At today’s State Board of Education (State Board) meeting, board members accepted the recommendation made by Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven to complete the transition back to local governance for the Normandy Schools Collaborative and the Riverview Gardens School District. With this action, the Normandy Joint Executive Governing Board (JEGB) and the Riverview Gardens Special Administrative Board (SAB) are dissolved and will now be referred to as local boards of education in each respective district.

Voters will have the opportunity in the April 2024 election to elect three new board members in Normandy and two new board members in Riverview Gardens. Members elected in April 2024 will join the local board members that were elected in April 2022 and April 2023.

“Strong local governance is key to the success of any school district,” said Commissioner Vandeven. “The Normandy and Riverview Gardens communities have expressed a strong commitment to ensuring community support and effective board governance.”  

The State Board set a final term of office for three current Normandy JEGB members (Sheila Grimes Williams, Valerie Patton, and Ronald L. Roberts) and two current Riverview Gardens SAB members (Tommie Harsley III and Veronica Morrow-Reel). Each individual’s term will now expire on June 30, 2024.

“We are grateful for the dedicated service of all appointed members of the JEGB and SAB, past and present,” said Commissioner Vandeven. “Their commitment to improving opportunities for the students in their respective district is admirable.”

School board election filing begins December 5, 2023, and is open through December 26, 2023, for the election on April 2, 2024. Interested candidates should contact their respective school district for filing information.

The transition back to local governance in Normandy and Riverview Gardens began in December 2021. The first locally elected members were selected by voters in April 2022. Then in October 2022, the State Board voted to continue the gradual transition back to local governance, and three additional local board members were elected in April 2023.

Both Normandy and Riverview Gardens are currently provisionally accredited. Each school district provided a status update to the State Board at today’s meeting (see the agenda for materials presented).