Sch. Supt. Jenney seeking greener pastures
Interviewing with Pinellas Co., FL

Embattled Virginia Beach School Superintendent Timothy R. (Tiny Tim) Jenney wants out of Dodge.  He notified colleagues by email @ 11:21 a.m. Thursday that he is considering a similar position in Florida stating: 

"...every once in a  while an opportunity comes along that offers professional growth, new and exciting challenges and a fine quality of life and as such merits further investigation. This is one of those times."

In his email, Jenney wrote:

"As a courtesy to all of you I thought I would provide information in  advance of the media who, without a doubt, will be very public in their  presentation.

"I have been asked to travel to Florida to interview for the superintendent's post with Pinellas County's  School Board and I did accept the opportunity. As Florida is a state whose Freedom of Information laws require disclosure of applicants for a superintendent's post, this does result in making public what I consider a first step or a fact-finding  mission for all parties involved. 

"Typically, for a School Board searching  for a superintendent and applicants being interviewed many factors come  into play during such dialogues, all of which come down to answering the  question: Will this be a good fit for both parties? 

"For eight years Virginia Beach City Public Schools not only has been my  vocation, but also my avocation. Consequently, I am very proud of all  your accomplishments and that of students. However, every once in a  while an opportunity comes along that offers professional growth, new and  exciting challenges and a fine quality of life and as such merits further  investigation. This is one of those times. 

"Thank you for listening and I will report on any progress at a later date." 

He individually called at least some members of the school board prior to sending out the above email.  He's heading south Friday a.m. to interview for the position.

In March 2000, Jenney was one of two candidates for the position with the Las Vegas school district, but he was rejected in favor of  Carlos A. Garcia of Fresno, CA.

Described by staffers as a tyrannical manager with a short man complex, Jenney's term in Virginia Beach has had peaks of controversy.

He hired former congressional aide Jeanne S. Evans in June 2001 as his political agent.  He started her at a salary of $80,000 +/-/year even though she only had a high school education.

After Virginia News Source pointed out that Evans was a hard-core Democrat who had an open hatred for Republicans and the entire General Assembly delegation was Republican by the time she took the job, Jenney quickly changed her title to executive administrative assistant to the superintendent to compensate for the fact she'd lost a lot of political influence.

Then on Aug. 30, 2001, Virginia News Source reported that Jenney had hired a subordinate school teacher to build his new home overlooking Rudee Inlet.  The teacher had to sue him to get paid.  Another contractor also had to sue to get paid.  Jenney, hiding behind 'it ain't the public's business' refused to discuss the case or answer questions as to whether the teacher had done work on his house on school time, but he paid up.  The situation raised questions about the propriety of the superintendent hiring subordinates to do private work for which he could hold them career hostage.  School board members didn't think it proper to hire school employees to do private work for superiors.

In September of the same year, Jenney asked and the Rubber Stamp School Board approved his request for $70,000 + to get his MBA at Duke University in NC.  The same degree @ Old Dominion University would have cost about $7,300. 

He was supposed to have his MBA within 2 years, but he still doesn't have it.  He got involved with the principal of Strawbridge Elementary School, got a divorce, married the woman and transferred to the William & Mary MBA program.  He said he needed the degree to bring a more business like approach to the system.  In effect, said one, "The taxpayers financed him 'punching up' his resume to get a job elsewhere."

No one could say with certainty what the status of his MBA degree is and whether he paid back citizens for the high-price education he never finished.

The end of June, 2002, Jenney had new school board members and elected and he threw a private lavish feast for them and selected staff  costing thousands of tax dollars. Several members of the board boycotted the dinner as not being in keeping with their ideas of frugal government.  After VNS reported the incident, a teacher wrote that he had also used tax monies to treat selected guests to a Spirit of Norfolk dinner cruise. "He was pretty free with tax monies," one said.

He was also accused of contributing to two accidents involving Bayside High School students because he caused a delay of graduation ceremonies.

School Board Member Dan Lowe said he was called by Jenney Thursday morning and "I wished him good luck," he said.

For other stories and letters about Supt. Jenney, AKA TLD (for the Terrible Little Dwarf) as staffers have dubbed him, see also:  

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