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Henke, Moss join school board; Roper to be chairman

By Lynn Hotaling
SM Two new members of the Jackson County Board of Education raised their right hands and promised to do their best for the children of Jackson County. Veteran educator Ken Henke of Sylva, right, and Nathan Moss of Cashiers, center, were sworn in by Assistant Clerk of Court Ann Melton at the beginning of Monday's (Oct. 28) school board meeting. - Herald photo by Lynn Hotaling

Two new members joined the Jackson County Board of Education Monday night, and a 10-year official was elected chairman of the panel charged with overseeing the education of local children.

Longtime member James Roper, who has represented District 3 since 1992, was unanimously elected chairman of the five-member board. District 4 delegate Ali Laird-Large was named vice chairman, a post Roper had held for most of his school board tenure.

Roper, who replaces the late Martha Queen as chairman, served as interim chairman since Queen's death in July.

Sworn in Monday were former Smoky Mountain Principal Ken Henke, who won the voters' nod Sept. 10 to succeed Queen as District 2's representative, and Nathan Moss, nephew of two-term former school board member Larry Moss.

Board members Roper, Laird-Large and Mary Jane Dillard appointed Henke last month to serve the remainder of Queen's term.

Officials selected Moss, who ran unopposed for the District 5 seat, to replace Ray Trine, who resigned his school board seat in September. Trine, a Cashiers real estate agent, chose not to seek a second term.

Moss and Henke, along with Roper and Laird-Large, who were unopposed in the September election, will renew their oath of office in December. At that time, board members will again vote on a chairman and vice chairman.

District 1 representative Dillard was elected to a four-year term in 2000 and was not a candidate this year.

Roper, who did not file for a third term that year, was appointed to fill the term of SMHS Principal Kenny Nicholson. Nicholson, who had retired from SMHS the year before, resigned from the District 2 school board seat before taking office when it was determined that he would return to SMHS as principal. Because more than two years remained of Nicholson's term, state law required Roper to seek election this year in order to continue on the board. The District 2 seat will again be up for grabs in 2004, along with the District 1 seat.

Non-partisan school board elections are typically held in conjunction with May primaries, with those elected taking office in July.

However, due to this year's lengthy redistricting battle, state primaries were not held until September. A bill passed by the N.C. General Assembly in May specified that for this year only school board members elected Sept. 10 would take office in December.

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