The Courier-Record

RICHMOND IN ROARK’S FUTURE?

Supervisor’s ‘Go Live’ addresses potential for other offices

FACEBOOK LIVE John Roark’s remarks during a Saturday morning walk had received more than 1,100 views as of Monday morning.

FACEBOOK LIVE John Roark’s remarks during a Saturday morning walk had received more than 1,100 views as of Monday morning.

BUT SCHOOL BOARD RACES ARE MOST IMP., SAYS SUPERVISOR

Nottoway Supervisor John Roark — perhaps the most high profile and most outspoken public official in County history — says he had considered running for the School Board instead of seeking reelection to his District Two seat.

In a Facebook Live address Saturday morning with more than 1,100 views at presstime, Roark said he’s already qualified to run again for Supervisor but that if he were running for the School Board, he’d campaign on making “administrative changes. And there’s more than one who needs to go.”

Roark said it’s his understanding that due to frequent student fighting, students are now required to eat both breakfast and lunch in classrooms at least until Spring Break.

Roark said with so many challenges facing Nottoway Public Schools, parents are asking him the School Board’s justification for a proposed new $12 million gym.

“That will be a COMPETITIVE environment. And you can’t let kids eat their breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria, which is a social environment, because of all the fights? If you can’t control students in a social environment, how are you going to control them in an competitive environment?”

Roark urged County residents to tell candidates what issues should be in their platform instead of simply being told by office-seekers. “Citizens, go tell the candidates what to run on. The School Board election is probably more important than the Board of Supervisors’.”

Roark said one School Board member has complained to him that the Board is now simply rubber-stamping administrative requests.

‘Chain of command’ is a term he doesn’t like to use, Roark said, but he added it’s very important in local government. He said Supervisors and School Board members are to direct County Administrators and School Superintendents and their staffs — not vice-versa.

Roark revealed that while he advocates term limits and that if elected in November, it likely would be his final term, he’s also pondering a future run for School Board or even House of Delegates.

Nottoway is blessed with “really smart people,” Roark said, but many want no part of the “chaos” in county government. “Well, the best way to cure ‘chaos’ is to go in and fix the problems.”

Roark revealed that he enjoyed lunch two weeks ago with retired County Administrator Ronnie Roark (no relation). Supervisor Roark says he now realizes he and other Board members erred when they didn’t honor Roark as well as retired Assistant County Administrator John Prosise.”

I don’t think you’re going to find those levels of commitment with the next generation. We need to formally recognize them.”

Both Ronnie Roark and John Prosise retired in 2021, not long after the Feb. 2021 ice storm. Roark served as County Administrator for 46 years, Prosise served the County in various capacities for 27 years.

Supervisor Roark made his remarks Saturday while walking around a pond with his dog. He began his address by expressing serious concerns about Nottoway poultry producers after news broke last week that Tyson Foods is closing some of its plants. He said at least 12 farms in Nottoway will be adversely impacted, and that it could amount to a reduction in taxable revenue of some $40 million.

“We were just blindsided by the Tyson news.”

Roark said he knows one farmer who pays $6,000 a year on insurance and now won’t be producing, but he still has to make those payments.

“How do we as a County in the coming budget, slap a real estate tax on agricultural people who aren’t producing due to no fault of their own? This has changed the outlook of our budget. There are some things that we now won’t be able to do.”

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