By Randy Arrington
LURAY, May 26 — During a special meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the Page County School Board announced that the next superintendent of Page County Public Schools would be Dr. Antonia Fox, most recently the assistant superintendent of Poquoson City Public Schools.
The three-year contract of current superintendent, Dr. Wendy Gonzalez, expires on June 30. On Jan. 13, Dr. Gonzalez notified the school board that she would not be seeking a renewal of that contract.
Dr. Fox will enter a similar three-year agreement that begins July 1 and extends through June 30, 2024, according to District 3 school board member, Dr. Amy Painter, who read the motion for approval. The motion received unanimous approval, although no school board members commented on the appointment, nor did they offer any details about the superintendent’s contract, such as salary or benefits. The brief special meeting was adjourned within minutes.
“It’s an honor, and I’m very humbled to be here today,” Dr. Fox said in a brief statement after the vote. “I don’t take for granted the work you’ve entrusted me to do moving forward.”
“I’m excited about not only joining Page County Public Schools, but I’m also excited about joining the community,” the new superintendent continued. “My family and I will be looking for somewhere to live now to move into the county.”
After starting off in the classroom teaching biology and chemistry at York High School for a decade, the longtime educator served as a principal at the middle and high school levels, including recognition as the Virginia High School Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 2012. The next year, Dr. Fox received the School Administrator Professional Learning Award from the national organization Learning Forward. The Virginia Student Council Association recognized her as High School Administrator of the Year in 2010.
Prior to becoming assistant superintendent for instruction and support services at Poquoson in July 2016, Dr. Fox served as the director of curriculum and instruction for Portsmouth City Schools.
“I’m really looking forward to talking with people, engaging with stakeholders, and just getting a feel, listening and learning in the first few months to figure out where we are and what we are doing, because there are some wonderful things happening in Page County and I’m looking forward to being a part of that,” Dr. Fox said at Wednesday’s special meeting.
The new superintendent thanked members of the community — some present at the special meeting — who had been involved in the panel who had interviewed candidates. The school system has not indicated at this point how many candidates applied or how many were interviewed for the position.
“I’m also looking forward re-engaging as a community to see our kids back doing the things they love…and us joining and celebrating in those events,” Dr. Fox added. “Thank you so much…we’re gonna get to work.”
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