Updated
Kim Simons withdrew her name from consideration to temporarily fill Gil Trenum’s seat on the Prince William County School Board.
An earlier version of this post showed Simon’s resume. It was removed.
Original post
Gil Trenum says he’ll stay the course and continue advocating for school leaders to choose one of three handpicked interim successors for him.
Trenum, the Brenstville District representative on the Prince William County School Board, is a Naval Commander by day and will deploy for Djibouti, Africa this month for one year.
Until yesterday, the Prince William County School Board sought legal advice from the state’s Attorney General’s Office on how to proceed to temporarily fill Trenum’s seat. Word came from that office that it is required by law to fill the seat with whomever the Board chooses, and then give back the seat to Trenum when he returns from duty.
Here’s a letter we received this morning from Trenum:
Today State Senator Scott Surovell (D) posted an informal opinion on an online newsletter from the Office of the Attorney General, Mark Herring (D) that is inconsistent with the legal advice given to me by the non-partisan Privileges & Elections Attorneys from the Division of Legislative Services. This opinion has still not been officially provided to the School Board. My actions and statements in fact have been based entirely on the independent legal advice I received from the Division of Legislative Services. The fact that the Attorney General does not agree with their independent opinion is not my issue to resolve. An Attorney General’s opinion is not law, it is just an opinion, however we must move forward from here.
My position remains the same; I still feel that for the Brentsville District to have the most consistent and effective representation that the temporary appointment should come from someone with whom I have already developed a good working relationship. From the beginning I sought to leave partisanship out of this decision by selecting three volunteers who are not past or present members of any local party committee. I selected parents I knew had been dedicated to the schools for years in various volunteer positions and who have extensive budget committee experience. They are all individuals who have consistently put students and teachers first. I would be proud to continue to work with any of these three citizens.
I’m not asking for anything more than the support of my fellow Board members during this stressful time. By choosing from one of the three individuals whose resumes I provided to the entire board, we can ensure there will be an easy transition and a positive working relationship. The Attorney General’s opinion allows for that and it is a wise course of action for the Brentsville District that I have represented for 3 consecutive terms.
By supporting my wishes, the Board will also be respecting the wishes of the Brentsville District citizens who have been vocal about their support of my temporary replacement suggestions. I hope that the School Board will see that decision is the best for all involve
Here are the resumes of the three people Trenum wishes to fill his seat on an interim basis:
[pdf]https://potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ResumeCPCurrent.pdf[/pdf]
[pdf]https://potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Shawn_Brann_Resume_2016.pdf[/pdf]
