On the brink of the July 4 weekend early Friday morning, the Falls Church School Board convened in an advertised session that last for less than 10 minutes to elect former vice-chair Patrick Riccards its new chair and Susan Kearney its new vice chair in two 7-0 unanimous votes.

The votes came as no surprise, as incumbent chair Joan Wodiska announced earlier she would not seek an eighth year as chair because of her recent election as president of the Virginia School Boards Association. The school board moved into a closed session after its brief organizational meeting, which also marked Dr. Toni Jones’ first official day on the job as the school system’s new superintendent.

The school board will meet in a work session next Tuesday at 7 p.m. prior to a regular business meeting that night at 7:30 p.m.