Hollandsworth appointed to fill BOE seat

Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer

At a special meeting Tuesday morning, the Pocahontas County Board of Education had a very short agenda. It was tasked with appointing someone from either the northern or southern district to fill a vacant seat on the board.

Superintendent Terrence Beam led the meeting and said there were two individuals who applied for the position – former board president Sue Hollandsworth, who’s term ended at the end of June, and Mike Vance.

Board member Morgan McComb suggested that since Vance was not in attendance at the meeting, the board should forego the interview process and appoint Hollandsworth to fill the seat. The board agreed and appointed Hollands-worth to return to the board.

McComb then nominated Hollandsworth to return to the president’s seat and the board unanimously approved. He then nominated Jarrett McLaughlin to be the board vice-president, which the board unanimously approved.

Before the meeting was adjourned, Beam said he had information he wanted to share prior to the next meeting. He received a letter from a concerned parent in regard to school safety. 

Beam said he suggested to the parent that it would be best for her to attend a board meeting and voice her concerns and have a discussion with the board about school safety and the efforts taken to ensure students are in a safe environment.

To allow the parent to have a discussion with the board, Beam said she would be on the agenda under the informational updates section instead of the hear callers portion. This will allow the board to converse with the parent and will not limit the time of the discussion.

The board agreed that school safety is a high priority and thanked Beam for including the parent on the next meeting’s agenda.

The next board meeting will be Tuesday, July 26, at 6 p.m., at the board of education conference room.