Two newcomers will take over seats on the Ironton Board of Education in January.

Wednesday, November 03, 1999

Two newcomers will take over seats on the Ironton Board of Education in January.

Robert Pleasant Jr. and Gary Neal won two of three seats on the board with 1,446 votes and 1,200 votes.

Incumbent Kathy McGinnis took the third seat with 1,279 votes.

Other candidates included Kathy Kratzenberg, who had 1,074 votes; Richard Price, who had 785 votes; Paul Kuehne, who had 705 votes; Randy Taylor, who had 671 votes; Mark Near, who had 617 votes; and James Holt III, who had 256 votes.

Despite so much competition, Pleasant thought he had a good chance of claiming a seat early in the evening.

"I think the people are wanting a change on the board, but I’ll see what happens," he said. "There are some good people running."

Now that he knows what has happened, however, Pleasant will proceed with his plans as an incoming board member.

"I want to know everything," he said. "I’ve been attending all the board meetings and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s going on. I’ll get myself caught up and take it from there. And, of course, every decision I make will be based on what would be good for our students."

What is best for the community, students and schools is also Neal’s primary concern, he said.

"I just want the superintendent to run the schools, and I’ll do everything I can to help him," Neal said. "And I promise everyone one thing; there will be no more secret meetings."

Everyone fought a hard race this November, Mrs. McGinnis said. There were nine candidates for only three seats, and anyone could have won them in the end.

She is just glad that one of those seats will be hers.

"I’m very happy about winning," she said. "I’m looking forward to moving ahead. We’re working on some wonderful grants, and we’re moving forward with a lot of technology. There are a lot of exciting times ahead."

And Mrs. McGinnis also is looking forward to working with the two new board members. She said they would bring new and fresh ideas to improve the city’s educational system.

"I’ve worked with Robert Pleasant many times in the past and he is just a wonderful person," she said. "I’ve never met Gary Neal, but he ran a good race, and I’m sure we will work well together."

William "B.J." Hannon also will rejoin the board by taking over the two-year unexpired seat. Hannon beat out Cecil Townsend for that seat 1,476 votes to 1,258.