Townsend elected chair as Prince Edward County school board reorganizes; Kimbrough named vice chair, Foster clerk

Mister Townsend was elected chair of the Prince Edward County School Board after nominations and a voice vote at the board’s January reorganizational meeting. The motion to elect Townsend was seconded and carried by raised hands, with no recorded roll-call tally.

The board also selected Susan Kimbrough as vice chair and elected Thomas Foster as school board clerk; members moved and seconded both motions and approved them by voice vote. The board appointed Miss Jones as deputy clerk to serve in the clerk’s absence.

As part of reorganizational business the board confirmed committee rosters and roles: student affairs, finance, the Governor’s School Region 8 representative, the school policy review committee, and the board’s VSBA (Virginia School Boards Association) delegate. Members discussed committee responsibilities, meeting cadence and agreed to use a combination of in-person meetings and Zoom where appropriate.

The board set its regular-meeting schedule through June 2026 (mostly first-Wednesday dates with closed sessions early and regular sessions later) and adopted a revised schedule running July 2026 through January 2027 to the first Tuesday of each month (closed sessions at 5:00 p.m.; open sessions at 6:00 p.m.; location: Room 151 at the middle school). A proposed amendment to move meetings to Thursday was proposed during debate but failed for lack of a second before the original motion carried.

The reorganizational actions conclude the board’s annual transition that temporarily leaves the superintendent chairing meetings until officers are chosen. The personnel and committee appointments take effect immediately.