The Maplewood Richmond Heights Board of Education on Monday elected Maplewood resident Wes Robb, 50, to replace Dawn Medina, who resigned from the board in May.
The board elected Robb after interviewing him and Dan O’Sullivan, who had also applied as a candidate for the board.
Robb’s wife, Jackie, and daughter, Gwen, who will be in seventh grade at MRH, came with him to the meeting.
See also: MRH board member resigns, replacement candidates sought
These are Robb’s answers to some of the board’s questions. He will be sworn in at the August meeting.
- His vision: citizens gain to benefit from the school’s activities and resources, and the students get the benefit of energized citizenry supporting the schools. Expectations and goals need to be aligned toward those goals.
- He grew up in a military family, and saw many school districts and teaching techniques. He has a BS in chemistry, and was on the MRH Long Range Facilities Planning Committee.
- He has been an entrepreneur, so understands how to work within budgets.
- Has a passion for successful public school education. “Everyone in my family is a product of public schools, and have had a high level of success in their lives.”
- Didn’t run in the previous election because a possible job opportunity would have kept him away. He’s now in another, very stable job. He said he would run again.
- How well we move students from the ECC and elementary school up the grade levels is dependent on how much revenue you can bring in, and for that, the challenge becomes convincing what might be a reluctant public the value of a strong school district in their lives and communities.
Robb joins existing members Maria Langston, Nelson Mitten, Francis Chmelir, Brooke Rintoul, Ralph Posley and Katie Kaufmann.