If we seek candidates for elected office in public service, how is a School Board member not also elected? Being a buddy of an elected Supervisor doesn’t mean anyone elected you. I’ve always supported electing
SB and I’ve been a Republican in 3 different states over the past 50 years. I am also a veteran.
I too appreciate the presentation emphasizing the influence of special interests when adding the burden of campaigning, and a low voter turnout. As a republic, we need to be mindful in the election of our supervisors and hold them accountable in their appointments.
I’m not sure how anyone can talk about influence from outsiders to Hanover and oppose an elected school board. An elected school board leaves no doubt as to who should be there as the people will have spoken. The current way a school board member is appointed is an abomination plain and simple. We need an elected school board and not people who are on the board for 20+ years. I’m all for term limits as well, 2 maybe 3 max terms allowed. This will allow for new people in the role.
J,
Former Lt. Gov of VA Bill Bolling said it well about 5d ago:
VOTE NO ON ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS IN HANOVER COUNTY
This November, Hanover citizens will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum to establish an elected school board in Hanover County. I am writing today to encourage Hanover voters to vote NO on this misguided initiative.
Let me start by saying that I am a strong supporter of public schools. I went to public schools. Jean Ann went to public schools, and our two sons received an excellent education in Hanover County public schools. Appointed school boards have served Hanover well.
Folks, no matter what the supporters of this proposal say, elected school boards will do nothing but politicize public education, and that’s the last thing we need.
No system is perfect, but elected school board members will quickly become just another level of politician, influenced by their political party and their political ideology. That’s not what public education needs.
Yes, I know that elected school boards are supposed to be non-partisan, but they are not. Candidates for the school board may not run on a political party label, but they will quickly become endorsed by and supported by political parties. It is a distinction without a difference.
What amazes me is that many of the people supporting elected school boards in Hanover County are fairly progressive. They believe that elected school boards will result in a more moderate approach to public education through the election of “educational activists.” They could not be more naive in this thought.
Hanover County consistently votes 60%+ for conservative, Republican candidates. They will do the same for school board candidates. Candidates endorsed by the Republican Party and the Tea Party will consistently win in at least six of Hanover’s magisterial districts.
Interestingly, and to their credit, the Hanover GOP and local Tea Party groups are opposing this initiative. I commend them for doing so. They know that Hanover’s educational system is currently delivering a quality product, and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Proposals like this sound good. “Let the people decide“, supporters say. But this is a bad idea, plain and simple.
I could offer a lot more reasons why this proposal should be defeated, but you get the drift. Just do public education in Hanover County a favor and vote NO!
Hanover schools have been some of the top rated schools in Virginia. There’s a reason it’s not an elected school board and that’s the way it should stay. You start electing School boards and it’s gonna turn in it intoHenrico and Richmond schools, it’s gonna go downhill fast! stop the madness.
InMotion Hosting: InMotion Hosting offers fast and reliable hosting services with excellent customer support. They provide a variety of hosting options, including business hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers.
Siteground: Siteground is known for its exceptional speed and advanced security features. They provide excellent customer support, automatic backups, and a user-friendly interface. http://webward.pw/.
Siteground: Siteground is known for its exceptional speed and advanced security features. They provide excellent customer support, automatic backups, and a user-friendly interface.
Siteground: Siteground is known for its exceptional speed and advanced security features. They provide excellent customer support, automatic backups, and a user-friendly interface. http://webward.pw/.
She seems to think that if the School Board was elected, suddenly the left wing would win the elections and take over the School Board. But if the left hasn’t won control of the Board of Supervisors in Hanover, why would they be any more successful in the School Board elections? This seems to be fearmongering on her part.
Also, if the liberals ever do get a majority on the Board of Supervisors, then under the current system that would guarantee them complete control of the School Board as well. You know that if that were ever to happen, this woman would change her position and suddenly be a big supporter of elected School Boards so that the Citizens of Hanover could have a chance to vote out liberal members she was against.
But we shouldn’t be designing government based on what benefits a certain political party now because that could end up backfiring on that same political party in the future. Instead, choose the system that best incentivizes our government to follow the needs of the citizens, which is an elected School Board.
