Kimberly “Kym” (Brown) Pickering, a Richmond High School alumna who has four children attending Richmond Community Schools, was chosen Thursday, Sept. 7, to join the district’s board.
Pickering was one of five candidates interviewed during the Sept. 6 special meeting for the at-large vacancy after Stacy Mopps resigned to again work for RCS in human resources. Pickering’s term will end in December 2026.
She moved back to Richmond about a year and a half ago from Denver and decided to apply because she thought it was important to be involved in her children’s schools. Her oldest is Kohen, 14, followed by Keen, 10, Khy, 7 and Kwyn, 4.
She said she felt she could offer the perspective of a parent and a human resource professional and wants to help the community. She is a human resources information systems manager, working remotely for Air Methods.
“I am looking forward to actively engaging with community members to address their concerns and needs,” Pickering said in RCS’ news release. “I have a passion to help shape the direction of education in Richmond.”
Pickering said she is ready to dig into school matters and believes her work experience could be helpful to the board. She said she hopes the district can have open dialogue with all sides involved in the recent concerns raised by Richmond Education Association about RCS.
She said she looks forward to learning more about RCS as an organization under what she describes as a “fairly new administration that is putting all the puzzle pieces together.” Pickering said Superintendent Curtis Wright has a great team in place.
Pickering, who describes herself as a proud 1997 graduate, was a classmate of Wright and board member Brad Walton.
Walton described all five candidates as “amazing.”
“It made our decision extremely tough,” Walton said. “Any of the five would have made a great board member.”
A version of this article appeared in the September 13 2023 print edition of the Western Wayne News.