Staying in the family: Lex school board appoints Lore Whitney to fill her father's seat
LEXINGTON — The Whitney name is not leaving the Lexington Local Schools Board of Education.
After meeting Wednesday night in executive session for an hour and 45 minutes, board members selected Lore Whitney to fill the vacancy left by Robert Whitney, her father.
Whitney died Jan. 1 at the age of 88. He had spent nearly 60 years as a member of the Lexington Local Schools Board of Education, making him the longest-serving school board member in the history of Ohio.
A whopping 25 people expressed interest in filling the school board vacancy.
In her letter of interest, Lore Whitney said nothing would make her prouder than to continue the excellence of Lexington Local Schools.
The 1980 Lexington graduate is the treasurer of the Lexington Athletic Booster Club.
"I am involved in all activities relating to raising funds for the student-athletes and athletic facilities," she wrote to the board. "As you are aware, the booster club is currently paying for the resurfacing of the track. I also file yearly reports with the Ohio Attorney General's Office to maintain the status of nonprofit for the athletic booster club."
Whitney wrote that community service is her life. She mentors Lexington students and those in surrounding districts in her work as a guardian ad litem through Richland County Domestic Relations Court and Richland County Juvenile Court.
Lore Whitney to be sworn in at Feb. 21 meeting
She will be sworn in at the board's Feb. 21 meeting and will serve the remainder of the term, through 2025.
The board voted 3-0 to appoint Whitney, with Vice President Rob Schuster abstaining. Whitney is his aunt.
Board President Keith Stoner called Whitney after the meeting to see if she would accept the appointment.
"I am pleased that we were able to get that number of candidates," he said. "When push came to shove, Lore was a good choice, and she's been involved so deeply in the community and the schools for so, so long. It became pretty evident."
Board member Martin Gottschling said Whitney has never said "no" to the district, so members could not say "no" to her interest in serving on the board.
Stoner noted that members considered five criteria in reviewing candidates through their letters of interest.
They wanted to see if applicants were involved in the schools and the community; what they knew about the district; what they knew about board service; their relevant experience, and their motivation and demeanor.
"Is it someone we can work with, have hard conversations with and rely on to maintain the trust that you have to have as a board when you're having difficult issues or legal issues?" Stoner said.
Board member Dave Roberts said they applied the criteria for all 25 candidates, making for a fair process.
Stoner added another positive for Whitney.
"I'm pleased that we're going to have a woman on our board again," he said. "It's been a while since we've had a woman on the board. I think that's a nice perspective for us to have."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Local Schools Board of Education appoints Lore Whitney