Sam,
Thank you for your comments, and I would never delete your comment. I believe this is one of the reasons Virginia has turned from red to purple to almost blue over the course of 30 years. Hanover is one of the last strongholds of conservative values – which is the main reason why the Left has not gained control of the Hanover Board of Supervisors. If it seems like fearmongering, I apologize, it’s not intentional. I’m simply looking at studies and historical trends over the course of about a century and presenting what has happened. Most statisticians would agree with me that historical data and trends are the best indicator of future data and trends. Presenting my findings does not qualify as fearmongering. Furthermore, I would certainly not change my position if the Board of Supervisors were to flip to Liberal and appoint Liberal School Board members. All the studies point to the simple fact that appointed school boards are superior, and thus my conclusion. Agreed, we shouldn’t base our system on a political party. We should base our system on one that works, one that outperforms all elected school boards in the area, one that has been responsive to the public will, one that has a supportive relationship with the Board of Supervisors. Appointed school boards are statistically more responsive to the public will than political (elected) school boards because 1) they are more likely to reflect the demographics of the community and 2) they are relatively unaffected by special interest groups trying to affect spending on school spending.
My last comment seems to be gone. I assume that you all believe in free speech and wouldn’t delete it, so I’ll try again.
We have elections for Board of Supervisors. If the liberals haven’t taken over the Board of Supervisors, then why do we assume that they’d take over the School Board if that was elected?
And if the liberals ever did take over the Board of Supervisors, it would also allow them to take over the School Board under the current system. At that point, this woman would be advocating for elected School Boards in order to more easily vote out the liberals on the School Board.
Having an appointed School Board is going to backfire on Conservatives if the Liberals ever gain control of the Board of Supervisors. That is why it is important to have an elected School Board to allow the Conservatives another way to protect against Liberals controlling the School Board.
Sam,
The appointment process allows for selecting well-rounded candidates who bring different and complementary skill sets to the board. It is not a perfect process, but responsible Supervisors take the process seriously, and the voters can and should hold their elected supervisors accountable for their appointment of school board members. Appointed school board members are not beholden to special interest groups that influence elections. When special interest groups are allowed to influence elections, regular people who are passionate about education, and care about what is in the best interest of the students, are deterred from running for school board elections because they simply cannot compete with special interest money. Combined with low voter turnout for school board elections and a growing population of newcomers who came here for the schools, but want to change our great system into the system that failed where they came from; you have a recipe for a Liberal takeover of the school board. It may not happen immediately, but over the course of 10-20 years, most certainly. Again, my position opposing political school boards stands regardless of the party in power.
If we seek candidates for elected office in public service, how is a School Board member not also elected? Being a buddy of an elected Supervisor doesn’t mean anyone elected you. I’ve always supported electing
SB and I’ve been a Republican in 3 different states over the past 50 years. I am also a veteran.
That was before school boards were hijacked by ACLU. NAACP. DEI. LIBERAL agendas
Thank you so much for this informative speech.
Thank you for your time, Laura!
I too appreciate the presentation emphasizing the influence of special interests when adding the burden of campaigning, and a low voter turnout. As a republic, we need to be mindful in the election of our supervisors and hold them accountable in their appointments.
Eugene,
Thank you for your time. I couldn’t agree more.
I’m not sure how anyone can talk about influence from outsiders to Hanover and oppose an elected school board. An elected school board leaves no doubt as to who should be there as the people will have spoken. The current way a school board member is appointed is an abomination plain and simple. We need an elected school board and not people who are on the board for 20+ years. I’m all for term limits as well, 2 maybe 3 max terms allowed. This will allow for new people in the role.
J,
Former Lt. Gov of VA Bill Bolling said it well about 5d ago:
VOTE NO ON ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS IN HANOVER COUNTY
This November, Hanover citizens will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum to establish an elected school board in Hanover County. I am writing today to encourage Hanover voters to vote NO on this misguided initiative.
Let me start by saying that I am a strong supporter of public schools. I went to public schools. Jean Ann went to public schools, and our two sons received an excellent education in Hanover County public schools. Appointed school boards have served Hanover well.
