THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 2, 1996 TAG: 9607020231
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 31 lines
The School Board on Monday unanimously elected the Rev. Mark Croston and Calvin W. Jones as its chairman and vice chairman for the upcoming school year.
Croston, 37, was vice chairman in 1994-95 and 1995-96. He was first appointed to the board's Whaleyville Borough seat in 1993.
Running unopposed, Croston was elected to a four-year board term in May; the board's previous chair, Arthur Smith of the Nansemond Borough, was defeated at the polls in May.
``I'm hoping this will be an exciting year for us,'' Croston said Monday, citing capital-improvement projects and plans to improve middle school and alternative education.
Jones, a 47-year-old environmental health manager, was elected to the board's Holy Neck seat when Suffolk had its first School Board election in 1994.
Also Monday, the board approved annual salaries of $2,000 for each of its seven members - the state-mandated maximum for Suffolk's regular board members and the same amount they received in 1995-96.
The board gave Croston an extra $500 as chair - less than the maximum $1,100 extra the state allows for school board chairpeople.
Board meetings will be at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at City Hall, instead of 7:30 p.m.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK SCHOOL BOARD by CNB