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school board
duties with class
LaDeen Powell will step down as the longest-serving current member of the Whiteville school board when the new board is sworn in Dec. 11.
Powell has served on the board for more than 20 years. The victor in her race, Dr. Jim DiMuzio, ran on a platform that a change was needed, and the voters agreed and responded.
Still, Powell should remembered as a dedicated school board member who voted her conscience, and for what she thought was best for students. She was a level-headed board member who made thoughtful decisions and handled herself with class.
She served as chairman for many years and led the school board through a number of challenges, including the mammoth job of complying with the testing pressures that state and federal education bureaucracies have put on local school boards.
She was a proponent to maintain higher academic standards for athletes, believing it would cause them to study harder. Ultimately, she and one other board member were outvoted.
DiMuzio will bring fresh ideas to the school board, which will be a plus, but Powell’s public service to the students, teachers and administrators of Whiteville City Schools has been admirable.