PW School Board taking applications until Aug. 24 for temporary Brentsville seat

Brentsville District residents who want to temporarily serve on the Prince William County School Board have until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24, to apply.

The School Board will hold a special public hearing on the appointment on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m.,  in the School Board meeting room at the Kelly Leadership Center. The board plans to vote on the interim appointment at its regular School Board meeting on Sept. 21.

The appointee will fill the Brentsville District School Board seat for about a year.  Gil Trenum, the district’s elected representative, a reservist, is on temporary military deployment.

Trenum, a longtime officer in the Naval Reserve, has been ordered to active duty in Djibouti, Africa for about a year. He retains his office by Virginia law and will retake his seat and resume his term when he returns, which is expected to be before the 2017-18 school year starts.

Applicants should file an application and supporting information. This includes resume of education, experience and residential address, statement why the applicant wants to serve as an acting School Board member and additional information the applicant considers relevant to his or her selection. An applicant must be a “bona fide” resident of the district and a registered voter.

Applications are at the School Board office, Room 3400, Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center, 14715 Bristow Road, Manassas, and on the School Division’s website at http://www.pwcs.edu Compl.eted applications can be delivered to the clerk’s office or transmitted electronically to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Members of the public may sign up to speak at the Sept. 7 hearing by contacting the Clerk to the School Board by telephone or email, no later than noon on the day of the hearing. Would-be speakers may also sign up in person from 6-6:55 p.m. on the night of the meeting. Each speaker will have up to three minutes to make comments.

Applicants may speak for up to five minutes. Only those whose names are considered at the public hearing will be eligible for appointment as the interim School Board member.

Acting on a recent opinion of the Office of the Virginia Attorney General,  a Prince William County Schools press release says that the School Board has the “sole authority and obligation to appoint an acting Board member from the Brentsville District.” A copy of the Attorney General’s opinion was not available Aug. 16 when the press release was issued.

Contact the School Board Office at 703-791-8709 for more information.