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June 29, 2007
Donna Frett-Gregory named as Acting Commissioner of Education Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr. Friday named Donna Frett-Gregory as Acting Education Commissioner while the administration’s search for a permanent commissioner continues. "A broader search is underway presently for the Education Commissioner and in the interim I have asked Donna Frett-Gregory to manage the day-to-day operations of the agency," deJongh said, noting that much of the department’s work is financial in focus during this interim period. This work includes: summer maintenance, purchasing of supplies for the upcoming school year and work with the Third Party Fiduciary and the U.S. Department of Education. "Donna has been involved in these and many of the challenges of the Education Department as its Chief Financial Officer and I expect that she will continue to guide these projects along from her position as Acting Commissioner." There have been several significant obstacles in the effort to identifying the right person for the top job in Education, deJongh said Friday, noting that after a search of education officials in the territory ended, he widened the search outside the territory. "I assure the people of the Virgin Islands of my administration’s best efforts to have a commissioner in place to lead the department before the start of the 2007-2008 school year in August." Improving the structure of education has been a focus of the deJongh administration since January 1st. "Greg Francis and I chose the education of our children to be among our top three priorities, therefore, I will earnestly continue the search to identify the right person to permanently fill the Commissioner position. This is a process that cannot be rushed and will not be rushed," deJongh said today. Frett-Gregory was named Friday to replace Dr. Lauren Larsen who has served in an Acting capacity since January 1st. Under V.I. Law, a vacant commissioner post must be filled within 180 days and the tenure of an Acting Commissioner cannot be extended beyond the six-month period without approval of the Senate. deJongh thanked Larsen for serving as Acting Commissioner during the past six months. “I appreciated the fact that Dr. Larsen agreed to temporarily assume the leadership of the Education Department at a time when the greatest challenges included the issues of federal funds and school maintenance.” |
