THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502080210
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Mack Benn Jr. has decided to give up his School Board seat because he said he can no longer give the job his all.
``It's just that I'm not up to the commitment anymore,'' Benn said Monday during a brief interview. His resignation is effective March 1.
Benn, 67, worked in the district for 35 years, retiring as superintendent in 1988 after having been a teacher, assistant principal, principal, coach, athletic director and central office administrator.
He was appointed to the board's Sleepy Hole seat in 1992. His seat would have been up for reappointment this June, but the term would have been for just one year. Because the city has switched to an elected school board, voters will decide who will fill the seat in June 1996.
Councilwoman Marian ``Bea'' Rogers of the Sleepy Hole Borough appointed Clarice C. Johnson to serve until the election. Benn gave Rogers his letter of resignation in mid-January.
Johnson, a Respass Beach resident and retired government teacher, has lived in Suffolk for nearly 30 years. She's been especially involved in land development issues around the Respass Beach and Holly Acres communities.
She said she wasn't sure whether she would run for office next year. For now, she said, she wants to focus on getting up to speed.
``I was a little surprised, but at the same time I'm grateful,'' Johnson said Tuesday, referring to the appointment. ``I think my experience as a classroom teacher will be a plus, and I think my work in the community will be a plus.''
Johnson, 65, is the mother of four grown children.
Benn was a key player in straightening out the board's financial troubles in 1991, when independent auditors found a $2.2 million deficit in the 1990-1991 school budget. The bad publicity led to the ousting of former Superintendent C. Lindsey Suggs. Benn was asked to fill in as acting superintendent.
He returned to retirement when the state attorney general said he could not retire and then come back to his old job and collect a salary. After that, the seven-member board retained him as a consultant. ILLUSTRATION: Clarice C. Johnson, right, was appointed to fill the seat of
Mack Benn Jr., left, until the school board election inJune 1996.
SUFFOLK SCHOOL BOARD AGENDA
[For a copy of the agenda, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK SCHOOL BOARD by CNB