Opening Statement—Rural Madison Forum

I am Barry Penn Hollar.   

First, I want to thank Rural Madison for hosting this event and to all of you for coming out tonight.

I am Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Shenandoah University in Winchester.  I have degrees in Economics and Religious Studies from the University of Virginia; A Master of Divinity and a masters in Public Policy Sciences from Duke University; and A PhD in Religious Ethics from the University of Virginia.  Hopefully, I have earned those degrees without loosing my common sense.

I have been a resident of Oak Park, VA off and on for 33 years and permanently since 1995.

My wife is Jayne Penn Hollar, who teaches Family and Consumer Sciences at MCHS and we have one son, Quentin, a graduate of MCHS.  He is a third grade teacher in the Bronx Charter School for Excellence in New York City.

I am a product of the public school system in Rockingham County, where I grew up.

We are a family committed to education and, more specifically, to public education. 

Let me say a bit about how I see the job of the School Board and some of my goals.

-I believe that high quality public education is essential to the health of a democratic society.   I want to make sure we are serving all our students, not just those who are headed toward elite colleges and universities, preparing all of them for the jobs of the 21^st century and effective citizenship.

-I want to improve the relationship between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors.  I sense some mistrust of the Board and School Administration on the part of the Supervisor.  I want to figure out why that’s the case so as to be able to contribute to rebuilding trust.

-I think the most important thing the School Board does is to hire a Superintendent and, after that, to provide oversight to the Superintendent and the School administration.    I have a lot to learn about this, but one of my goals is to make sure we have a good evaluation process in place.

-I want to assure that we use the taxpayers monies wisely and with a focus on what works to improve teaching and learning.

-I want to provide leadership with integrity and openness.  I will do my best to communicate as much as the law allows to the public about the basis for my votes and the decisions we make as a School Board.