Headline Surfer photo/ ABOVE: (front row, L to R) Superintendent of Schools Tom Russell and School Board Chair Melody Johnson of Deltona; (back row, L to R), School Board member Carl Persis of Ormond Beach, School Board Vice-Chair Linda Cuthbert of Edgewater, School Board member Ida Duncan Wright of Daytona Beach, and School Board member John Hill of DeLand.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DELAND, Fla. -- Melody Johnson, who along with her husband, Nathan, adopted three sibling children to make a house a home in Deltona, then ran for a seat on the Volusia County School Board in 2014, against an entrenched incumbent, and won.
Now, she is the chair.
With Johnson entrusted by her new and returning colleagues in a unanimous vote to elevate her from vice-chair to chair and elevation of Linda Cuthbert to vice-chair, along with John Hill, the re-election of the previous chair, Ida Duncan Wright, and the election of Carl Persis, this is perhaps the most gifted school board lineup to date in this 21st century in setting policy for educational excellence in the Volusia County Schools.
Add to these five elected leaders, Superintendent of Schools Tom Russell and School Board Attorney Ted Doran, and the potential to take the school district to the next level is clearly within grasp than at any previous point in time.
Johnson and John Hill, who also won his seat in the same election cycle, are conservative when it comes to spending, but also supported increased funding expenditures enhancing the core mission of educating the district's students as demonstrated in working out a new contract and the end of labor strife over the summer with the teacher's union headed by Andrew Spar.
Johnson's top goal as outlined with Headline Surfer in The Sunday Conversation (video below) video interview that was done after the swearing-in ceremony for Wright and Persis is to take the school district from a B- to an A-grade rating as graded annually by the Florida Department of Education based on a complicated formula as a means of measuring academic success among the Sunshine State's school districts.
Johnson's top goal as outlined with Headline Surfer in The Sunday Conversation (video below) video interview that was done after the swearing-in ceremony for Wright and Persis is to take the school district from a B- to an A-grade rating as graded annually by the Florida Department of Education based on a complicated formula as a means of measuring academic success among the Sunshine State's school districts.
That is something that is going to happen overnight, but it's not impossible as Johnson so eloquently points out in the interview: "We went from a C to a B. I'd like to see us go to an A next."
Johnson is determined to see it through with leadership that encourages open communication and cohesion among the school board members as well as with Russell and his cabinet, led by district CEO Greg Akin; and with school principals, teachers, and support staff.
Two years ago, it was Hill, who stood tall, in following through on his campaign promise to make changes at the top, leading to the sudden retirement of Superintendent Margaret Smith, who was long in the tooth, with the district seemingly settled in with a C rating.
Hill took heat from several militant parents but stood his ground, and the board, then led by Linda Costello, backed him. Then last year, Wright was given the chairmanship by her colleagues, and Johnson was selected as the vice-chair.
Costello decided not to seek another term and that opened the door for Persis to run in this election cycle. He is a former principal and Cuthbert is a former school teacher. Wright is an administrator at Bethune-Cookman University and so the overall line-up is very talented.
Headline Surfer video / Melody Johnson, the newly-installed chair of the Volusia County School Board, was interviewed by Headline Surfer after a swearing-in ceremony.
Posted: 11/20/2016 - 05:50:01 am
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.