By Zach England
Allen L. “Mac” Felts Jr. defeated E.A.C. “Annie” LePere in a close race for an open Buena Vista school board seat.
Felts won by 55 votes with all three precincts reporting. He has been an interim board member since August, after John Butler resigned because he was moving outside the area.
Felts supports upgrading school technologies. He sees a need for more curriculum that could develop the work force in Buena Vista. He told the Rockbridge Report last month that more avenues for employment would be essential to moving the city forward.
He graduated from Parry McCluer High School in 1957. He coached high school sports, worked for State Farm, and then worked in small business in Lexington for the next 36 years. Felts has moved back to Buena Vista to retire.
An avid supporter of PMHS sports, Felts has been a member of the Parry McCluer Hall of Fame Committee since 2013. As a member, he helps research nominees and plan ceremonies for recipients whose plaques hang outside the school’s gym.
LePere hoped to increase attendance at school board meetings. She wanted to use her educational background in public health to continue to shepherd schools and families through a pandemic.
She serves as the childcare director for the YMCA. Previously, she worked at the Rockbridge Area Community Services, providing parenting education and mental health awareness training.
LePere is the mother of two kids who have gone through the Buena Vista Public Schools system. Her son Nathan graduated last year, and her daughter Mary is a senior at PMHS.
The school board sets policy for all school employees at the division’s two elementary schools, middle school and high school. The schools educate 900 students per year.
In Goshen, Stephen C. Bickley Sr., Robert L. “Bobby” Burke, and Deborah B. Bowden are competing for two empty town council seats.
As of 9:30 p.m., only one of two precincts have reported.