1/13/09

Columbus Dispatch

Simone Sebastian

“We are a growing, diverse community here in Columbus,” said new school board member Ramona Reyes. She is pictured in 2006 coaching a girl’s soccer team.

The Columbus school board has tapped the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus board to finish the final year of the term left vacant because of W. Carlton Weddington’s election to the Ohio House.

Ramona Reyes, 39, is a human-resources specialist at Nationwide Insurance. Besides her involvement with the Hispanic Chamber, she has been a mentor at Norton Middle School and is involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Reyes said increasing the school district’s graduation rate, currently 71 percent, and improving interaction with parents were two of her primary interests.

Board President Carol Perkins said Reyes’ activity in the Latino community was very important in the board’s decision.

Reyes hopes her new position will help the board better connect with students who are multilingual or recent immigrants.

“We are a growing, diverse community here in Columbus,” said Reyes, who is bilingual in Spanish and will be the only Latino member of the school board.

Eight people had applied for the position.

A second vacancy on the seven-person school board will be created when President Terry Boyd resigns Jan. 31. Boyd said he needs more time to focus on his job as an administrator at Franklin University.

A third position could have opened if the Columbus City Council appointed school-board member Gary L. Baker to one of its two open seats. But he was not a finalist for the council.