Heather Bell
RADFORD – Three new members of the Radford City School Board will join two current members of the board this January after being elected in Tuesday’s election.
The three incumbents whose terms were up for re-election – Liz Altieri, George “Lynn” Burris, and Lee Slusher – chose not to run for another term. The new members are Gloria W. Boyd, who earned 2,138 votes (28.76%), Chris B. Calfee, who received 1,882 votes (25.32%), and R. Jane Swing, who garnered 1,710 votes ( 23.00%). It was a close race, with the remaining candidate, Ed J. Dickenson, receiving 1,609 votes (21.64%). There were 95 (1.28%) write-in votes.
Boyd, a retired teacher from Radford City Public Schools, said she hopes to be a voice for all stakeholders in RCPS.
“I could not be more grateful and humbled by the support and vote of confidence I have been given,” she said. “My pledge was, and is, to be a voice for families, teachers, students, and all stakeholders. I stand on that pledge and look forward to serving. Thank you for entrusting me with the well-being and education of your children.”
Calfee has children who attend RCPS and said he looks forward to bringing commonsense reasoning to the board.
“I am honored to be elected to serve all citizens of Radford as a school board member,” he said. “I appreciate the trust that was placed in me by everyone who voted for me. I also hope to show everyone that through my willingness to have conversations with anyone, and then relay that information to the rest of the board team, then I can prove that I have the best interest of all parents, students, and staff of RCPS at heart. Through open conversations, fair consideration, and responsible common-sense reasoning we can make our schools great and best serve everyone.”
Swing retired as the Director of the Office of Adult Education and Literacy at Radford University and is also a former K-12 teacher. She said she is excited to help make the best environment possible for RCPS students.
“I am honored to have earned a seat at the Radford City School Board table,” she said. “I look forward to learning more about the strengths and challenges facing our school system. I am excited to direct my experience and energies to working with all stakeholders to provide the best educational environment possible for all of our students. This is a great opportunity to focus our work on being united as Radford Bobcats.”
The school board members are elected to four-year terms. The new members join School Board Chair Jenny Riffe and Vice-Chair Jody Ray.
