As election day nears, the school board candidates begin their final push to get votes. All 12 seats are up for election on Nov. 8, which has led to increased campaigning in recent months. This year, there could be a dramatic transfer of power, with only two current members retaining their seats.
Braddock District School Board Sandy Evans and Providence District member Patricia Reed are both running unopposed. Six of the current members are not seeking re-election. This has led to a rise of “activist” candidates who want to see a change on the school board. One such candidate is Steve Stuban, who is running for an At-Large position. He is running without endorsement from a political party.
“I am a true independent,” Stuban said at a PTSA meeting on Oct. 18. Ten candidates were present that night for a question and answer session with parents.
Stuban became interested in running for school board after the “stiff arm and deaf ear” he received from FCPS when trying to make changes to the zero-tolerance discipline policy. If elected, he said he would work to create better transparency on the school board for parents and students.
Other than Evans and Reed, Dranesville District member Jane Strauss, At-Large member Ilryong Moon, Mount Vernon District member Dan Storck and Sully District member Kathy Smith are all seeking re-election for their current seats.
One of the most discussed topics at the PTSA meeting was closing the achievement gap between students. Many of the candidates voiced their concerns about the gap, especially between minorities.
“It is imperative that we start looking at the early years of development,” Lolita Mancheno-Smoak said, who is running for an At-Large Position. She thinks that by working with children at an earlier age, FCPS can close the achievement gap between minorities.
Others were more hopeful about the situation.
“The gap has been reducing, I know that there is still a pretty substantial gap, but it is reducing,” Moon said.
Another topic discussed at the meeting was bringing back mid-level honors classes. Now, most AHS students have the option of taking IB classes or the standard classes offered, but there is nothing in the middle for students who want more of a challenge, but who are not quite ready for the IB level. At-Large candidate Lin-Dai Kendall is in favor of a multi-tiered system. She used her own children as an example of why she in favor.
“I have four children, and all four of them are different, and all four of them faired differently in different subjects,” Kendall said.
Many of the candidates have also be grilled on the decision to redistrict Wakefield Chapel and Bren Mar Park. Some parents have asked if a newly elected school board would reconsider the decision.
“I fought to keep Wakefield Forest and parts of Bren Mar Park here. We had a heartbreaking vote,” Evans said. In wake of the decision, she wants parents to know that she will fight for change. She thinks that the only rationale from revisiting the issue is that if the predictions of severe overcrowding fail.
“I think that we need to move on and we need to see what we need to do next.” Moon, who also voted to keep the neighborhoods, has said that he would not try to change the vote because the vote failed and that is how a democracy functions. He said he would only reconsider the decision if the free/reduced lunch numbers reach high levels.
At-Large candidate Ryan McElveen was disappointed with the results of the vote. He says that going to Marshall HS and seeing diversity is what made him what he is today. “As we move forward, looking at boundary studies, we need to remember that schools are about communities,” McElveen said. “I will be a voice for diversity.”
