Pam Dudding Contributing writer
Times change and board appointments do as well. This is designed to help bring new ideas and also to relieve the work from others who have served.
At the January School Board meeting, officers were elected. Trace Bellassai was re-elected as Chairman as he was elected when Crenshaw resigned from the position.
Faye Powers, a current School Board member, accepted the appointment as co-chair.
Two School Board members had served their maximum terms of four years, Gina Smith and George Foster. Both shared that it was their honor to serve the students, school, and community in this capacity.
Expressed Foster, “It was a pleasure to serve for four years. Time to let someone else get a chance to serve.”
“It was a pleasure to serve on the Craig County School Board to help make decisions for our students,” Smith added. “The last couple of years of my term was very challenging and stressful due to not only having to make educational decisions, but health decisions for the students. I will continue to pray for the decisions that will have to be made by administrators and my fellow board members in the future. Our small community is special and unique. We have some of the best teachers and students.”
Kevin Altizer is a remaining Board member.
New Board members elected are Walter Marsden (New Castle District) and Darren Gilreath (Sinking Creek District).
Powers, the new Co-Chair, shared what it meant for her to be a part of the Craig County School Board. “For me to be a part of the CC School Board is a very humbling experience. I feel blessed to help play such an important role setting policies with the best guidance and education we can provide.”
She chose to participate as a member who was born and raised in Craig County and attended New Castle High School.
“This gives me close ties with most of the people in this county. I am no stranger here,” she shared. “These people know me, and I have taught them, their children, and their grandchildren private music lessons for many years now. This is the second time I have held a seat on the Craig County School Board. The first time was for 10-years. During this time, we were able to build the new Dr. Dallas Helems Middle School, with much success of its usage over these years. We are very proud of this accomplishment.”
When asked, “What do I wish to see or help with this coming year?” Powers replied, “These children are the future that you and I may never see. So, it is our job to provide the best education and safety for our children as we continue to support the Superintendent and staff as we work towards division goals which ensure our students are successful.”
Chairman, Trace Bellassai shared, “I am honored to have been elected the School Board Chairman for the 2022 year and I’m very excited about what our new board will be able to accomplish. I am happy to welcome our new board members, and I know they will be great assets to our school system. Educating our children and preparing them for the future is one of the most important things any society can do, and my desire to make sure Craig County does so effectively is the reason I choose to be a school board member.”
He added, “With any luck, this year will be more of a return to pre-pandemic ‘normal,’ which I know we are all looking forward to. We are excited to have several projects lined up for this year, including some facility upgrades, our Land Lab starting to come to fruition, and several other projects which are still in the works, but not as far along. I know we all cannot wait to see what 2022 has in store for us and our students.”
The community is encouraged to attend the monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month, in the high school auditorium at 5:30 p.m.
Being informed of today’s events, new guidelines the administration has to constantly be implementing along with their continuous job to try and raise funds to keep the schools in good condition, takes a lot of dedicated people. Craig County is blessed to have these types of employees at the schools. If you can, please take time to attend the meetings. Even moral support means a lot in today’s world.