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Three Chopt District School Board member Micky Ogburn will seek re- election to the seat she has held for more than five years, but fellow board member Beverly Cocke of the Brookland District will not seek a third-term.
Ogburn made her announcement late last month; Cocke made hers this morning.
Cocke won election in 2011 after the seat was vacated by Linda McBride, then won re-election four years later. She has served as chair of the board twice, in 2013 and 2015.
Ogburn won a special election in 2014 to fill the final year of a four-year term that had been vacated in 2013 by former Three Chopt member Diana Winston, then won re-election in 2015 to serve her own four-year term. She has served as chair of the School Board twice during her tenure and is the first of the board's five members to formally announce her re-election plans.
"I am excited about the future of Henrico County Public Schools," Ogburn said in a statement. "I am honored to serve the citizens of Henrico County and firmly believe I have more to contribute to our schools and community.
"Our students deserve every opportunity and it is our obligation to the Henrico community to create a pathway for student success in world-class schools that include innovative programs and learning spaces. We will take two very large steps towards these goals with the completion of Tuckahoe Middle School's renovation later this year and the construction of an all-new Tucker High School opening in 2021."
Ogburn cited the board's efforts to approve the Achievable Dream Academy at Highland Springs Elementary School (an innovative, year- round program designed to prepare students from all backgrounds for college and career paths) and the creation of the Gifted Young Scholars Academy at Wilder Middle School – Henrico's first middle school specialty center for advanced students – as examples of achievements she helped foster.
Prior to her election to the board, Ogburn spent more than two decades as a teacher at the preschool, second-, fifth- and sixth- grade levels in West Virginia and five Virginia localities, including Henrico. She also served as the president of the Windsor Place homeowners’ association for four years and has an extensive volunteer record with the Rotary Club of Short Pump, Henrico school PTAs, four local youth sports organizations and sports boosters clubs at three western Henrico schools.
In deciding not to seek another term, Cocke cited her belief in term limits.
"It’s too easy to get stagnant otherwise," she said in a statement. "Fresh eyes are an important part of creating growth opportunities for a school division. It’s an exciting time for Henrico schools with Dr. [Amy] Cashwell at the helm, and I encourage other servant leaders in Brookland to come forward and run.”
Cocke, who is employed by the Henrico Citizen's parent company as a business development manager, served as the Henrico Christmas Mother in 2015 and also serves as a Henrico County self-insurance trustee and as a member of the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council.
Cocke has taken pride in her efforts to champion the school system's Career and Technical Education program, she wrote, while helping to build business partners for it.
“Being on the Henrico School Board has been a profound labor of love," she wrote. "I have enjoyed working with students, teachers, and principals across our schools. They are the reason we do what we do.”
