A booster who has nurtured the school into a truly powerful magnet is on her way out.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published March 3, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Unless Perkins Elementary School can find an extra $75,000 between now and June 30, the popular arts magnet will lose the only coordinator it has ever had.
That's how much it will cost the school to keep Pat Archibald, who received word two weeks ago that her position is being terminated because of budget cuts.
The change would take effect when the 2004-05 school year begins in August.
Principal Robert Lister said the announcement did not come as a surprise. The writing was on the wall nearly a year ago when state budget cuts dictated that many schools, including Perkins, would have to get by with fewer administrators.
Faced with the choice of losing Archibald, who is considered an assistant principal, or Richard Ninis, the school's other assistant principal, it was decided that Ninis, 47, would go because he had worked fewer years for the district.
School staffers devised a way to keep both of them. They voted unanimously to use the $57,405 the state awarded Perkins for maintaining an A on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in 2003 along with some discretionary funds to pay Ninis' salary.
Now the school finds itself in the same spot: It has two assistant principals, but the district can afford to pay only one.
"We were hoping that maybe some things would change in Tallahassee and that some positions could be reinstated," Lister said. "But it doesn't look like that's going to happen."
He added that there is no guarantee the school will receive state recognition money again this year, or that the staff would vote to use it for salaries.
Archibald said in a phone interview Monday that it would be unfair to put Ninis in an uncertain position two years in a row.
"I could say, "I'm staying and you're leaving,' but somehow, I have a real moral problem with that," she said.
The magnet coordinator, whose three-year contract will end June 30, was visited on Feb. 18 by Martha Barker, the district's superintendent for human resources.
"Basically what she said was, "This has nothing to do with you personally. You've been a good employee, but we can no longer fund this position,"' Archibald said.
Lister concedes that Perkins has been luckier than other magnet schools; most lost their coordinators a year ago. But some of them are in a better position to become sustainable after a period of time without the assistance of a coordinator, he added.
While all magnet schools need someone to conduct parent tours and oversee staff, Perkins has the added responsibility of maintaining a rigorous performing schedule. Archibald keeps the performance calendar, arranges venues, and coordinates transportation for children and instruments. She also prepares schedules for hundreds of children who rotate among a dozen different focuses, such as dance, photography and video production, Lister said.
He hopes the school could provide the same services with fewer people. But even if Archibald's duties could be absorbed by other staff members, her absence would be felt by many parents. For them, Lister said, Archibald is Perkins.
Present at the magnet's birth in the early 1990s, she championed the fledgling program when parents viewed it as a gamble. Long before it became the most popular elementary school in the district - 831 children applied for 75 seats during the last application period - she encouraged nervous parents to give it a chance. One such parent was Dudley Clapp, who sat down with Archibald in the spring of 1993 to discuss his 5-year-old daughter's future.
"She had a real vision of what a magnet program was all about," Clapp said. "She and Bob (Lister), the two of them together, made that program what it is today."
Clapp remained a member of the School Advisory Council until two years ago, even though his daughter, Alana, moved on to John Hopkins Middle School and the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School. He did so largely because of Archibald's dedication and leadership.
Archibald, who is 64, realizes she cannot work forever. She has been in the DROP, or Deferred Retirement Option Program, for 21/2 years. She was hoping to remain in the program for 21/2 more years, but the chances of securing another job at Perkins are slim. She is willing to take a job at another school if offered one, but she would prefer finishing her career at the school she helped launch.
"It was like watching a baby being born and helping it take its first steps," Archibald said of her early days at Perkins. "I got to be there and watch it grow. It was a wonderful experience. If it has to end here, there is a reason for that. But I would love to stay."
Lister indicated that there is some hope Archibald could stay, but there is no solution to the money problem at this point.
"I know the parents are very proactive here," he said. "There will be creative ideas out there, I know that. We'll just have to see."
