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City Will Accept Nominations For School Board; 3 Applications ReceivedBy Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, November 09, 2010
John Alewynse will leave the WJCC School Board at the end of the year.
The city of Williamsburg has to fill one of its two seats on the seven-member school board due to the exit of long-time member John Alewynse. While the county’s representatives on the joint school board are elected, the city’s two seats are appointed by City Council. Alewynse’s term ends Dec. 31 and he notified the city of his decision not to seek another term by letter on Nov. 2. As of Friday, three people had applied for Alewynse’s seat: Pamela Arnold, Kyra Cook and Oscar Prater. Written applications can be accepted until Nov. 29, and nominations can be made at a public hearing set for 2 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Stryker Building. The City Council will interview all the interested people, and must allow seven days to pass after the public hearing before announcing an appointment. Alewynse, 74, is leaving the school board after nearly a decade of service. He joined the board in 2000, when current Mayor Clyde Haulman left to join the City Council. Alewynse said Thursday that he was leaving the board partially because of the demand of his day job; he serves as chair of the English department at Hampton University, where he’s been a professor for decades. In addition, he said it was time to bring in a new person. “While I don’t believe in a term limit, as such, I think it’s probably time to give somebody else a chance,” he said. “There’s no underlying cause, no disaffection or such. In fact, I’m very optimistic about the direction in which we’re moving.” He’ll remain on the board as it chooses a new superintendent, who will replace Gary Mathews. Mathews left the division last spring to become the leader of Newton County, Ga. schools. The board is currently reviewing applicants, and must choose its new superintendent by the end of December. Alewynse’s replacement will step onto the board in a time of transition for the division, which will be under new leadership and at the start of what will likely be a difficult budget season. But Alewynse doesn’t think those are the greatest challenges facing his replacement. “We have a wonderful new mission statement that talks about a school system that reflects the unique quality of our community. Translating that vision into concrete practices and products is going to be the ongoing challenge for the board,” he said. “There’s an awful tendency to get trapped in minutiae and find yourself talking about things which are laughable. That is the challenge for members new and old.” He doesn’t have a proudest accomplishment, because “pride is, first and foremost, one of the deadly sins,” but said, “I’ve done my very best to represent what I think of as Williamsburg values and the values of the people I represent most immediately.” Cook said she would never have applied if Alewynse had wanted to keep his seat. “I think he’s great,” she said, calling him “an intellectual giant.” She is finishing up her service on the Regional Issues Committee and when filling out the city committee application, she decided to apply for school board. Cook graduated from the College of William and Mary and stayed in the area, working as a potter for nearly two decades before she became involved in organizational committee work. She has worked with the Host Committee and the Historic Triangle Collaborative, and has been a fairly regular attendee to various city and county meetings. Cook has two children, a first-grader and a second-grader attending Matthew Whaley Elementary School. She said she was interested in joining the school board because she believes in serving one’s community and is a “pretty firm believer” in public education. Arnold is an educator and retired executive. It is that unique combination of experiences, she said, that make her a good candidate. She was raised in Newport News, and spent most of her career in Chicago, where she worked as a director of engineering support for wireless systems for AT&T; while there, she managed an $8 million budget. She moved back to Williamsburg after retiring, and taught at all three of WJCC’s high schools. Currently, she teaches English Composition part-time at Thomas Nelson Community College. “I feel like I want to give back to the community,” she said Thursday. “I feel like that would be a good place for me because of my fairly unique combination of business skills and a background in education.” Prater is an educator who currently teaches saxophone as an adjunct professor at Hampton University. Prater is a former president of Fort Valley State University, a historically black college in Georgia, and has held several positions at Hampton University. He earned his master’s degree in physics and doctorate in higher education administration from the College of William and Mary. He could not be reached. The School Board will meet for its regular meeting tonight at 7 in the City Council Chambers of the Stryker Building in Williamsburg. |
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Comments
Enough of this appointing and anointing. It is anti-democratic and non-American.