School Zone
School Board Members Sworn In
and New Board Chair Appointed
On Tuesday, November 18, Stan
Jordan and W. C. Gentry were sworn in as the newest
members of the School Board during a Duval County School
Board organizational meeting.
Last month,
Jacksonville
voters elected both men as the replacements for Martha
Barrett, District 1 and Kris Barnes, District 3. Both
Barrett and Barnes have reached term limits, serving on
the board since 2000.
Stan Jordan will serve as the
board member for District 1, which includes City Council
Districts 1 and 2. This will be Mr. Jordan’s second time serving as a
member of the School Board, having previously served
from 1984 through 2000, when he was chairman for four
terms.
Mr. Jordan, a graduate of
Andrew Jackson High School
and
Jacksonville University, is a retired U.S. Army
Colonel who served in several capacities during his
military career; he was also honored with a Legion of
Merit Award.
In 2000, Mr.
Jordan
was elected to the Florida House of Representatives
District 17, and re-elected in 2004. While a member of
the House, he served on several committees and councils,
including the Committee on Military and Veterans’
Affairs, the Committee on K-12 Education, and the
Government Efficiency and Accountability Council.
W. C. Gentry will serve as
the board member for District 3, which includes City
Council District’s 4 and 5. Mr. Gentry, also a graduate
of Andrew Jackson
High School, received his Juris
Doctorate magna cum laude from the
University
of Florida’s College of Law
in 1971.
For more than 30 years, Mr.
Gentry has handled trials and appeals in complex
litigation, including constitutional issues. He
presently devotes much of his time to public interest
matters, principally involving education.
He serves on the boards of
the Early Learning Coalition of Duval and The Alliance
for World Class Education. He is a founding director and
chair of the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, and
has also served as pro bono counsel to the Duval County
School Board and the Florida School Boards Association.
In December 2007, he was appointed by the Mayor of
Jacksonville to chair the education subcommittee of the
"Jacksonville Journey" to deal with crime and community
issues.
Tommy Hazouri was appointed
Chair of the Board, replacing Betty Burney who served
for the past year. Chairman Hazouri represents District
7 and joined the School Board in November 2004.
Filling Mr. Hazouri’s Vice
Chairman seat is Brenda A. Priestly Jackson. Brenda
Priestly Jackson represents District 4, and was
initially elected to the School Board in 2002 and
re-elected in 2006.
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