PNK Education Committee

Overview

The Education Committee will assist the Partnership in developing and maintaining strong and productive relationships with the elected members of the New Kent County School Board, other County Officials, and local government leaders for the purpose of providing substantive information on the wide variety of educational issues facing New Kent County (NKC) during the current period of accelerated population growth.

Purpose

The Education Committee (henceforth Committee) of the Partnership for New Kent, LLC (henceforth Partnership) will assist the Partnership in developing and maintaining strong and productive relationships with the elected members of the New Kent County School Board, other County Officials, and local government leaders for the purpose of providing substantive information on the wide variety of educational issues facing New Kent County (NKC) during the current period of accelerated population growth.

The Committee, representing the Partnership, understands the critical importance of ensuring that the citizens of the NKC are apprised of emergent and recurring issues facing the School Division as the student population continues to grow stressing School Division resources, infrastructure, and educational policies and opportunities. The Committee will strive to promote and ensure that rigorous public discourse, communication, collaboration, and transparency exist between the School Board and the citizens of NKC ensuring that the desires of the citizenry are appropriately heard and considered by the School Board. Overall, the three foundational anchors of the Committee are to advance educational awareness and related School Division issues of interest to NKC citizens; Secondly, to promote and monitor communication efforts between the School Board and the NKC Board of Supervisors and between the School Board and NKC citizens; and thirdly to communicate committee activities to NKC citizens via multiple media sources emphasizing a culture of cooperation and team building with the School Board.

Membership

The Committee reports to the Executive Committee (EXCOMM) of the Partnership. The Chair of the Committee will serve as a member of the EXCOMM. The Chair of the Partnership chairs the EXCOMM. The Committee will consist of at least four (4) members including the Chair. The Chair of the Committee will reside in NKC or pay taxes in NKC if the County is not their home of record. The Chair of the Committee will serve a one-year term and will either be newly appointed or reappointed by the Chair of the Partnership annually. Any member of the Committee may be removed for lack of meeting attendance or participation after consultation with the EXCOMM.

Meetings and Structure

The Committee will meet at such times as are deemed appropriate by the Committee Chair. The Chair and any two (2) members constitute a quorum. The Chair will be responsible for preparing meeting agendas, presiding over meetings, maintaining meeting minutes, and coordinating deliverables from and reports to the EXCOMM. If the Chair is not available, any Committee member may perform the duties and responsibilities of the Chair. Committee members will assist in attending and documenting scheduled School Board meetings and work sessions.

Authority and Responsibilities

The Committee will act on behalf of its members and as the liaison between the School Board, other county leaders as appropriate, the EXCOMM, and the Partnership. The Committee is responsible for the following:
● Establishing open channels of communication with elected members of the School Board, other local County Officials when required, and State or Federal officials if necessary.
● Performing research, conducting interviews, reviewing School Division documents, and evaluating internet material germane to State and local educational policies, School Division resource allocation and infrastructure requirements, and other issues and challenges of interest to the citizens of NKC.
● Track, review, and analyze the annual School Division budget.
● Promoting vigorous public interaction and communication between the School Board and the County’s Board of Supervisors.
● Promoting public discourse, transparency, and communication between the School Board and County citizens.
● Working collaboratively to advance and maximize citizen knowledge of educational issues and challenges caused by rapid county growth.
● Advocating for responsible resource allocation to maximize student educational opportunities in the face of competing County priorities.
● Assisting the School Board by helping them to keep parents, students, and all interested County citizens informed of policy changes and other key issues like new school construction, budgets, school calendars, and redistricting.
● Annually, conduct a Committee self-assessment to review the adequacy of the Charter and evaluate the Committee’s performance relative to its stated roles and responsibilities.
● Perform other duties and responsibilities as requested or specified by the EXCOMM and Partnership.

Authority to Retain Experts

The Committee will have the authority to retain, replace, or dismiss as necessary or appropriate independent advisors to assist it in fulfilling its roles and responsibilities. The Partnership will provide the necessary funding as determined by the Committee and approved by the EXCOMM for compensation to advisors employed by the Committee.

Committee Members

Paul P. Ross, Chair
Paul P. Ross retired from Federal service after 27 years in April 2018. Before retiring from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) he was the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and served 3 years as the Federal Security Director (FSD) for the state of Nebraska at Eppley Airfield (Omaha) from September 2013 to July 2016. He was responsible for federal security oversight of nine federalized airports and statewide TSA surface transportation security operations in the State of Nebraska.

Mr. Ross joined the Transportation Security Administration in May 2003. Assigned to the Northeast Area Staff, Aviation Operations Division, Mr. Ross was the principal area Operations Officer responsible for the oversight of 81 Northeast region airports and all aspects of passenger and baggage checkpoint operations, including equipment acquisition, maintenance and training, airport checkpoint security standard operating procedures, facilities and space acquisition, and checkpoint construction and expansion scheduling.

In May 2004, Mr. Ross transferred to the Transportation Security Operations Center (TSOC) where he became the senior TSA Command Duty Officer and Training Officer. Mr. Ross completed three details assignments to the Los Angeles International Airport as the Deputy Federal Security Director and was designated as a certified Senior Executive by OPM in March 2010. He was a member of several interagency working groups representing TSA and TSOC interests for a variety of security and domain awareness topics. In November 2010, Mr. Ross transitioned the TSA Contact Center, security component, from the Office of Special Counsel to the Office of Law Enforcement.

Prior to joining the TSA, Mr. Ross was a commercial airline pilot for sixteen years with US Airways. He also served twenty-seven years in the United States Navy, seven years on active duty and twenty years on Reserve assignments, including four command tours.

During his career with US Airways, he was based in Greensboro, North Carolina and Washington DC flying as a Flight Engineer on the B-727 and A-300 and as a Copilot on the Fokker F-100, Douglas DC-9, and Boeing 737-300. Additionally, Mr. Ross flew as a Captain on the Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737-200. During his active duty Navy career, Mr. Ross flew P-3B Orion aircraft based at Barbers Point, Hawaii. His Navy Re-serve assignments included three squadron tours and three assignments on the Chief of Naval Operations’ staff (OPNAV). The three OPNAV tours included one Executive Officer assignment and one Commanding Officer assignment. He also completed two Commanding Officer assignments with US Joint Forces Command, and a Commanding Officer assignment with a forward deployed logistics unit supporting the European theater.

Mr. Ross holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland and a Masters of Arts degree in National Security Studies from the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. He is an OPM certified Senior Executive and retired from the US Navy Reserve as a Captain.

Minutes of Meetings

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