A majority of Prince Edward County School Board members want both Longwood University’s W. Taylor Reveley IV and a private recruitment firm to lead the search for the next superintendent of schools.

The 4-3-1 vote Wednesday came after school board members debated the three search options, airing concerns that ranged from the superintendent’s allegiance to Longwood versus the board and confidentiality of the vetting process to specifics of Longwood’s search process and the racial diversity of Longwood’s students and staff.

The motion — made by Farmville District representative Sherry Honeycutt — stipulated using Longwood and BWP and Associates, provided that both are agreeable to working together. The board had also

considered using the Virginia School Board Association as its search partner.

The motion was supported by Honeycutt, Prospect District representative Darin Thomas, Buffalo District representative and board Chairman Russell Dove and Leigh District representative Dr. Timothy Corbett. Farmville District representative Dr. Lawrence Varner abstained, while Hampden District representative Beulah Womack, Farmville District representative Dr. Peter Gur and Lockett District representative Dr. Chapman Hood Frazier voted against the motion.

The board agreed to meet again at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to consider both entities’ responses to working together in conducting the search.

During previous presentations to the board, BWP indicated it would charge about $13,500 plus expenses to conduct a national search for the next school chief. Longwood’s Reveley said he would conduct a national search for free.

“I think he (Reveley) would have some concerns about the setup of such an arrangement,”  Justin Pope, Reveley’s chief of staff, told the board about the proposal to use two search partners. “As you said from the beginning, he is eager to be helpful in any way he can. If that ends up being calling around and encouraging some people to apply that otherwise might not, he will, of course, be happy to do that.”

Pope said there’s a “real danger of confused roles and responsibilities when you have any kind of a joint search.”

Only Gur and Frazier supported using Longwood alone to conduct the search, which comes after the December announcement that Superintendent Dr. David Smith wouldn’t seek to renew his contract, which ends June 30.

The Virginia School Board Association said it would charge $5,500 to conduct the search for the board.

“I think we’re at a point now where we need to move forward and to look forward,” said Frazier, adding that he favored “trying something different” in the search. “I think that that would be a way to move forward and possibly change some of the relationship between the public schools and Longwood,” he said, calling Longwood’s proposal open and fair.

“He wants to help us,” Gur said of Reveley’s offer. “It’s our decision … I think Longwood can provide strong candidates.”

“I think that … he wants us to have a good, strong school system and that he will find people for us that he thinks will help us in that endeavor,” Honeycutt said. “However, I do not, in listening to what the community had said, think that the (VSBA) is going to be who we need to move forward.”

She said that BWP has a “really good read” on the board’s desire.

“I don’t know why we have to choose one … I don’t know why we cannot have the services of this company, who can also work with … Reveley and have Taylor Reveley use his vast network of resources and have him recommend some people to us.”

Corbett criticized Longwood’s lack of racial diversity.

“I have heard that issue with Longwood as far as the history goes, and the history of Longwood and association with the community, yes, the diversity is true, that is a very important factor. I am concerned that Longwood doesn’t have anymore blacks on their faculty than they do,” Corbett said, adding Longwood has no black nursing students.

“You can’t serve two masters,” Womack said, referencing the new superintendent’s allegiance to Longwood and the school board, adding that the arrangement wouldn’t work out.

Thomas, citing a lack of community involvement in the schools, said he didn’t know if Reveley could handle “this one-man show by himself. I would think that … it would behoove us to try to pull off a possible hybrid because of the deep outreach of both parties.”

Varner, while favoring using BWP and Longwood, said he was torn between the two.

Dove, the only member to speak favorably of VSBA as a search partner, said he liked the local connection in using Longwood. “I do have some concerns; at the same time, I’m intrigued,” he said.

He cited logistics of the search proposal by Reveley as a concern. “Some of you all have expressed it, is anyone that’s hired, do they feel beholden to Longwood versus the board? But, I think we need some clarification on that.”

“The loyalty … is absolutely to the community and to the school board,” Pope said. “I’m absolutely confident that all (Reveley) wants out of this is to be able to present to you all a strong pool of candidates. …”