Ali to step down as Quincy School Board president; Arns to step in

QUINCY — Shelley Arns will be the new president of the Quincy School Board as the current president, Sayeed Ali, is stepping down from the role, but remaining on the board.

On Thursday, the School District sent out an agenda for a special School Board meet to be held on August 2 where the action will officially take place. There is no word yet on who will be the board’s next vice president.

Ali was first elected to the Quincy School Board in 2013. He replaced Stephanie Erwin as board president in 2015.

Arns, who is currently vice president, was first appointed to the School Board in 2018 and elected to a term in 2019. She replaced Sandi Rose on the board.

Arns was on the search committee when Roy Webb was selected as superintendent and then she chaired the latest superintendent search committee that selected Todd Pettit as the district’s new superintendent. Pettit, who was the district’s director of music, began his new duties on July 1.

“When Mike Troup moved into mayor’s office, that left the vice president’s seat open,” Arns said. “Sayeed and I talked and he asked if I would be interested in the position.”

Ali said he had been thinking about eventually stepping aside when he asked Arns to fill the VP slot.

“Over the past year, she’s done a lot of stuff…heading up labor negotiations and the superintendent search,” Ali said. “We wanted to have an even transition with Shelley coming in to work with the new superintendent.”

“Sayeed deserves a break,” she said. “He’s done a great job.”

Arns, a Quincy High School graduate, taught for 10 years in Bloomington before moving back to Quincy and teaching at Baldwin Elementary School for eight years. She is now the office manager for her family business, W.C. Holzgrafe Construction.

“With my background as an educator, I think I can offer that perspective…as well as being a parent and a property owner,” she said.

“I think that she is a perfect hybrid to fill in the gaps with her educational and organizational skills,” Ali said. “And her family business with real estate gives her a great perspective to go with her teacher’s heart.”