BY FRANK DELANO
Claiming that B. "Anne" Congdon no longer lives in town, the Colonial Beach School Board has declared her seat on the board vacant and has voted to advertise to find her replacement.
"Anne is no longer a resident. Once she moved out of town, she was no longer eligible to serve on the School Board," said acting Chairman Tim Trivett.
Congdon said she is currently living in Northumberland County in a house that her mother, former soap-opera star Mary Fickett, bought last month. "I have not moved permanently," she said.
Congdon said she intends to move back to Colonial Beach when her former house at 200 Monroe St. is rebuilt. The house was demolished after it was severely damaged by fire in 2007.
Congdon said the board's action at the end of Wednesday night's meeting surprised her.
"Nobody gave me a heads-up that it was coming. I was so upset that I just left the meeting," she said.
With Congdon out of the room and Patrice Lyburn absent due to illness, the decision to seek a new member was made by Trivett, Michael Looney and Wayne Kennedy.
Kennedy was participating in his first meeting after being appointed by a circuit judge to replace Bernard "Rocky" Denson, who resigned.
Trivett cited a state law that says if a school board member "shall cease to be a resident of such district or school division, his position on the school board shall be deemed vacant."
Trivett said he, Looney and Kennedy took the action after consulting with the Virginia State Board of Elections, the School Board's attorney and Westmoreland County Commonwealth's Attorney Dean J. Atkins.
"I plan to fight back," said Congdon, who was elected to the school board in May 2008 with 356 votes. "I hate being bullied and the sneaky, underhanded method of doing business that was used against me."
Congdon's removal is the latest turbulence in the town's school management. Since last year, the division has seen three superintendents, a blistering audit of its books, two investigations of its finances by the Virginia State Police, the resignation of its finance director and acrimonious relations with the Town Council.
Congdon said she had also consulted the State Board of Elections and learned that the SBE adopted new regulations in August to clarify residency requirements. One of the new rules states:
"A person whose home is destroyed or rendered uninhabitable does not lose residence at that home if he intends to return to the home when it is reconstructed or made habitable, unless he has either established a new domicile or has changed his voter registration."
However, James Alcorn, the SBE's deputy secretary, said yesterday that the new regulations are being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice and have not yet taken effect.
Trivett said the School Board will hold interviews Sept. 30 of persons wishing to serve on the board until the end of Congdon's term on June 30, 2012.
Frank Delano: 804/761-4300
Email: fpdelano@gmail.com