In unanimous votes Thursday, Ronnie Terry and Brandon Simmons were elected to lead the Patrick County School Board in the coming year.

Annie Hylton, of the Peters Creek District, nominated Terry.

Michelle Day, of the Mayo River District, nominated Simmons.

Terry, of the Blue Ridge District, said this marks his third consecutive year in the position. He also has served as chairman at other times of his 10-years on the board.

Looking ahead, “my goals are basically always the same: To try to find more money for teachers and support staff, and to do more for our kids,” Terry said.

For instance, “we’re going be doing something at the high school that I’ve wanted to do for several years, but we didn’t have the money before now,” Terry said.

Because it is not yet time for a formal announcement, Terry declined to provide specifics. However, he did say it is “college related. We’ve been working hard to get more classes in. If we can get classes there that the kids can take, when they graduate they can go to work making good money.”

Terry said that is particularly true for students who do not plan to pursue a college education.

“I’m hoping we have some better things for them at the high school, in terms of dual enrollment. So, we have a few things going on and in the works that hopefully will help us to make some changes” and improvements there, he said.

The first four years of Terry’s tenure on the board were focused on building projects, either in terms of updates or deferred maintenance jobs, he said.

“While we were concentrated on that, education suffered,” he said, and recalled that a decline in the state-required Standards of Learning (SOL) accreditation started about eight years ago. The state Board of Education “came in and raked us over the coals. We had to change our ways, and we did.”

The division now is fully accredited.

“Our teachers are responsible for that,” Terry said, adding the division as a whole focused on professional development to help teaching staff.

“Teachers across the state are under a lot of pressure,” said Terry, who also is the father of a teacher. “Teachers are really getting it tough. They spend all day in class and then they have to take work home with them. I hate they have to work at home and I hate the pressure that’s being put on them,” Terry said. “That’s that’s why we’re trying to find ways to help them.”

The pressure, he said, is due to state requirements, including SOL pass rates.

“The state comes up with this and you’ve got to pass it or you’ll lose your accreditation and the state will take funding away and do with it as they see fit,” Terry said.

The division works hard to keep up with changing trends in education, he said.

“We can’t afford not to,” Terry said. “We don’t need to fall behind again, but if we sat on our laurels right now, we would because education doesn’t sit still, it changes and it grows.”

Simmons, of the Dan River District, said being nominated “was a surprise. I wasn’t expecting it, with it being my first year and my first meeting. It was an honor that I was nominated. I think it means they’ve already got a little confidence in me,” Simmons said of his board colleagues.

He also was appointed to five committees, including the budget committee.

Simmons said that’s in keeping with his plan to focus on the areas he identified as concerns during his campaign, including employee morale and the amount of funds spent.

“There are a lot of community concerns” about the budget, Simmons said “I’m hearing a lot more from taxpayers than I do from teachers and employees, and that’s something we need to look into. I want to concentrate on that and make sure to spend where it needs to be spent and hold” in areas that are unnecessary, he said.

“I’m going in with an open mind. I think we all are, old and new,” Simmons said, adding he believes all the members are committed to do the “best job we can do to the job we were elected to do.”

Personally, “I try to be the best at anything I do, and I’ll try to do the best at the job I was elected to do,” Simmons said. “I’ll do whatever the task requires.”

Sara Leigh Collins was reappointed Clerk.