New and old School Board members meet and greet at reception

Conversations tonight spruced up the usually quiet lobby of the Columbia Public Schools’ administration building. A steady flow of community members trickled in during the reception for the outgoing and incoming school board members.

A meeting, which followed the reception, swore in newlyelected members Michelle Pruitt and Christine King. The two members leaving the board are President Michelle Gadbois and Vice President Steve Calloway so the board will also elect members for those positions at the meeting.

Both Gadbois and Calloway donned yellow flowers on their lapels as they greeted those arriving at the reception. The community members brought   smiles,  handshakes, and many “Thank you’s” for the outgoing board members.

“I believe Michelle Gadbois will be missed. She asked the questions everyone was thinking,” Monica Miller said. “Calloway brought a sense of calmness when things were hectic in the district. He was forthcoming with information but never compromising everything.”

Miller said she thinks the incoming members will continue what Gadbois and Calloway left behind by fully understanding issues before asking for a vote and getting involved with the teachers. She is a mother to a 16-year-old, a third grade teacher at Paxton Keeley Elementary and a teacher at Rock Bridge High School.

When King was asked if there was anything she wanted to say to Gadbois
and Calloway as they leave the board, she smiled and said, “just thank you.”

“Thank you for all their service and time,” she added. After reflecting on the past, King said she was “excited, very excited” about the future.

“The fun part is getting into the schools and getting to know the staff and teachers,” she said.

Lee Elementary Principal Teresa VanDover echoed King’s feelings about the leaving board members.

“I appreciate their openness and dedication,” she said. VanDover is also looking forward to Pruitt and King’s future work saying that the two are “just as outgoing” as Gadbois and Calloway were in their involvement with the district.

Parent and activist Robin Hubbard also stopped by to say her goodbyes
to Gadbois and Calloway as well as to congratulate Pruitt and King.

“I think we are losing experience when we most need it,” she said. “However, the two people that were elected have been very involved with the school district.”

Hubbard said she hopes the incoming and current board member will call on the candidates that didn’t win for help.

“The new president should be calling those people (the candidates that did not win) and bringing them on board,” she said.

As clock neared 7 p.m. and the reception came to a close, chairs and tables were shifted back to their original place as the crowd slowly filled the meeting room seats. An entire class from MU’s school of journalism took up the back two rows with some students sitting on the ground, according to Bonnie Lumley, a student in Dr. Speck’s Journalism 2100 class. Folding chairs were brought in to help accommodate the large crowd.

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