Stewart takes school board seat
as district faces budget cuts
Leonard Stewart has been in public service for half his life.
A Lexington native, he worked for the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office, was town sergeant in Glasgow for more than five years, and he currently works as a Lexington Police officer.
But now he’ll be serving the public in another way: as a member of the Lexington City School Board.
At their Jan. 15 meeting, City Council members voted 4-0 to appoint Stewart to the position that had been held by Marylin Alexander for the past 10 ½ years. Council member Jim Gianniny recused himself from the vote because he is a teacher in the school system and wanted to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
Stewart knows he faces a steep learning curve, with a tough economy presenting the board with daunting budgetary challenges. But he already has a pretty clear idea of his priorities.
“I think personnel cuts will be the last resort,” he said. “I think they’ll do a lot of belt-tightening before they get to that point.”
The school district is facing cuts of close to $350,000 for the coming budget year at the same time it is in the beginning stages of extensive renovations to Lylburn Downing Middle School.
Superintendent Dan Lyons said Thursday that teachers will be asked to go without raises next year. Ordinarily, they are eligible for step increases for each year they are with the school system. The school board and City Council can also vote additional, across-the-board raises.
But if salaries are frozen, Lyons said, the school system should be able to avoid layoffs, at least for next year.
“If all the [other] budget figures stay the same and the city contributes level funding and health insurance doesn't go beyond what they're projecting,” Lyons said. "Basically, if the sun lines up with the stars in the right light.... If everything we have now is accurate …."
Alexander left the school board when she was elected to City Council in November. When positions on the school board are open, it is the council’s responsibility to appoint new members to fill them. Stewart was one of three candidates who presented themselves to council for consideration. Thomas Goodwin and Cackie Dowd also sought the position.
Stewart called Alexander the day after his appointment, both to thank her and to get some insight on serving on the board. He said he hopes to match her performance and equal, if not exceed, her 10 ½ year term.
Stewart’s wife, Tammi, works in the Rockbridge County school system, and his 11-year-old daughter is a student at Lylburn Downing, so he said he understands the complexities of serving a school system. But he thinks his career in law enforcement will also help him in that regard.
“We wear a lot of different hats in this profession,” he said. “I have experience in conflict resolution, classroom instruction …. I’ll be able to help with the security aspect of Lylburn Downing.”
City Council Member Frank Friedman, who has known Stewart since high school and has also served an eight-year term on the Lexington School Board, said Stewart will benefit from having a child of his own in the school system.
“As a parent, you see where the rubber meets the road in the education of the children,” Friedman said.
Stewart said he would start his service in the district simply by being receptive to the concerns of the public.
“I’ll be a sponge, be a sounding board for any community concerns,” he said. “I’ll be an ear.”
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Lisa Tracy
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd