The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
The School Board may embark on a game of musical chairs.
Dan Lowe resigned from the Bayside seat earlier this month for family reasons, more than a year before his planned retirement. Carolyn Weems, an at-large member since 2002, said she would prefer to represent her neighborhood.
If the board appoints Weems to represent Bayside, her seat would open to applicants citywide. Only district representatives must live within a certain neighborhood.
"If I didn't apply, I'd be appointing someone I'd run against," Weems said.
But fellow board member Sandra Smith-Jones said that if Weems wants the seat, she should run for it. That's what Smith-Jones did in 2004 when she switched from an at-large seat to Kempsville.
She said other Bayside residents are interested in serving, and minorities might have a better chance in a neighborhood contest. "We should open the door, see who walks in and give them a fair shake," she said.
Board chairman Dan Edwards said Weems will not have to resign to apply, but she would have to step down to be interviewed or appointed.
Applications for the Bayside seat are being taken at www.vbschools.com until 10 a.m. Nov. 25. Alternately, applicants can send a resume, letter of interest and evidence of residence and voter registration to Dianne Alexander, Clerk of the School Board, P.O. Box 6038, Virginia Beach, VA, 23456-0038.
The board will hold a special public hearing on the applicants Dec 1. Interviews could be conducted and an appointment made as early as Dec. 8. If Weems is picked, the process will repeat for her seat.
Dominic Melito, president of the Virginia Beach Education Association, said that "with all of the challenges facing the School Board in the upcoming weeks and months, I'm in favor of whatever gets the seat filled as quickly as possible."
Weems, a resident of Lakeview Park, said: "I've lived in this neighborhood for 20-something years." Her five children have all attended schools in the zone. "I know it very well."
Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com
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Time to Stop the Special Exceptions...
This would set a terrible precident by allowing school board members to jockey for whatever position they want after elected.
This is not the first time Ms. Weem's has expected the VBCPS to make an exception for her. Several years ago she rented an apartment in the PAHS district so her son could play for the baseball team. Next, the rumor was, her daughter was going to FC to play field hockey.
For someone who wants to represent the "district she lives in," she evidently wants to make exceptions when it benefits her. The schools in HER neighborhood, Bayside, are not good enough for HER kids?
Even if she has to re-apply, this sends a bad message to the public about those in power and leaves the door wide-open to suggestions of favoritism.
3 not 2
There have been three children who attended other high schools than Bayside HS since she got on the School Board in 2002. There was another PAHS graduate older than the two already mentioned.
Wasn't Weems the big
Wasn't Weems the big homeschooling proponent? Didn't she homeschool her kids, using that as her 'campaign' platform when she first got elected?
That is, until the kids needed the organized athletic programs offered by our public schools. Then, she was all about getting her kids into whichever schools would showcase them the best.
Gosh yes, what a fantastic specimen to have on our school board: someone who thinks the school district should bend the rules to suit her personal agenda. I'm sure lots of kids and families in this district have agendae they'd like met too.