A year after 3rd District voters returned the only incumbent to Richmond’s School Board, they’ll have to vote again on Nov. 7 to fill the seat. One of five candidates will serve the remaining three years of a term vacated by Jeff Bourne in February for a Virginia House of Delegates seat. She or he will join seven other members finishing their first year together — one in which the new board, with appointed member Cindy Menz-Erb, abruptly parted ways with former Superintendent Dana Bedden after a series of closed meetings.
While the new representative’s term is likely to start after the vote on the next superintendent, she or he will face declining student scores, crumbling facilities, teacher vacancies, a school district under investigation for its student suspension practices and under the watchful eye of the Virginia Department of Education, with which the district entered a Memorandum of Understanding recently. Mayor Levar Stoney’s education compact, passed by the board in August, means quarterly meetings — collaboration between the School Board, administrators, City Council and his office — in an attempt to stave off the tension and political maneuverings that have marked past budget seasons.
“I think this is going to be a really crucial budget,” says Garet Prior, founder of the school advocacy organization Richmond Forward, “in the sense that this is [Stoney’s] first full budget and same thing for City Council and School Board. … Usually the second year is really that sweet spot for affecting structural change.”
1 of 5
Dorian Daniels
2 of 5
Kenya Gibson
3 of 5
Joann Henry
4 of 5
Cindy Menz-Erb
5 of 5
Kevin Starlings
The candidates include:
Dorian Daniels, 35, who ran for the 3rd District City Council seat last year, garnering 8 percent of the vote in a four-way race.
Kenya Gibson, 43, from Bellevue, who works in health care marketing as an advertising executive and has two children attending Richmond schools.
Joann Henry, 65, from Barton Heights, director of the Dream Academy, and the mother of two adult children who attended RPS schools, including Henderson Middle School and John Marshall High School.
Cindy Menz-Erb, 41, from Bellevue, who is a search consultant at On-Ramps and has two young children, one in prekindergarten at Holton Elementary.
Kevin Starlings, 31, of Providence Park, who owns an entertainment company and is the father two children, one of whom is in a Richmond Public Schools preschool program. (Update: Starlings dropped out of the race since this article was published and is backing Menz-Erb.)
Menz-Erb, appointed to the 3rd District seat last March, is a recent transplant from New York City. Prior notes that, regardless of whether she wins the election, Menz-Erb will have served on the board during much of the early budgeting process. But whether that will help her campaign is anyone’s guess. “You could spin it either way,” he says. “There are still people that have a lot of questions about what this School Board’s done already, in terms of Dana Bedden.” The winner of the special election could take his or her spot as soon as the results are certified.
Menz-Erb’s campaign to retain the seat emphasizes holistic education that bridges gaps in learning, from early education to after-school programming. She proposes bringing on a “chief talent officer” to focus on recruitment and retention of teachers and principals.
Gibson, who served in leadership roles on Holton Elementary’s PTA and is active in education advocacy, homes in on social justice issues and the impact of poverty and segregation in educating local students. She cites increased testing as failed policy that doesn’t help close the achievement gap.
Henry, who worked in Richmond Public Schools for 30 years, says the biggest problem facing RPS is providing a safe and nurturing environment for students. The Dream Academy helps adults get high school diplomas and jobs, and Henry is a strong supporter of career and vocational training at all levels of education.
Starlings ran for the 3rd District School Board seat last year, earning 20 percent of the vote. His candidacy faced uncertainty when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s initial order restoring civil rights to felons. (Starlings was convicted of felony embezzlement in 2008.) He highlights his experience as an RPS student, his volunteer work in the schools as a music educator and work with local nonprofits. The biggest challenge in RPS, he says, is equity, and his focus would be on community partnerships.
None of the candidates interviewed support bringing charter schools to Richmond. And in response to concerns that the School Board has become a springboard for higher office, all four pledged to serve the full term and to run again.
Daniels did not respond to interview requests. According to his Facebook page, he's a self-employed alumnus of Thomas Jefferson High School and Virginia State University.
By the time voters make their choice, the nine-member School Board will have another appointed member to fill a vacancy created by 7th District member Nadine Marsh-Carter’s resignation after the death of her husband. The board expects to interview applicants and hold a public hearing on Oct. 2. A special election is planned for November 2018.
