NORMANDY, Mo. — After Tuesday's municipal elections, the Normandy Schools Collaborative Joint Executive Governing Board woke up to the dawn of a new era.
"The community for the longest, since 2014, has been asking when do we turn back to a position of local control?" Board President William Humphrey said.
Board President William Humphrey couldn't wait to congratulate Christopher Petty and Harlan Hodge, the district's first elected members in 8 years.
"As soon as the news came out that we were going to have two open board seats available, I immediately said I think I should be one of those people," Hodge said.
In 2014, the state dissolved the Normandy School District, formed the Normandy Schools Collaborative and appointed its board members.
"We've had wonderful leaders in this district doing really hard work behind closed doors and inside of meetings and just really struggling to do the things that it takes to bring a district back to full accreditation," Hodge said.
In December, the Missouri Board of Education voted to transition the district from an appointed school board to an elected one.
Tuesday's election was the first step in moving the control back to local governance.
"At the end of the day, the taxpayer's dollars were being expended, but they did not have a true voice in how those dollars were going," Humphrey said.
"Our school district belongs to the families, the children, the communities," Hodge said.
Humphrey said there's still a long road ahead, but with their new English and math curricula, he believes they're on track to compete with other excelling districts.
"Our children deserve that level of education and I believe the board that we're bringing together will move in that direction to bring something that's long overdue," Humphrey said.
Petty and Hodge will replace the current members, Mike Jones and Sara Foster.
The newly elected members will join the board at the April 12 meeting.