The Roanoke Times

File 2007 The Montgomery County School Board's annual retreat will take place at the Hotel Roanoke.

A former Floyd County High School administrator will take the helm at Radford High School.

On Thursday, the Radford School Board approved hiring Greg Payne to replace former Principal Mark Lineburg. Payne was an assistant principal and director of career and technical education in Floyd County for two years before taking over full time at the high school as assistant principal last year.

Payne, who also taught social studies in Floyd County for four years before becoming an administrator, will earn $75,437 at Radford.

Radford Superintendent Chuck Bishop said he was pleased with Payne's experience with career and technical education. Payne started working at Radford High School last week before the school board officially signed off on his job. Bishop said it was important to get a leader in the school so interviews for the assistant principal's job could begin.

Bishop said he expects to fill that slot by mid-July.

In Floyd, high school Principal Barry Hollandsworth said Payne's spot has been filled by Tony Diebler, who had also replaced Payne as career and technical director.

Montgomery board to hold retreat in Roanoke

The Montgomery County School Board plans to spend Friday night and Saturday at the Hotel Roanoke for its annual retreat.

A preliminary agenda suggests the load for the weekend meeting will be light. The board will meet at 6 p.m. for dinner and a discussion of board members' self-assessments and a year-end review, according to the agenda. After a night in the hotel, the board plans to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Saturday to talk about comprehensive improvement plans and receive an update on various facilities projects.

Additional items may be added, said Lisa Radford, deputy school board clerk.

It's common for school boards to hold retreats, which are public meetings. However, Frank Barham, executive director of the Virginia School Boards Association, said he suggests that boards have meetings as close to home as possible.

"It's a public meeting, and sometimes when you hold a meeting so far away that the public and the press can't get there, it creates the perception, true or not, that it's not open," he said.

The meeting is estimated to cost the school board about $6,300. That will pay for lodging and food, plus consultant fees for Blacksburg-based Paula Wilder to plan the retreat, Radford said.

Ambassador program sends 3 students abroad

Three New River Valley students are spending most of the month in the United Kingdom and Ireland while they participate in the People to People Student Ambassador Program.

People to People is a national program aimed at giving students leadership skills and global experiences.

The students participating are Samuel Lee of Radford, Alexander Potter of Christiansburg and Amber Thompson of Floyd. They are expected to return to Virginia on July 19 after visits to England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Anna L. Mallory covers events and issues affecting Montgomery County schools and beyond. If you have information you'd like featured, e-mail anna.mallory@roanoke.com.