Kellie Lockerby, vice chair and at-large member of the Gloucester County School Board, resigned from the board Friday. At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, which was held in the T.C. Walker Education Center auditorium, Lockerby provided a statement regarding her decision to step down from the board.
“I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly announce my resignation,” said Lockerby. “My family is moving out of Gloucester County so I will not be able to continue to serve.
“This was actually a very easy decision to make,” continued Lockerby. “Especially after the last meeting. The entire time I have been on the school board it has been utter chaos. Then you add the threat of death? Easy choice.”
Lockerby was referring to the board’s July 11 meeting, which was locked down for nearly two hours after several armed men had been spotted at the meeting and eventually detained outside the auditorium by Gloucester County deputies. Four men were charged with possession of firearms on school property. Those cases have been continued to Nov. 16 for a preliminary hearing in Gloucester General District Court.
“I will remain on the state special education advisory executive committee representing Gloucester and the rest of region three, continuing my efforts to advocate for the best educational outcomes for students with disabilities,” Lockerby continued in her statement.
County attorney Ted Wilmot was present at Tuesday’s meeting to guide the board on its options following Lockerby’s resignation.
Wilmot informed the board that it has 45 days from the date of Lockerby’s resignation to appoint a qualified voter to fill the position as an interim until a specially called election. Within 15 days of the resignation, the board must also petition the circuit court for a writ for special election to fill that vacancy. The candidate who is elected to fill her vacancy will take office Jan. 1, 2024 to finish the remainder of her four-year term, which expires Dec. 31, 2025.
According to Bobbi Morgan, director of elections and general registrar for Gloucester County, the registrar’s office can now receive campaign documents from individuals who wish to run for this seat only. No other seats on the ballot will change. The deadline is Aug. 18 for both the referendum to be added to the ballot as well as campaign documents for this seat.
School board members Karen Espinoza, Randy Burak and Robin Rice were each nominated to fill the vice chair role of the school board. Each nomination motion failed by a vote of 3-3.
Espinoza was appointed to serve on the Middle Peninsula Regional Special Education Board in Lockerby’s place until the school board’s January 2024 organizational meeting.
The board will accept resumes of those interested in filling the interim position until Aug. 18. Then it will schedule a closed session for Aug. 21 to review those resumes and make a selection.
Public comment
Several community members took to the podium to voice their concerns and opinions on school matters during the meeting.
Anyah Jones of Gloucester brought up concerns about her daughter allegedly being bullied by a school employee.
Alexandria Hickman of the Gloucester Point district and Anita Parker of the Petsworth district thanked Lockerby for her work on the school board.
Charles Records of the Ware district and Cathy Phillips of the Abingdon district made comments about last month’s meeting where four men entered the T.C. Walker Education Center with weapons.
Additional matters
In other matters, the board:
—Received a virtual presentation from Renee Hypes, Future Farmers of America advisor and Gloucester High School agriculture teacher, on the school’s FFA program;
—Agreed to a comprehensive legal review on the new Virginia Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students & Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools before any adoption takes place;
—Voted to accept policy manual updates, revisions, deletions and/or adoptions as presented by Bryan Hartley, director of operations;
—Adopted a resolution regarding Gloucester County Public Schools related projects in the county bond referendum; and,
—Unanimously approved naming Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal reporter Melany Slaughter to the Virginia School Boards Association Media Honor Roll.