A president and vice president of the Washington C.H. City Schools Board of Education were elected among other organizational items for the first 2016 meeting on Monday evening at the district office.
The board meeting was called to order and Craig Copas, Jennifer Lynch and newly elected board member Jim Teeters took the oath of office. After a quick roll call, the floor was opened for board president nominations. Lynch nominated Kenny Upthegrove for the position and Teeters seconded it. With a unanimous vote, Upthegrove was appointed as the president for the year.
“I think this is my fourth or fifth time being elected as president of the board and I have been serving on the board for 21 years now,” Upthegrove said following the meeting. “We are looking to make sure our scores continue to improve. I think we are on the right track to do that. It is hopefully going to be a very positive year. I am pleased my peers have the confidence in me to do what we do. I would like to thank the board and the folks who have continued to vote for me through the years.”
The next item was to appoint a vice president. Lynch nominated Copas for the position and Teeters seconded it. With no other nomination, the vote was held and Copas was unanimously voted into the position.
“It feels great to have been appointed and I appreciate them having that kind of confidence in me,” Copas said. “It is an honor and I am going to do everything I can to be the best vice president I can be. We have some great leadership with Kenny and I am looking forward to learning from him and growing in this role. I have been appointed twice to the board for a total of almost three years. What I hope to do is continue striving to make our community much better. I think the schools are the foundation the community is built on and it attracts more families and businesses if they see our schools are doing so well.”
Many other organizational items were voted on including request for advancement of tax monies, authorization to make disbursements, authorization to transfer, authorization to borrow money, investment of funds, as well as accepting donations and more. The board also discussed authorizing resignations and hiring for the district. They also accepted a few resignations, including bus driver Carol McCoy, educational aide Ashley Burr, Robert Pauley and educational aide Matt Brobeck. Employees also hired include Shaleigh Adams as a home instruction tutor, Jenny Breedlove as a substitute and Charles Rickman as a van driver.
Before the board went into executive session, superintendent Matthew McCorkle gave his report and discussed topics, including an upcoming work session on Jan. 23, a few new upcoming courses for the next school year, and the hiring of a new football coach which currently has an estimated 26 applicants.
The next meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 22 and anyone who would like to discuss items on the next agenda for any meeting will need to submit to the treasurer in writing by the Thursday before each meeting.
