School Board elects leaders

Rhonda Simmons / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: January 14, 2008

The newly elected Culpeper County School Board members made their voices heard when it came to reorganizing the board Monday night.

Local residents elected Jimmy Lee, of West Fairfax, Anne Luckinbill, of Salem, and Rusty Jenkins, of Catalpa, to the board during the November election.

At the regular meeting, the board voted unanimously in favor of electing former CCPS Vice Chair George Dasher, of Stevensburg, as chair in front of a packed room. Former Chairwoman Elizabeth Hutchins nominated Dasher for the position.

"I'm delighted and really pleased by the vote of confidence, especially with the unanimous decision," said Dasher, who was voted onto the board in 2006. "I don't take that lightly and I'm really up for the challenge."

About 80 people watched as the board delivered a nearly split decision of 4-3 in favor of Bob Beard, of East Fairfax, as vice chair.

Prior to the vote, Leanne Jenkins, of the Jefferson District, nominated Hutchins - who has served as CCPS chairwoman for nearly four years - as vice chair.

Newcomer Rusty Jenkins wasted no time in nominating Beard, of East Fairfax, for the position.

The other two newbies - Luckinbill and Lee - and Beard followed Rusty Jenkins' lead by voting for Beard.

"It's going to be a difficult year but I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Dasher and the rest of the board members by doing the best we can for the schools of Culpeper County," Beard said after the meeting.

Leanne Jenkins, Hutchins and Dasher voted for Hutchins as vice chair.

In other action, the board voted 7-0 in favor of appointing CCPS Finance Director Jeffrey Shomo as clerk, secretary Pearl Jamison as deputy clerk and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Curriculum Eric Conti as parliamentarian, an officer designated to serve as an expert in academic procedures.

Beard suggested that the board postpone appointing board members to committees and other various appointments until its next work session.

The board voted 4-3 in favor of that recommendation.

However, Leanne Jenkins was visibly upset because she was unclear whether to attend her upcoming PREP Board Committee meeting later this month.

That's when the board took another vote to allow her to attend the meetings until the end of the month.

In a suprise move, Leanne Jenkins was the only dissenting vote.
"I don't think Bob is informed because we need representation at those meetings," she said. "We've been involved with these committees for quite sometime."

"I just don't think it was thought through," she said. "I had no idea that was coming."

In other action
- The board also voted to approve the calendar for the 2008-09 school year.

- The board agreed to authorize Superintendent David Cox to sign a right-of-way agreement with the town for road improvements and utilities near Yowell Elementary School, a 650-student school under construction on Yowell Drive off of Sperryville Pike

- The board voted to delay the approval of a contract with SHW architects for the Culpeper County High School master plan. The board has until March 15 to decide allowing it to utilize the same proposed price.

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or .