Prince William School Board must appoint interim replacement for deploying Naval Officer

The Prince Willaim County School Board must decide who will become a temporary replacement for one of its eight members.

Brentsville District representative Gil Trenum, a Naval Commander, will deploy for duty to Djibouti, Africa this month. It’s the first time “in many years” Trenum has been deployed, he told the School Board in July, adding that the Navy gave him only a short notice to pack his bags.

Trenum named three potential replacements — any one of which would serve in his place on an interim basis — that the School Board needs to approve. To date, the School Board has not approved any of Trenum’s handpicked temporary replacements — proxies he would confer with about School Board matters during his deployment.

Instead, the School Board waited for an unofficial opinion on the matter that arrived Thursday from the Office of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, that states the School Board is legally required to fill the seat, and then return the seat to Trenum when he returns from service. The unofficial opinion comes not from Herring but from G. Timothy Oksman, who works in the Attorney General’s office. 

On Thursday, Republican lawmakers gathered outside Prince William County Public Schools to put pressure on the School Board to appoint one of the three candidates picked by Trenum.

“…I believe that the School Board should, in good faith, follow the good tradition of appointing someone that Gil feels will look after the constituents that elected him,” said Virginia Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R, Prince William – Fauquier).

“The School Board needs to be respectful of Gil Trenum, a man who had the guts to put on a uniform. His family is sacrificing, he’s going to Africa for a year, this needs to be respectful of him, and it also needs to be respectful of the constituents who live in his district,” said Virginia Delegate Tim Hugo [R-Fairfax, Prince William].

Trenum has served on the School Board for the past eight years and is popular in the Brentsville District. He won his last election in 2015 with 98% of the vote and no opponents. In 2011, he beat out two opponents winning nearly half of the votes in the district.

Prince William County School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers today blamed the very legislators who spoke in support of Trenum for the delay in appointing an interim replacement.

“Some of these same elected officials are members of the legislative body that drafted and adopted the statutory language that has caused the ambiguity the school board is now forced to resolve. It was their legislative body, the Virginia General Assembly, which adopted a statute that applies only to constitutional officers, not school board members, thus creating the current confusion,” stated Sawyers in an email to Potomac Local.

In 2002, Virginia’s Attorney General found that a naval reservist did not have to relinquish his office when called to duty. Two years later, Virginia’s Attorney General opined that an Army Reservist and a member of a county Board of Supervisors did not have to relinquish his seat when called to duty.

Virginia State Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax, Prince William) requested the unofficial opinion from the Attorney General’s office.

“I requested an opinion because there was clear disagreement within the county what the correct mode of procedure was when this situation arises…I thought the [unofficial] Attorney General opinion provides clarity ought to proceed, or if it should proceed… and we now have an answer to what the process is and it’s now up to the Prince William County School Board to decide how to exercise their authority,” said Surovell.

Trenum did not attend Thursday’s press conference. He was at Andrews Air Force Base preparing for his upcoming deployment, said Anderson. No Democrats holding local or state legislative office were invited to the press conference, he added. 

Trenum stated will miss the celebrations of his 25th wedding anniversary and son’s graduation from college. 

“No matter where I am, I want people to know that you will still have access to me via email. Although, I do love to visit our schools and meet with parents, students, and teachers, 90% of my works helping constituents is done via email,” Trenum told the School Board. 

The Prince William County School Board is scheduled to meet next on Sept. 7, 2016.