York County school board looks at how it disciplines board members

Good morning! We preview a plan to fine-tune how York's school board disciplines its fellow members. We'll also take a look at the race for supervisor in James City County's board of supervisors race

Aug 04, 2025

Clockwise from top left: School Superintendent Victor Shandor, Board members Kimberly Goodwin, James Richardson, Mark Shafer, Zoran Pajevic, Lynda Fairman

After months of wrangling with its former chair, York County’s school board is meeting Wednesday to discuss changes to the document that governs how school board members should behave and how they will be disciplined,

The proposed changes to the Board Norms and Protocols document would remove a sanction that restricts communications by the offending board member but adds a series of increasing levels of sanctions that can last for the board member’s entire term in office.

School board members were threatened with potential legal action by the board’s former chair, Lynda J. Fairman, who was removed as chair after a short and contentious run last year. At the same time, the school attorney warned Fairman’s actions could generate a breach of contract lawsuit from the school superintendent.

Fairman, representing the 5^th district, was replaced by District 3 board member Kimberly S. Goodwin at a special board session last year. Goodwin’s position as vice chair was taken by James E. Richardson of District 4.

The board subsequently took several steps to sanction Fairman, including removing her special card access to school facilities and removing her committee assignments.

During a tense March discussion lasting less than 30 minutes, board members told Fairman she had disrupted the board’s functions by acting unilaterally and going around Superintendent Victor D. Shandor, who has publicly sparred with Fairman at several board meetings.

School attorney Melanie Berry warned the board such actions could be considered a violation of Shandor’s employment contract and grounds for a suit against the board.

At their June 25 retreat, school board members asked Berry to recommend updating the Boards Norm and Protocol document. The redlined proposal is attached below this story.

During this week’s meeting, the school board will also hear an update on the Trump administration’s cancellation of several federal funding programs and how it will impact York schools.

Chief Financial Officer Bill Bowen will review the program for the school board.

The board meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the school offices at 302 Dare Road.York County’s school board is tightening up

Norms And Protocols Draft

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2,600 doors: James City County chair door knocking goal in re-election bid'

Jim Icenhour hits the stairs at Governor’s Square apartments on a Sunday afternoon door-knocking session. (Williamsburg Watch picture)

Editor’s Note: this is the first installment of our two-part look at the race for the Jamestown District of James City County’s board of supervisors.

Jim Icenhour, Chair of James City County’s board of supervisors, plans to hit 2,600 homes in his re-election bid for a fifth term in the Jamestown District. He told us most people he meets have “meat and potatoes” concerns about roads, utility bills, or schools.

We caught up with him last month as he was visiting the Governor’s Square Apartments off Ironbound Road. Icenhour uses a voter registration list and said he targets homes where someone has shown a propensity to vote in past elections.

The voter conversation is usually “all about basic services,” he told us. “There's very little partisan politics involved in it, they don't get into that kind of stuff.” Although, he notes with a grin, there was one voter who wanted his opinion about the situation in the Middle East.

Icenhour is retired from a lifelong career in flying, first as an Air Force pilot and then as an airline pilot with Pan American World Airways and with Delta Airlines.

He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1967 and earned his MBA from the University of Utah in 1976. During his career as a fighter pilot, he flew 195 combat missions in the Vietnam War and twice won the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Icenhour, a Democrat, was first elected to the board in 2009. He lost one re-election bid to in 2013 to Republican Kevin Onizuk, who outspent him two-to-one in an election that spent more than $60,000 between the two men, according to Virginia Public Access Project records. Onizuk opted not to run again four years later, and Icenhour handily won election.

He is opposed this year by Republican newcomer John Slokovitz, who is pushing hard on county spending and increased property taxes.

Icenhour has supported building a new county government center and library that Slokovitz warns will add a quarter billion dollars’ debt to the county books.

Icenhour says he favors fiscal responsibility and has voted to hold down tax rates when soaring property values increased taxes 21% over the past two years. His campaign focuses on controlled growth that does not damage the county’s rural or historic nature and does not create a fiscal burden by raising the cost of additional services above the taxes development generates.

He said he was focused on attracting more business that offers high paying jobs, and funding the local schools.

The Jamestown District includes Chisel Run, Williamsburg Plantation, Williamsburg West, the Mews, Windsor Forest, Ironbound Village, Powhatan Secondary, Monticello Woods, Windsormeade, Brookhaven, Mill Creek Landing, the Meadows, Graylin Woods, the Foxes, Jamestown Farms, Baron Woods, Brandon Woods, Indigo Park and part of Ford’s Colony.

On Wednesday, we will take a look at Icenhour’s challenger.