Indian River chooses two to fill vacancies on school board

Moses and Fritz to be sworn in this week

By Glenn Rolfe
Posted 4/27/21

GEORGETOWN — Jim Fritz is back on board.

For Madeline Moses, it’s a new experience.

Indian River School District’s board of education Monday selected Ms. Moses and Mr. Fritz as appointees to fill District 1 vacancies created when first-term members Anthony L. Cannon and Dr. Leo Darmstadter III moved out of the district earlier this year.

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Indian River chooses two to fill vacancies on school board

Moses and Fritz to be sworn in this week

Posted

GEORGETOWN — Jim Fritz is back on board.

For Madeline Moses, it’s a new experience.

Indian River School District’s board of education Monday selected Ms. Moses and Mr. Fritz as appointees to fill District 1 vacancies created when first-term members Anthony L. Cannon and Dr. Leo Darmstadter III moved out of the district earlier this year.

Mr. Fritz, who “retired” from the board in July after serving seven years, and Ms. Moses were among four candidates who sought the vacant seats on the district’s 10-member governing body.

Dr. Beth Conaway and Lisa Hudson Briggs were the other candidates.

Each candidate was allotted five minutes Monday to address the board on their background and reasons for seeking appointment.

Ms. Moses was the first to secure a seat. After several votes, Mr. Fritz emerged as the board’s choice for the other spot.

“I probably would have not thrown my hat in the ring had I known that you were going to have such outstanding applicants,” Ms. Moses said.

Mr. Fritz shared similar sentiments.

“What I found so important when these two positions opened up was making sure the right people get on this board,” he said. “I had no idea that these three would be putting their names into the hat. I’m confident that any of the two that you decide to pick tonight would be great choices. I feel pretty confident that, if chosen, I pretty much can hit the ground running with very little learning curve.”

Ms. Moses brings to the board a background in pharmacy and psychiatric work with teens and adolescents.

“Since we realize that schools are microcosms of society, my fear is that when we reopen school districts — especially this one because this is where I have my major concern — I think our teachers are going to encounter things that they have never experienced before,” she said. “When I stand behind the counter, I see escalated rates of depression, anxiety. … All of these students that have been exposed to fear and anxiety, that is going to trickle over into the classroom.”

Currently, Ms. Moses is a consultant pharmacist at the Stockley Center in Georgetown, “where I provide a voice for the voiceless,” she said.

“I want to commend the Indian River School District for providing superior education,” Ms. Moses said. “I have two daughters who received tremendous foundations here that have enabled them to go on.”

With no children currently in the district nor any family member employed by the IRSD, Mr. Fritz said, “I truly feel like I bring an independent, unbiased voice to the board (and) can make decisions that are solely based on the betterment of our children and staff.

“I spent the last seven years on the school board. My term ended last July,” he added. “So after not running for reelection last July, why am I here again? The answer is simple. I took the last nine months, and of course, a lot has gone on. I know you, as a board, have dealt with tremendous issues and have done a fantastic job. The administration — you have done, as always, a thankless job of keeping the school district going. Our teachers (have) been thrown into a whirlwind. I am a businessman in this community. I make a good living in this community. I feel an obligation to give something back and to serve. Being part of the school board is a way of doing so.”

Mr. Fritz continued, “My only agendas are what’s the best education we can provide for our kids, get our kids back in school, and also, I think I was a pretty good watchdog for the taxpayers in this community.”

Board President Rodney Layfield thanked the four who offered their time to the district.

“On behalf of the board, I’d like to thank everyone that come out. We had four very good candidates. By close vote, we were able to narrow it down to two,” said Mr. Layfield, who asked Superintendent Dr. Jay Owens when the new board members would be sworn in.

“Our plan would be to take care of that this week, so I will contact them and check on their availability,” said Dr. Owens.

The appointments of Ms. Moses and Mr. Fritz will run through June 30, 2022. Then, should they desire to continue serving, they would have to seek reelection to serve the remainder of the term, until 2025.

Unchallenged in the school board election in July, Mr. Cannon and Dr. Darmstadter assumed District 1 board seats previously held by James Hudson and Mr. Fritz, both of whom retired after serving eight and seven years, respectively, as board members.

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