XENIA — The Xenia Community Schools Board of Education will interview four candidates to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Pam Callahan.
Board members met March 17 and will interview former board members Cheryl Marcus and Jennifer Marietta, along with Dr. Melva “Cookie” Newsom and Joshua Smith.
— Marcus was a member of the XCS Board of Education from 1994 to 2001, and again from 2014 to 2021. She has served on multiple boards and volunteers her time to local community groups, including current positions with the Xenia Community Schools Foundation and High Schools that Work. She has also received numerous awards over her many years of service.
— Marietta was previously a member of the XCS Board of Education from 2017 to 2021. She has served as magistrate for the Greene County Juvenile Court, as well as the deputy director of the Greene County Public Defender’s Office, and currently owns and operates Marietta Law, LLC in Xenia. She has served on multiple other boards, including as chair for the Greene County Bar Association Ethics and Grievance Committee and the Xenia Board for Recreational Arts and Community Activities (BRACA).
— Newsom is a Xenia High School graduate who taught in the district for 19 years. Newsom earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of Dayton, and was a professor at multiple colleges and universities including Central State, Wilberforce, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Clark State College, and Antioch University Midwest. She has also served on numerous boards and has received multiple awards
— Smith is a software developer with years of IT and web support experience. He currently works as a computer scientist in a civilian capacity at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and is also employed by Blue52 Productions in a similar role. He is an active volunteer with his church and community, sitting on a local nonprofit school board and also volunteering for the last 10-plus years at the Air Force Junior ROTC Summer Leadership School..
Interviews are set to take place during special sessions — primarily in executive session — on Saturday, March 25 and Monday, March 27. An additional special meeting will be scheduled the week of March 27 during which a vote will be taken to appoint Callahan’s replacement.
The newly appointed member will be sworn in at the regular meeting on April 10 and will serve the remainder the unexpired term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2024.
