From The Caroline Progress
The new Caroline County School Board elected a new chairman at its organizational meeting of 2012. Newcomer Nancy Carson unanimously was elected to the leadership post, and George Spaulding was elected vice chairman. Mack Wright Jr., the former chairman, was the only incumbent returned to the board in the November elections last year.
In the organizational meeting on Thursday of last week, Mary Anderson nominated Carson for the post, and her motion was quickly seconded by Tinka Harris. Wright, voting fifth in the roll call voice ballot, joined the other members of the board in endorsing Carson as chairman. The election of Spaulding, who returned to the board after a four-year absence, also was unanimous.
The board made one slight change in its organizational plans for the year. Its regular meetings will continue to be held the second Monday of the month at Caroline Middle School. In addition, the regular sessions of the board, open to the public, will continue to convene at 6:30 p.m. However, the board will convene at 5:30 to consider any matters normally reserved for executive session, which is closed to the public. In the past, the executive sessions normally were held after the public portion of the meeting.
Carson, 58, who lives in the Ruther Glen area and represents the Mattaponi District, has strong ties to the county's school system. She retired in 2011 after a lengthy career in Caroline County Public Schools as a teacher and assistant principal. Spaulding, 74, also has close ties to the school system. He retired as a teacher from Caroline schools and served on the School Board for 13 years in the past, his last year in 2007.
It would appear with the election of Carson and Spaulding in the two leadership positions that the new panel wanted to establish a clear break from the previous School Board. The relationship between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors has been strained in recent years, mainly over finances. During the fall election campaign, both Carson and Spaulding urged a more harmonious relationship with the Board of Supervisors.