New Danville school board members sworn in; Becker elected chair
Published 12:09 pm Friday, January 4, 2019
- Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com Newly sworn-in school board members from left, Glenn Ball, Steve Becker and Paul Smiley pose with plaques showing the oaths they took
Newly elected Danville Board of Education members Glenn Ball, Steve Becker and Paul Smiley were sworn in Thursday evening.
Shortly after the brief ceremony, led by state Rep. Daniel Elliott (R-Danville), the new board held its first meeting and Becker was elected as chair of the board.
Smiley and Ball made the respective motion and second to nominate Becker as chair; the vote was unanimous in favor.
Board member Troy McCowan was then nominated by Ball to serve as vice chair. Board member Lori Finke seconded and the vote for McCowan was also unanimous.
Becker, Smiley and Ball were elected in the November general election in what wound up being the closest race in Boyle County: Ball earned the third and final seat up for election by a single vote over the next candidate, Aaron Etherington.
The other two board members, Finke and McCowan, were both elected in 2016 and are halfway through their first terms. A new chair and vice chair were chosen because the previous chair and vice chair, Paige Matthews and Susan Matherly, did not seek re-election.
- Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com State Rep. Daniel Elliott, second from left, shakes hands with Glenn Ball, far left, Steve Becker, center, and Smiley after swearing them in as board members.
- Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com Paul Smiley signs his oath of office after the swearing in ceremony.
- Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com Steve Becker leads his first meeting as chair after being elected unanimously by the board.
- Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com Danville Superintendent Tammy McDonald congratulates board member Troy McCowan on becoming vice chair.