Despite an initial decision not to seek office again, Willie “Jean” Kennedy has filed to run for Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education seat six.
“After some intense soul-searching, I concluded that I was elected to represent all Rowan-Salisbury students and workers to the best of my ability. As a result, my decisions should be made in the best interest of those individuals,” she said Monday. She filed on Friday.
Kennedy, 70, has served on the school board for eight years. She was first elected to seat six in 2006, and again in 2010.
Seat six represents an L-shaped portion of the county that runs through downtown Salisbury and into East Spencer. Kennedy lives on Grady Street in Salisbury.
She is a retired educator, who received all her education in Rowan County, including a B.A. in English from Livingstone College.
Kennedy serves as treasurer for the Rowan County Retired School Personnel and the Salisbury-Rowan Unit of Church Women United. Kennedy is a Communities in Schools volunteer, Southern City Church member, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and serves as the local unit’s secretary.
Kennedy has been married to Royal Kennedy for 50 years, and they have three daughters — Jennifer, Sharon and Joy — and a grandson named Lee.
Kennedy said she’s seen “the presence and power of special interest groups and their ability to distract the board of education from its main purpose,” and that she hopes to represent her seat by making decisions that “remain within the confines of local, state and federal laws.”
Kennedy is the only person to file for school board seat six so far. W.F. Owens, L.A. Overcash and Kay Wright Norman have filed for other seats on the board.