Two new school board members were selected to be the board chair and vice chair during a workshop Tuesday afternoon, which will be officially voted on during the Nov. 22 school board meeting.

Mary Fischer was selected to serve as the board chair replacing Thomas Scott and Jeanne Dozier was selected to replace Fischer as the vice chair. The recommendation will be brought before the board for an official vote at the next board meeting.

Board member Jane Kuckel told Scott that he has done a great job serving as the board chair over the past year as a new board member.

“You have done a good job of bringing us through the first year,” she said.

Dozier agreed that Scott did an outstanding job in keeping everyone together while moving the district along very well.

Scott told the board that it has almost always been enjoyable to serve as the board chair over the past year.

“I think we have made good progress,” he said. “I think we covered a lot of good ground last year.”

Kuckel said in years past it has been the board’s tradition to rotate the chair and vice chair positions to allow everyone the opportunity to experience that responsibility.

“A learning and leadership role that each person, new person, on the board should have in their pocket going on through their board term,” she said.

With a new board member acting as the chairman, Kuckel said, it will give one more board member with the substantial understanding of how they relate to the community.

“Everyone has the chance of bringing that experience back to the table,” she said.

Kuckel recalls from the years that she has been on the board that they have only repeated chair after everyone has had the chance to experience being the chairperson.

Board member Don Armstrong agreed that it is important for the board to keep that rotation going.

Once the new chairman and vice chairman were pre-selected the board, members were assigned to committees for the 2011-2012 school year.

In addition, the “Lee in the Loop” online communication for board member messages was also discussed during the workshop. The monthly rotation allows every board member to address a topic.

The only board member not to participate in the rotation is Armstrong because he feels it is a waste of time and no one reads what is posted.

His fellow board members did not agree with him and felt that he should be contributing to the rotation.

“I would prefer that I would not have to write three times because I am forced to pick up your slack,” Scott said. “It is unfortunate and an imposition on the balance of the board members. I think you have some obligation to other board members.”

Fischer told him that there are probably some tasks that some of them will not like, but it is part of their responsibility.