The Orange County School Board has two new members and a new chairman.
Monday’s meeting marked the first for District 1 board member Rod Hawkins and District 4 board member Tina Whittington. Hawkins fills the seat left vacant by the end of Melissa Anderson’s second term while Whittington fills a seat that has been vacant for months following the resignation of Chelsea Quintern.
The meeting was also the board’s reorganization meeting. District 5 board member Sandy Harrington nominated District 2 board member Darlene Dawson for the chair position. She was appointed 5-0. Whitington nominated District 3 board member Jack Rickett as vice chair. He was appointed 5-0.
“I am humbled, honored and pledge to do the very best I can to lead us in a way that is good governance and keeping our north star in front of us which is student achievement and safety,” Dawson said.
Laura Byram will remain as the clerk of the board with Yvonne Dawson as the deputy clerk. Meetings will now be held on the first Monday of each month with work session meetings on the last Monday. In April, the regular meeting and joint meeting will be combined on April 20. Combined meetings will also be held the third Monday in June, the second Monday in July and the first Monday in December. All meetings will begin with a closed session at 5 p.m. followed by an open session at 5:30 p.m.
As part of the reorganization meeting, board members were also assigned to a variety of outside boards. Hawkins will serve as the primary representative to the Head Start Policy Council and the Blue Ridge Virginia Governor’s School Joint Board. He will serve as the alternate to the Piedmont Regional Education Program (PREP) Joint Board and the school board’s legislative affairs council. Whittington will serve as the primary representative to the Academy of Technology and Innovation Regional Board and on the school board’s governance and policy council. She will be the alternate to the Head Start Policy Council and the board’s finance and budget council. Harrington will serve as the primary representative to the Orange County Education Foundation and on the board’s finance and budget council and legislative affairs council. She will be the alternate to the Academy of Technology and Innovation Regional Board, the Blue Ridge Virginia Governor’s School, the governance and policy council and the comprehensive planning and development council. Rickett will serve on the finance and budget council and comprehensive planning and development council. He will be the alternate to the Orange County Education Foundation. Dawson will serve as the primary representative to the PREP Joint Board and on the legislative affairs council, governance and policy council and comprehensive planning and development council.
