Incumbent Tim Greenway is running unopposed for a position on the Roanoke County School Board representing the Vinton District.
He is a native of Vinton and a 1982 graduate of William Byrd High School. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Radford University.
Greenway served as School Board vice-chairman in 2016, and as chairman for 2017.
He has been involved in the private sector of business his entire career. He worked for Cycle Systems, a local recycling company, as a controller for 16 years and then started Greenway Construction Company in 1995, specializing in single-family residential housing. He has also developed a portfolio of investment real estate.
Greenway is actively involved in the Vinton community through membership in Vinton Baptist Church and the Vinton Breakfast Lions Club. In past years he was an active member of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization.
He and his wife Paula, a photographer and his office manager for many years, have been married for 33 years and have three children and three grandchildren. Their daughter Maia works for Wells Fargo; son Brad works in the family real estate business and is head coach of the girls’ varsity basketball team at William Byrd High School. Daughter Chelsea graduated from James Madison University with a degree in athletic training and is now enrolled in the accelerated nursing program at Jefferson College of Health Sciences, graduating in December with a BSN degree.
Greenway originally ran for the School Board position because he wanted to make sure the Vinton District, as his home, had the strongest voice possible. He believed his business, accounting, and construction backgrounds would be an advantage in helping the board to make financial decisions and plan future building and maintenance projects.
Greenway has built a reputation of “fighting tooth and nail” for the Vinton schools. So far in his time on the board, William Byrd High School has renovated the stadium with a new synthetic turf field and a state-of-the-art rubberized track. The practice fields have been upgraded and new lighting added. Extensive locker room renovations have been completed as well.
WBHS is next in line after Cave Spring High School for renovations to the classrooms and other areas of the school. Preliminary renovation plans include upgrades to the auditorium and former entrance, and switching out library and guidance spaces as well. The engineering and design phase may get underway as soon as the 2018-2019 school year.
Greenway said he is very proud that the School Board has been able to display integrity in resolving several contentious issues within the system in his time on the board. He is also delighted with personnel decisions that have been made upon the retirement of principals at two of the Vinton area schools.
Tammy Newcomb was hired to replace Dr. Richard Turner upon his retirement in 2016. When Sherry Bryant retired at the end of June 2017, Ashley McCallum returned to her roots in Vinton to take over as principal at W. E. Cundiff— the “right people in the right places,” according to Greenway.
In addition to Newcomb and McCallum, William Byrd Middle School Principal Todd Kageals, Herman L. Horn Principal Peggy Stovall, and Mount Pleasant Principal Ellen Walton all have roots in the community, which Greenway sees as a benefit for the tight-knit Vinton schools.
As for what has been accomplished county-wide in the schools during his tenure, Greenway says he is proud that the School Board supported the expansion of the 1:1 laptop program for all middle school students, grades six through eight, guaranteeing a “level playing field” with access for all students. He is ever mindful of the fact that there are three Title I elementary schools in the Vinton District, which presents a challenge.
After visits to local schools, one item on his radar for the next four years, is updating the libraries in the elementary schools— upgrading them to media centers. He hopes to bring this up in the next budget cycle.
