All four CEA-endorsed candidates for the local school board and supervisor races dropped by the monthly Rep Council meeting at the Midlothian MS library/media center to thank us for our endorsements, to stress their most important thoughts on the state of public education in Chesterfield, and to ask Reps to convey to members in all the buildings the need to get everyone they know to vote on November 8th.
Mark Fausz (for Bermuda Supervisor) arrived early and spent some time talking directly with individual Reps. As a small business owner and newspaper editor (both, The Village News), Mark has formed significant relationships with the business community in especially the Bermuda but also the Dale and Matoaca districts where his paper has its primary circulation. Mark understands how the media (at the national level) has demonized teachers and their pensions, yet it has ignored the reality of the local classroom and the effect of continued under-funding on morale. During his remarks he stressed that as Supervisor he would cast his vote in support of increased school funding, with a specific emphasis on employee salaries.
Stella Edwards (for Bermuda School Board) resisted what would have been the easy temptation to say, "Hey, vote for me because I'm one of you," or to put extra emphasis on her tenure on the CEA Board of Directors as a former Member-at-Large. Instead she stressed the importance of partnerships and relationships that she has forged with CCPS and the County Government through her leadership in Chesterfield PTA/PTSA. In addition to educator salaries that are competitive with Henrico and other neighboring jurisdictions, she supports greater CEA representation on CCPS advisory committees. With Stella's child-centered social justice background, I cannot think of a more tailor-made candidate for school board with the possible exception of...
Tom Doland (for Matoaca School Board) reminded Reps that during his previous term on the school board, when he served as vice chair and then chair, he was the major proponent of the changes to the CCPS salary schedule that corrected the long-standing depression in the middle of the scale where most of our veteran teachers fell farther and farther behind their peers in neighboring divisions. Having watched all that progress slip away the past four years, Tom will emphasize making our salaries competitive again, including publicly advocating for legislation and support from the state if our local supervisors will not provide the needed funding! Tom has served for 32 years in CCPS both at the building-level and in a supervisory role at central office; he understands the need for greater balance in front-line and administrative responsibilities. Part of maintaining that balance requires having teachers and support personnel more involved in the decision-making process. To achieve that, he would like to see more CEA members appointed to CCPS advisory committees.
David Wyman (for Dale School Board), the only contested incumbent to receive an endorsement, not only thanked the Reps and told them what he's done and what he planned to do, he stayed for the entire rest of the meeting, listening to members' concerns, and observing how our dedicated professionals look for solutions to problems rather than just complaining. Though David did not carry our endorsement in his first run for school board, he made it a priority to get to know CEA and our issues through then-president Lois Stanton, and has since continued to engage in very candid conversations with current CEA President Frank Cardella. He has shown the courage to publicly advocate for increased school funding for improved salaries and decreased class sizes, even going so far as to wade into the politically murky waters of calling for a tax increase if that was the only way to get schools what they need. Like Stella and Tom, David supports greater CEA representation on CCPS advisory committees and feels that our members have a lot of creative talent to offer the system beyond the classrooms.
If CEA members do everything they can to help elect Stella, Tom, and David to join unopposed school board candidates Patty Carpenter (Midlothian) and Dianne Smith (Clover Hill), we will have a super-majority on the board with a pro-student, pro-employee agenda. And if CEA members do everything they can to help elect Mark to the Board of Supervisors, we stand a fighting chance of actually getting the funding needed to ensure a Great Public School for Every Child in Chesterfield County, and to set the system back on track to becoming a First Choice Employer.
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