CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thursday night’s Kanawha County School Board meeting was the last for President Robin Rector.
Rector, who has served eight years on the board, decided earlier this year not to seek reelection.
“I have mixed emotions. I have met so many wonderful people and been privileged to see so many great opportunities to see our learners at work on site,” she said. “I will miss the joys of seeing that.”
Rector said she was proud of integrating technology into Kanawha schools during her tenure, and running school board meetings like a business meeting.
“I think I’ve been able to show the business side of conducting meetings, and how to fairly and appropriately to give voice to not only board members, but administration and those who attend our meetings,” she said. “I believe that technology is a part of our workforce, and thus it has to be a part of our school system.”
Superintendent Ron Duerring said Rector always ran meetings fairly and listened to everyone.
“I think everybody had a voice when they wanted it at the board meetings,” Duerring said. “I think she was a listener, and she listened to what people had to say.”
With state funding for schools declining and the dire economic times in the state, Rector thought funding was unquestionably the system’s biggest challenge moving forward.
“With commerce, tax dollars and funding from the state dwindling, how do we continue to do more than continue to maintain the status quo?,” she asked. “How do we continue to bring new projects and programs in; continue to work with technology? The financial considerations around that are huge.”
Ric Cavender will take Rector’s spot on the Kanawha School Board. According to Duerring, the board will vote on its new president next month.
Rector’s tenure officially ends July 1, the start of the 2016-2017 school year.