Community Supports Emanuel for WJCC Board

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, November 11, 2011

Five people advocated for the reappointment of Elise Emanuel to the Williamsburg-James City County School Board at City Council’s meeting on Thursday.

City Council, which appoints its two members of the School Board, is required by law to host a public hearing any time it fills a seat. Emanuel’s current term expires Dec. 31, but she likely will be appointed to another term. Council is required to wait at least seven days after the public hearing to make an appointment.

Williamsburg residents can apply for appointment to the school board at any time; applications are kept on file for review for two years. As of Wednesday, Clerk of Council Dee Scott said only Emanuel and education advocate John Whitley had filed new applications. On Thursday, Whitley was one of the five speakers who spoke in favor of Emanuel’s continued service.

“I cast my lot for consideration of School Board only because I wanted to make certain that not at the last moment anyone would, in an aggressive way, compete against Ms. Emanuel,” Whitley explained. “This is a vote of support for Ms. Emanuel as I withdraw from consideration.”

Kyra Cook, who filed an application in 2010, also threw her support behind Emanuel. She praised Emanuel’s availability and responsiveness, along with her presence at community and school events. “She garners a sense of trust among parents,” Cook said. She went on to say that Emanuel has the respect of her fellow board members, which she called “a currency more valuable to the city than its annual contribution to the school division.”

John Alewynse, who served on the board until last December, listed three reasons Emanuel deserved the appointment: the quality of her service, her position on the issues and her institutional memory and experience. He reminded Council and the audience that Emanuel led the board through what he called the “redistricting wars” and delivered positive outcomes for the city’s students. She also voted against the often-maligned plan to convert James Blair Middle School into an administration building, he said, calling that plan a “debacle.”

He felt her experience as a former educator in Williamsburg schools, as a longtime board member and as a longtime resident made her an ideal candidate to contribute to the school division’s strategic plan process.

Her fellow Williamsburg School Board member Oscar Prater said Emanuel has never wavered in her dedication to every position she has held. “She always operates under the strictest standards — her own,” he said.

Mayor Clyde Haulman said an appointment will likely be announced at the next council meeting in December.