The Vance County Board of Education will feature two new faces following last week’s midterm elections – Omega T. Perry and Randy Oxendine.
Perry is the pastor at Cook’s Chapel AME Zion Church and has a Sunday morning program on WIZS.
Perry ran unopposed for the school board seat, and Oxendine won the District 2 seat over his opponent Charlie Baskerville, Jr. When Oxendine’s wife, Darlynn, decided not to seek another term on the school board, her husband decided to take a crack at it.
When he spoke with WIZS News during last Tuesday evening’s election coverage, Oxendine, himself a longtime educator with Vance County Schools, said he felt like he already has established a relationship with existing board members and looks forward to his new role as board member.
“I believe I’m just stepping in and rolling with it,” he told John C. Rose about his election victory.
Of particular concern to him is the diminishing enrollment in three elementary schools in District 2 – New Hope, E.O. Young and Carver. Lower enrollments mean that teachers like the physical education teachers, for example, must travel among the three schools for their instruction.
“I would love to see more students (at these schools so) we could get more money to provide full time people at those schools,” Oxendine said.
Over their years in education, Oxendine said he and his wife have seen many high school students head off to college, where some play sports and get recognized for their efforts. One former student invited the couple recently to attend her induction into the N.C. A&T State Hall of Fame.
He said he would like to institute some type of hall of fame for Vance County, where students and athletes could be recognized for their outstanding talent and effort, “so younger people would have someone to look up to.”
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