The Dorchester County Council has appointed two county residents to fill Board of Education vacancies created by the recent resignations of Board President Mike Diaz and Board Vice President Susan Morgan.
Both appointees will assume their new roles immediately.
The council appointed Brandy Dawson Cumberland to fill the District 1 vacancy left by Diaz.
Cumberland is a lifelong resident of Dorchester County and serves as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner for Corsica River Mental Health Services Inc. and Blackwater Wellness.
“I really am a person throughout my healthcare journey, I go to the research, I go to the people, I go to the experts, and I actively listen,” Cumberland told The Star Democrat in an interview.
She noted the mental health of both students and employees as a top priority, stressing the importance of a "safe learning environment." She also emphasized the need to improve the district's rank of 23rd in the state
“That’s not acceptable," Cumberland said of the ranking. "We have to certainly address that at the younger ages to not continue to fall behind and set children up for failure.”
The council appointed Christine LaMonica to fill the District 3 vacancy left by Morgan.
LaMonica is a deputy first class with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office. She is pursuing a master's degree in social work at Salisbury University.
“I’ve had such great opportunity to work with the community in my position in law enforcement (and) volunteer work," LaMonica said. "I feel honored that I get this next part of my journey."
LaMonica said she'd like to see "much more involvement by our community ... in school decisions," adding that it's important for the community and the board to truly know one another.
Some of her top priorities include school safety, transparency, academic excellence and support for educators.
"Given that their daily commitment and support of communities in Dorchester County is clear, the County Council believes that the Board of Education will benefit from their collective vision as to the most important issues facing the Board of Education today," the County Council said in a press release Friday morning.
"Both appointees stress that building a healthy and effective learning environment must have a strong foundation of safety, staff retention, evidence based learning practices, collaboration, transparency and accountability," the release said.
Both Diaz and Morgan resigned from the Board of Education in June.
Diaz, who was president of the board, resigned June 28, citing family and health concerns as the reason behind his resignation. In February, Diaz underwent a liver transplant. He said in an interview that resigning from the board was something he had been thinking of since becoming sick.
Morgan, who was vice president of the board, resigned June 14. She resigned one day after a contentious Board of Education vote to terminate the district's contract with Vision Quest, an alternative education program for district high schoolers that has been met with criticism from residents since it was approved in September.
In an interview, Morgan said the vote was not the only reason she decided to resign. “My decision,” she said, “(came) when I saw the direction the people appointed by the County Council — not elected by the people — have chosen to take."
This report may be updated.
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