By Carl Fish
Lake Wales, Florida – Andy Blair has resigned from the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees, telling fellow board members Monday night that his family is relocating to Vero Beach.
Blair announced his resignation near the end of Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, saying it would be his final meeting and that his resignation was effective that night.
“It’s been a great four years,” Blair told the board. “My family and I are relocating to the Vero Beach area.”
Blair reflected on his time with the charter school system, saying the first couple of years were difficult but that board members had worked through challenges together.
“I’m real proud of the work we’ve done,” Blair said. “I’m proud that we got the right leader in place.”
Blair also said he was excited about the current makeup and direction of the board. Before leaving, he encouraged trustees to continue asking questions and to “demand full transparency.”
“My only regret is that I’m not going to see us become that charter school system of excellence that I so badly want us to become, and I know we will,” Blair said.
He ended his remarks by saying there was “no drama” surrounding his departure and thanked fellow trustees for his time on the board.
Blair’s resignation from the Charter Schools Board comes shortly after his departure from Refuge on the Ridge, the Lake Wales faith-based residential recovery ministry he founded in 2020.
His departure from Refuge has received attention in recent weeks after questions were raised publicly about why he left the organization. Refuge’s Board of Directors has not publicly detailed the circumstances surrounding Blair’s departure.
Despite Blair’s departure, Refuge on the Ridge said in its August newsletter that the ministry continues to operate and is enrolling new residents. The organization reported welcoming four new residents during August and recently graduating seven men from its recovery program, bringing its reported five-year total to 74 graduates.
Blair did not connect his departure from Refuge on the Ridge with his resignation from the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board during Monday’s meeting. Instead, he specifically cited his family’s relocation to Vero Beach.
Blair was originally selected to serve on the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees in 2022.
Blair’s departure will create a vacancy on the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees. Blair held a trustee seat filled through the city’s nominating process. Under the process previously outlined by city officials, Mayor Jack Hilligoss nominates a candidate with the advice and consent of the Lake Wales City Commission, while the Charter Schools Board ultimately determines its membership. It was not immediately clear when a nominee to replace Blair will be considered.
