Retiring superintendent, school board members receive formal send-off

Warren County School Board Chairwoman Catherine Bower (center) schmoozes with outgoing WCPS Superintendent Greg Drescher (left) and retiring School Board member Donna McEathron (right) during a December 4 School Board reception. Photos by Kim Riley, Royal Examiner.

FRONT ROYAL — Two outgoing members of the Warren County School Board and retiring Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) Superintendent Greg Drescher on Wednesday night received a formal goodbye from their School Board colleagues.

The School Board held a reception for the retiring public servants prior to their regular December 4 meeting at the government center and then during the meeting presented them with gifts and official resolutions recognizing the time they’ve worked for Warren County.

The last day for Drescher and the expiring terms for School Board members Donna McEathron and C. Douglas Rosen all fall on December 31.

Drescher, who has been the WCPS superintendent for five years following a 37-year career in education, on September 6 announced his retirement in a press release in which he cited his wife’s “serious health issues” as being a primary factor in his decision to leave WCPS early.

Shortly thereafter, the School Board during its regular October 2 meeting unanimously voted to put Drescher on paid administrative leave until his retirement after he was indicted along with more than a dozen other local individuals in the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA) financial scandal. Those charges were all later dismissed when the presiding judge ruled there was no legal precedent making unintentional negligence a criminal offense in Virginia.

Drescher simultaneously was superintendent of schools and a member of the EDA Board of Directors. He served 12 years on the EDA board and was board chairman in 2017-2018 during the height of what has been shown to be when the financial scandal started to unravel. He resigned completely from the EDA board in March.

Meanwhile, both School Board terms for McEathron and Rosen are up at the end of the year and neither of them sought reelection during the November special elections.

Retiring Warren County School Board member C. Douglas Rosen has served on the board since October 23, 2014.

Retiring School Board members C. Douglas Rosen (left) and Donna McEathron (right) during the board’s reception honoring them last night.

Retirement reception revelers: (left to right) Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley, who attended the School Board reception and meeting as president of the Warren County Educational Endowment; outgoing WCPS Superintendent Greg Drescher; and interim WCPS superintendent Melody Sheppard.

The School Board noted during the presentations portion of its Wednesday meeting that since it was the final regular meeting for Drescher, Donna McEathron and Rosen, the board members wished to recognize their service to the citizens and students of Warren County.

A resolution in recognition and appreciation of their service was prepared for each of them and then adopted by the School Board. Chairwoman Bower read out loud each resolution to those in attendance at the meeting. Drescher received a standing ovation from the crowd following presentation of his resolution and gift.

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