able to do 10 new roofs this year and this is an improvement."

Tignor continued to defend construction of the 5,000-seat regional high school gymnasium in Upper Marlboro -- priced at $6.9 million -- despite criticism that the money could be used for more pressing school renovations.

Tignor said the gym could serve several uses, including graduations that cost the school system $300,000 per year in rental fees at local venues. "It's worth it to have the gym at the high school," she said.

Tignor also said there is a push to get more resources into the classroom setting.

"I think we are doing a wonderful job of getting more resources, financial, physical and academic into schools," Tignor said. "We will be leasing text books this year. ... It's a significant savings."

Tignor could not determine by press time the amount that would be saved but said books would be leased for five years.

Tignor said although the school budget increases every year so do costs of supplies, materials and programs, as well as the number of students. This leads to a struggle to maintain the current level of service but also provide newer and better services as well.

"Many times what you're seeing is an attempt to stay above the fray, to compete with other jurisdictions," Tignor said.

Dealing with the 'gap'

The Gazette recently reported that among middle school students more than 60 percent of black and Hispanic eighth-graders were performing below state standards on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). This puts many of the incoming Class of 2009 in jeopardy of not passing the High School Assessment, a higher caliber version of the MSA required for graduation.

Tignor said that while the achievement gap exists between minority students and their white and Asian counterparts, the problem is beginning to turn around.

"I believe we are closing the gap," Tignor said. "I've never been one to give up hope. The problem didn't happen overnight and it won't be solved overnight."

Tignor said test scores have been improving, albeit in modest increments, over the past few years since reforms were enacted and that time is needed to let those reforms take hold.

The county now provides, she said, a more rigorous academic curriculum, Saturday school, mentoring and extended-day programs -- all free -- for students needing extra help with their schoolwork.

Tignor noted that activities are sent home with pupils and require parents to work with the children to complete the assignments.

Getting parents to take an active role in their children's education is key to raising achievement across the board, Tignor said.

"This is where we really need parents," she said. "They need to agree that the rigor in the schoolwork needs to be there."

Attendance, which recent state numbers showed had declined overall in the county, was also an issue that needed to be addressed.

Tignor said she was not sure that the system had a specific plan to deal with the problem but that it bore closer attention.

"It is down ... and certainly that's something we have to work on," Tignor said.

Leroy Tompkins, chief accountability officer for the system, said plans are under way to install a computer information management system that can track whether a student arrived at school and notify parents via e-mail or a phone call. The system also is launching an awareness campaign to inform parents of the importance of getting their children to attend school, said John White, a school system spokesman.

Tignor acknowledged the nearly 3,200 students who have been stuck in ninth grade -- known in the system as "permanent freshmen" -- as needing serious help.

She said alternative high school programs are available to students with academic and behavioral problems. In addition, she said, the system is expanding technical and vocational training to students.

"The rigor won't change but the classes will be smaller [at the alternative high schools]," Tignor said and "we're infusing technology in the curriculum from kindergarten through the 12th grade. It's tough to be at the bottom and get to the top."

School safety

Tignor recognized that gang activity is a problem in schools; one that has to be fought on a daily basis.

"It's a problem you will never be able to completely solve, you just have to keep a lid on it and hope to make a difference," she said.

She said a revised student code of conduct, which now includes school bus actions, will help reduce violence and curb gang activity.

"We have a much more rigorous code of conduct for students," Tignor said. "And now wearing some clothing that could be seen as gang paraphernalia is prohibited."

Tignor said there is not an overall plan to protect elementary school students who walk to school but did say she is working with Police Chief Melvin High to get help for students who will be attending the new Suitland elementary school. Tignor wants a strong police presence there to ensure young children are safe from traffic, dangerous people and drug paraphernalia that may be on the street.

"That student could get hurt [walking to school] and that's what I'm concerned about," Tignor said.

Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn Ivey said relations with the school system in curbing gang violence had been fruitful but needs to be expanded.

He said his office has worked to establish programs at schools to steer students away from gang activities and has worked with the school system to funnel juvenile violators into alternative high schools.

"Alternative high school is a good idea, but we need a pretty dramatic expansion in the number of slots available," Ivey said.

Hiring, keeping teachers

Fewer teachers left the system this year than last, Tignor said, and the number of teachers who were teaching on provisional certificates decreased -- a sign that more teachers were becoming certified as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Tignor said the percentage of teachers who were working on a provisional basis has dropped from 58 percent in 2002 to 34 percent this year. "We are making strides," she said.

Tignor lauded the proposed hiring of 140 new special education teachers and support staff funded in this year's budget, but said hiring teachers is always a constant juggling act.

Tignor said that based on exit interviews, teachers leave for three reasons: Many teachers from the Baby Boom generation are retiring; others are seeking other careers, and last ­ but least significantly, she said ­ teachers were leaving for better pay elsewhere.

Representatives with the Prince George's County Education Association disagreed.

"Pay is always one of the top reasons they leave when they [teachers] talk to us in our exit polling," said Lewis Robinson, PGCEA executive director. "Pay must be one of the reasons when they leave for Montgomery County or Fairfax County [Va.]."

Restoring trust

New policies instituted at the board level, including greater scrutiny of sole-source contracts and the backgrounds of vendors, were designed to restore faith in the school system's ability to police itself, Tignor said.

"We need a set of written policies that are fair and objective ... and we have to do more oversight on sole-source bidding," Tignor said, adding that system employees were subjected to more rigorous financial disclosure requirements. Also "whistle-blowers," people who report wrongdoings, will soon be protected under board policy.

All of these efforts, which were brought about because of concerns over Hornsby's business practices, are to take effect in June.

"You start there but you don't overkill in the beginning," Tignor said. "There are a lot of ethical people out there doing the right thing. Usually when people get into trouble it's because they aren't well informed or they meant to do it deliberately."

As for her personal plans for the future, Tignor was noncommittal, although she said she does not plan to seek a seat on the elected board in 2006.

"I'm not planning to run at this point," Tignor said. "I think there are opportunities out there for other people to use their talents."

E-mail Guy Leonard at gleonard@gazette.net.