Nancy B. Welch, assistant superintendent of Mathews County Public Schools since 2009, has been chosen to lead the division as its new superintendent, beginning July 1.

Welch was selected following an in-house search for a replacement for division superintendent Dr. David J. Holleran, who will be stepping down from the post at the end of the current school year.

Welch’s appointment and Holleran’s official retirement were both approved during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Mathews County School Board, which was held in the Mathews High School media center. Welch signed a three-year contract with the division and will receive a salary of $100,000, according to school board chairman John Persinger.

During her 19 years with Mathews County Schools, Welch has worn many different hats. Her first nine years were as a classroom teacher at Lee-Jackson Elementary, where she taught kindergarten, third and fourth grades.

She also served as the division’s director of testing, professional development coordinator, instructional technology resource teacher and educational information management system administrator, among other titles. Welch took over as assistant superintendent in September 2009, replacing Donna Power, who had accepted the position of superintendent of schools for the Town of Colonial Beach.

As a teacher, Welch helped develop the division’s teacher-mentor program. In 2005, she was named Lee-Jackson’s Teacher of the Year.

A graduate of Longwood College (now University) with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, Welch earned an Educational Specialist degree from the George Washington University in educational leadership and administration in 2006.

“Tonight is a landmark night for the board and our little division,” Persinger said, in announcing Welch’s appointment. He pointed out that this change in leadership is a relatively rare occurrence in Mathews—Holleran has been the top school administrator for 11 years and his predecessor, Harry M. Ward, served for 17 years before that.

While Welch is someone who doesn’t need to be brought up to speed on the inner workings of Mathews County Schools, she also comes to the position with a new insight and perspective. “We know she has fresh ideas for Mathews County Schools and we can’t wait to get started with her on that path,” Persinger said.

“We have a school division of excellence,” Welch said. “It has been an absolute pleasure to live in Mathews” where the community goes out of its way to support student achievement. She said she looks forward to being a part of “reaching that next level of excellence.”

Welch lives in North with her husband, Todd, who was in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting to celebrate his wife’s promotion.

Attendance at Tuesday night’s school board meeting was a somewhat dicey affair, as a heavier-than-expected snowfall forced the school board to cut out several scheduled presentations in hopes of getting out early.

In other personnel actions, the board approved the resignation of Thomas Hunter Middle School special education teacher Samantha Rozakis and approved her replacement, Leslie Ege. The board also accepted the resignation of MHS custodian Ginger Case.

The school board adopted changes to its calendar to make up for the snow days missed last week, an action “in danger of invalidity as we speak,” Persinger said. His words proved prophetic as Wednesday was cancelled due to Tuesday night’s snow and a snowstorm due to arrive Wednesday night may scuttle school plans for the rest of this week.

However, the school board did approve March 16 and April 13, originally teacher workdays, as make-up days, as well as April 3, which had been scheduled for a 1 p.m. dismissal.

The 2015-2016 calendar was also approved Tuesday night, with Sept. 8 the first day of class and June 17 the last day for students.

A work session on the 2015-2016 school budget will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Thomas Hunter Middle School media center. A public hearing on the budget will be held the following Tuesday, March 10, at 6 p.m. in the MHS media center. The school board’s regular monthly meeting will be held the Tuesday after that, March 17, at 6 p.m., in the THMS media center.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, school board members enjoyed a special dinner in honor of February as School Board Appreciation Month.