Gloucester County’s School Board has
a long reputation of just following along with the school administrator’s
agenda instead of addressing the concerns of and aligning with the visions of
their constituents. Apparently, school administration does not have any problem
with manipulating the School Board member election and appointment processes. On
June 12, 2019 Abingdon District School Board member Randy Burak’s intention of
not seeking reelection was announced publicly. This was one day after the
deadline for candidates to file the necessary documents so their names would appear
on the November 5th ballot. Unfortunately, no one in the Abingdon
District filed to be a candidate. This was an ideal setup for the School Board
to be able to appoint an Abingdon resident of their and the school administrator’s
choosing.
Fortunately for the residents of the
Abingdon District and Gloucester County as a whole, Jane Wenner stepped up to
run as a write-in candidate for the Abingdon district. That obviously did not sit
right with the school system hierarchy so something had to be done to keep Jane
Wenner from being elected by the people. That “something” is Mr. Burak’s decision
to run as a write-in candidate against Jane Wenner. You see, certain people do
not want Jane Wenner to be elected because as they put it, “She does not align
with the current School Board’s visions.”
Mr. Burak entering the race is just
another ploy to set the stage for the School Board to be able to appoint another
School Board member. (Much like the shenanigans taking place in the Ware
district School Board and Supervisor races.) All Mr. Burak has to do is get
elected, attend a couple of meetings after the first of the year and resign off
to retirement in another place. Then the School Board can appoint an Abingdon
District member of their and the school administrator’s choosing.
I don’t know about you, but I believe
I would be voting for Jane Wenner on November 5th if I lived in the Abingdon District.
Kenny Hogge, Sr.