Superintendent apologizes

The superintendent of Alexandria Public Schools yesterday apologized to the community for driving drunk last week, saying it was the “most humiliating experience” of her life.

Rebecca L. Perry, who has headed the city public school system since August 2001, told reporters that she had never before been involved in such an incident. The city School Board is expected to decide on Mrs. Perry’s fate with the school system by the end of this week.

“I am a human being. I made a mistake. I am sorry for this mistake and I ask forgiveness from our community, our students, our parents and our employees,” Mrs. Perry said at a press conference at the school administration’s headquarters.

“The lessons I have learned from this incident will forever be with me,” she said, her voice wavering. Mrs. Perry did not answer reporters’ questions.

Before the press conference, Mrs. Perry, 54, met with the senior class at T.C. Williams High School, where she called the incident “the most humiliating experience” and urged students to learn from her mistake, especially at the prom.

“I was simply unwinding, but … the consequences have been disastrous,” Mrs. Perry told the students in the school’s auditorium.

In the written copy of her statement to the students, Mrs. Perry implied that she had one or two drinks Thursday night.

Alexandria police arrested Mrs. Perry and charged her with driving under the influence after she left the Joe Theismann’s restaurant on King Street about 12:35 a.m. Friday.

Mrs. Perry’s blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent. The legal limit in Virginia is 0.08 percent.

The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and loss of a driver’s license for a year.

The school board placed Mrs. Perry, a mother of three, on paid leave Friday, met with her Monday night, and will meet again tonight to discuss its decision.

School Board Chairman Mark O. Wilkoff said he hopes the board reaches a decision by the end of the week.

“We’re considering what is the best thing for the children of Alexandria,” he said. “I think she’s done a lot of really great things for the city of Alexandria. That makes it a difficult decision.”

Under Mrs. Perry’s leadership, Alexandria has doubled the number of accredited schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and the city’s SAT scores have risen each of the past four years.

Mayor William D. Euille called it “an unfortunate situation.”

“I trust the school board will make the right decision and do the right thing,” he said.

Mrs. Perry went to Joe Theismann’s with School Board member Melissa W. Luby and another school employee Thursday night after a contentious meeting with parents at the Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy.

The parents were upset that Mrs. Perry decided to transfer the school’s veteran principal, Lucretia Jackson, to Maury Elementary, which needs improvement to comply with federal education standards.

“I was tired and stressed and I wanted to unwind,” Mrs. Perry told the T.C. Williams students. “I should have gone home and walked on the treadmill to release my tension and gotten a hug from my daughter to comfort me. Instead, I decided to join friends at a restaurant for some wine. That was a big mistake.”

Parents who attended the press conference said they expected to hear about Mrs. Perry’s future with the school system in addition to an apology.

“I think she’s a very good superintendent. I’m just concerned about the credibility she’s lost,” said Margot Chisholm, who attended the press conference with her daughter Frida, a third-grader at a city public school.

“She should have taken a taxi. She shouldn’t have driven,” Frida said. Both mother and daughter said they would be satisfied with either a school board decision to fire or retain Mrs. Perry.

Jim Boissonault has a second-grade daughter at Lyles-Crouch Elementary and a son who graduated from T.C. Williams several years ago. He said Mrs. Perry should resign.

“The whole thing’s disgusting,” he said.