Jason Maresh will succeed John Collick as chairman of Isle of Wight County’s School Board per a unanimous vote at the board’s Jan. 3 reorganizational meeting.

Maresh, who was reelected in November to the board’s Windsor-centric District 4 seat, most recently served as vice chairman under Collick, who holds the Carrsville-centric District 5 seat.

In Maresh’s place as vice chairman the board elected Mark Wooster, who was also reelected in November to the Carrollton-centric District 2 seat.

Maresh and Collick will continue to serve on the board’s finance committee as Isle of Wight County Schools works to resolve a deficit from the prior school year.

Collick will also serve as Isle of Wight’s representative on the regional Governor’s School for the Arts, Southeastern Cooperative Educational Program, or SECEP, and Special Education Advisory Committee boards. Brandi Perkins, who was elected in November to the School Board’s Smithfield-centric District 1 seat, will serve as an alternate for Collick on the three regional boards.

Maresh, who last year floated and later walked back a proposal to withdraw Isle of Wight from the Virginia School Boards Association, will as chairman serve as the School Board’s primary VSBA delegate. 

“As the chair I will absolutely step up and represent the board for VSBA as long as we’re members,” Maresh said.

Michael Cunningham, who represents the former Hardy District in the District 3 seat, will serve as an alternate for Maresh at the VSBA.

Wooster will serve as the board’s primary representative to its Career and TeChnical Education, or CTE, advisory committee with Cunningham as his alternate.