Candidates running to represent Chesterfield's five districts spoke at a School Board candidate forum last Thursday. (Photo by Rodrigo Arriaza)
Chesterfield County voters will decide the makeup of an all-new school board on Election Day to replace the five departing members.
Candidates vying for the open seats vary in experience and background, and include current and former Chesterfield County Public School (CCPS) teachers, several school system graduates and professionals with children who attend county schools.
Eleven candidates are running to represent the county's five districts on the board. All are running as independents. They are:
- Bermuda District: Ann Crawley Coker, Will Ares
- Clover Hill District: Arika Phillips, Dorothy "Dot" Heffron, J. E. Smith
- Dale District: Debbie Bailey, Shedrick McCall, Jr.
- Matoaca District: Denisha Potts, Ryan Harter
- Midlothian District: Kathryn Haines, Patrick Regan
At a forum last Thursday, all 11 candidates outlined their visions for the county's public school system and addressed issues including tardy school buses, school safety concerns and inadequate teacher wages.
The forum was the second in a series moderated by political analyst Bob Holsworth and was hosted by the Chesterfield Observer, ChamberRVA and the county's Chamber of Commerce.
One of the most talked-about subjects throughout the debate was the issue of chronically late school buses and an ongoing bus driver shortage at Chesterfield County Public Schools. Candidates said that school buses running late by a half hour or more is a regular issue that plagues teachers, parents and students, and agreed that the problem poses a serious safety risk.
Most said the school system needs to step up bus driver recruitment and retention by raising wages to keep them competitive with surrounding counties. Candidates also focused on teacher retention in the county, and most said salaries for educators in the school system should be raised by at least 5%.
Debbie Bailey, a retired CCPS teacher and Dale District candidate, said the county should hire more bus drivers and raise their wages to the national hourly average of $17.
"Nothing wrecks a teacher’s morning more than late buses," Bailey said. "When you hear on the morning announcement the string of bus numbers that are arriving late and you're looking at a class that's half full — and you spent the entire evening planning this great lesson — it’s all of a sudden ruined."
Candidates also cited the need for solutions that don't depend on the job market, such as working with the county's Board of Supervisors to build or improve sidewalks in neighborhoods close to county schools and creating "walk zones" to eliminate some bus routes.
"We need to come up with solutions that are going to eliminate routes, since we're constantly asking for more bus drivers," Midlothian District candidate Patrick Regan said. "We have kids that ride the bus for 30 minutes around the whole neighborhood and then get dropped off, and they live in front of the elementary school. That is not a responsible solution. We need to have practical solutions to this problem."
Candidates also emphasized a need for greater collaboration between the School Board and the county's Board of Supervisors, especially in the case of deciding whether to transfer school maintenance duties to the county, under discussion after the discovery of Legionella bacteria in cooling towers at several schools.
Holsworth also asked about the findings of a safety task force that the School Board convened last year in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead. To date, none of the task force's recommendations have been implemented, he said. Candidates agreed on improvements such as hiring more school counselors and purchasing double-locking doors, but some clashed on the need for more armed school resource officers.
"I see that as a mentorship role," CCPS teacher and Matoaca District candidate Ryan Harter said, speaking in favor adding more school resource officers. "Besides being there for safety, I've seen resource officers make relationships with students that teachers weren't even able to make and by the end of the year, [students] would rather go to the SRO than a teacher, so I think we really need to rethink the SRO situation."
Clover Hill District candidate Akira Phillips, on the other hand, said that bringing more armed officers into schools could be traumatic for students of color.
"When you're looking at minority children and children of color, they are disciplined at a disproportionate rate in Chesterfield County," she said. "The statistics show that, and we have children who have experienced trauma and adverse situations and to see an officer every day, how are we affecting those students?"
The general election will be held on Nov. 5. To check your voter registration status and find your local polling place, visit vote.elections.virginia.gov.
