Updated: Holtzendorf, Lee, Shell are the finalists for the Coosa seat on the Floyd County Board of Education; interviews are Friday
- New: Official release from the Board of Education on the final three.
- New: Interview times for the board candidates on Friday; all are open to the public.
Three applicants for the vacant Coosa seat on the Floyd County Board of Education have been asked back for interviews beginning Friday.
On Tuesday, following talks with representatives from the local school governance team, the four school board members narrowed the list of six applicants to replace Brian Barcomb to three. They are:
- Kim Holtzendorf: Holtzendorf is the co-owner of Central Electrical System, has children enrolled in the school system and is a graduate of Coosa High School. His wife, Alisha, teaches at Model Middle School. He has participated in the PTO, and coached in community youth sports, In the community, Holtzendorf is involved in Ducks Unlimited and the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of Calvary Baptist Church.
- Mary W. Lee: Lee is a retired educator and has worked in Floyd County Schools at McHenry Primary School, Pepperell Primary School and at Cave Spring Elementary School. She holds a bachelor degree and masters degree in education and an education specialist degree. Lee also worked at Northwest Georgia RESA and several school systems across four states during her career. She is active in the Rome/Floyd Retired Educators Association and she is a Growth Group teacher at West Rome Baptist Church.
- Jay Shell: Shell is the owner of Brewhouse Music and Grill and Jay Shell Entertainment, Inc. He was also the owner of the restaurant 333 on Board and has children enrolled in the school system. His wife, Melissa, is a guidance counselor at Garden Lakes. He has been a volunteer coach in the Coosa area, serves on the Coosa Middle School Local School Governance Team and is a representative of the Coosa Middle LSGT on the Local School Coordinating Council for Floyd County Schools. He is active in the community and has served on the Forum Advisory Board, Rome Tourism Board, The Sexual Assault Center Advisory Board, Downtown Development Authority and the Downtown Rome Business Improvement District Committee. Shell was in the Leadership Rome class of 2011 and his family is active at Life Church.
Updated: The interviews will take place this Friday beginning in the afternoon and are open to the public. Shell’s interview is at 3:30 p.m., Holtzendorf at 4:30 and Lee at 5:30. A final decision is expected at the Feb. 3 board of education meeting.
The other applicants were
- Richard O. Marable, former state senator.
- Micheal “David” Tucker, retired principal of Model Middle school
- Daniel “Danny” Hugh Wade, administrative pastor at Northside Church and owner of Wade Properties.
Media release: The Floyd County Board of Education and representatives from the Coosa area Local School Governance Teams met on Tuesday and narrowed the list of candidates for the open seat on the board representing the Coosa area to three finalists. Carey “Kim” Holtzendorf, Mary W. Lee and Roger “Jay” Shell were tabbed as finalists and will move on to interviews to held on Friday at the Floyd County Schools central office.
Holtzendorf is co-owner of Central Electrical System, Inc., has children enrolled in the Model area schools and is a graduate of Coosa High School.
Lee is a retired educator and worked in Floyd County Schools at McHenry Primary, Pepperell Primary and Cave Spring Elementary.
Shell is the owner of Brewhouse Music and Grill and Jay Shell Entertainment, Inc., He serves on the Coosa Middle Local School Governance team and represents the Coosa Middle LSGT on the Local School Coordinating Council for Floyd County Schools. He has two children enrolled in Coosa area schools.
The board; along with Vondell Ringer, principal at Coosa Middle School and a member of the Coosa Middle LSGT; and Rob Masters, a representative of the Coosa High Local School Governance Team; discussed the qualities needed in a community leader filling the open Coosa seat.
“I feel good decision making skills are important,” commented Tony Daniel, board member representing the Pepperell area. “As a board member, you must pull together a variety of information to make a decision.”
Masters talked about discussing desired qualities with the rest of the LSGT members from Coosa High. “Our LSGT felt a strong business background could be a definite asset for a board member,” he said. “A varied background in business requires good decision making skills that can challenge conventional thinking and yet work toward consensus.”
Ringer spoke of the importance of the board member in encouraging parent involvement. “We need someone who can rally parents to support their children and our schools,” she said. “This is especially important for the middle school and high school level for our children to reach the destination of graduation.”
Board Chairman George Bevels talked of the importance of consensus building as a quality of a candidate. “It is important for a board member to be able to work well with a lot of people because you have a variety of personalities that come together on a board to make decisions.”
The board will interview the three finalists on Friday, January 23 with the first interview to start at 3:30 p.m. The decision on the finalist selected to fill the seat representing the Coosa community will be made at the regular meeting of the board scheduled for Tuesday, February 3.
