Engineer ousts incumbent Cornelious By Lucas Sweitzer, Local Editor
Rodney Tobias was elected to the Madison-Grant United Schools' Board of Trustees last Tuesday. Tobias won by just 18 votes, 1,366-1,348. Tobias ran against incumbent Tammy Cornelious, and although Cornelious beat Tobias in Grant County 900-817, Madison County heavily supported Tobias 549-448. "I didn't watch the results as they were coming in," Tobias said. "I didn't want to watch it happen, I just wanted to know when it was for sure." Although Cornelious was favored to win the election, a recent controversy brought her seat into a more competitive light. Cornelious and the other board members came under harsh criticism last year from a community action group called Madison-Grant Community Actively Responding to Education (M.G.C.A.R.E.S.) for voting to shut down Liberty Elementary School at the end of last school year. Cornelious and fellow trustee Amy Covington both chose not to vote on the issue, and the school closing passed with a vote of 5-0. The Chronicle-Tribune reported Cornelious said she believes Tobias will do a good job on the board, and she wishes him the best of luck. MG Cares members claimed they planned on replacing more of the school board, but failed to produce an opponent to run against school board president Carl Chambers. Tobias said he wasn't specifically sought out by MG Cares to assume office, and he wouldn't stand for any special interest, except for that of the taxpayer. "Not everyone knows what all the money (in public education) is used for," Tobias said. "I want to make sure people who are paying taxes for schools are seeing their money used well. If that's where people want me to be, that's what I'll do." For Tobias, statewide politicking is not as important as providing a service to the people of Madison and Grant Counties. "I don't really have any politically charged ideas going into it," Tobias said. "I just want to make sure people know their money is going to stuff that's worth it."