Folks, no matter what the supporters of this proposal say, elected school boards will do nothing but politicize public education, and that’s the last thing we need.
No system is perfect, but elected school board members will quickly become just another level of politician, influenced by their political party and their political ideology. That’s not what public education needs.
Yes, I know that elected school boards are supposed to be non-partisan, but they are not. Candidates for the school board may not run on a political party label, but they will quickly become endorsed by and supported by political parties. It is a distinction without a difference.
What amazes me is that many of the people supporting elected school boards in Hanover County are fairly progressive. They believe that elected school boards will result in a more moderate approach to public education through the election of “educational activists.” They could not be more naive in this thought.
Hanover County consistently votes 60%+ for conservative, Republican candidates. They will do the same for school board candidates. Candidates endorsed by the Republican Party and the Tea Party will consistently win in at least six of Hanover’s magisterial districts.
Interestingly, and to their credit, the Hanover GOP and local Tea Party groups are opposing this initiative. I commend them for doing so. They know that Hanover’s educational system is currently delivering a quality product, and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Proposals like this sound good. “Let the people decide“, supporters say. But this is a bad idea, plain and simple.
I could offer a lot more reasons why this proposal should be defeated, but you get the drift. Just do public education in Hanover County a favor and vote NO!
Hanover schools have been some of the top rated schools in Virginia. There’s a reason it’s not an elected school board and that’s the way it should stay. You start electing School boards and it’s gonna turn in it intoHenrico and Richmond schools, it’s gonna go downhill fast! stop the madness.
Billy,
Thank you for your time and consideration. Much obliged.
InMotion Hosting: InMotion Hosting offers fast and reliable hosting services with excellent customer support. They provide a variety of hosting options, including business hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers.
Siteground: Siteground is known for its exceptional speed and advanced security features. They provide excellent customer support, automatic backups, and a user-friendly interface. http://webward.pw/.
Siteground: Siteground is known for its exceptional speed and advanced security features. They provide excellent customer support, automatic backups, and a user-friendly interface.
Siteground: Siteground is known for its exceptional speed and advanced security features. They provide excellent customer support, automatic backups, and a user-friendly interface. http://webward.pw/.
She seems to think that if the School Board was elected, suddenly the left wing would win the elections and take over the School Board. But if the left hasn’t won control of the Board of Supervisors in Hanover, why would they be any more successful in the School Board elections? This seems to be fearmongering on her part.
Also, if the liberals ever do get a majority on the Board of Supervisors, then under the current system that would guarantee them complete control of the School Board as well. You know that if that were ever to happen, this woman would change her position and suddenly be a big supporter of elected School Boards so that the Citizens of Hanover could have a chance to vote out liberal members she was against.
But we shouldn’t be designing government based on what benefits a certain political party now because that could end up backfiring on that same political party in the future. Instead, choose the system that best incentivizes our government to follow the needs of the citizens, which is an elected School Board.
Sam,
Thank you for your comments, and I would never delete your comment. I believe this is one of the reasons Virginia has turned from red to purple to almost blue over the course of 30 years. Hanover is one of the last strongholds of conservative values – which is the main reason why the Left has not gained control of the Hanover Board of Supervisors. If it seems like fearmongering, I apologize, it’s not intentional. I’m simply looking at studies and historical trends over the course of about a century and presenting what has happened. Most statisticians would agree with me that historical data and trends are the best indicator of future data and trends. Presenting my findings does not qualify as fearmongering. Furthermore, I would certainly not change my position if the Board of Supervisors were to flip to Liberal and appoint Liberal School Board members. All the studies point to the simple fact that appointed school boards are superior, and thus my conclusion. Agreed, we shouldn’t base our system on a political party. We should base our system on one that works, one that outperforms all elected school boards in the area, one that has been responsive to the public will, one that has a supportive relationship with the Board of Supervisors. Appointed school boards are statistically more responsive to the public will than political (elected) school boards because 1) they are more likely to reflect the demographics of the community and 2) they are relatively unaffected by special interest groups trying to affect spending on school spending.
My last comment seems to be gone. I assume that you all believe in free speech and wouldn’t delete it, so I’ll try again.
We have elections for Board of Supervisors. If the liberals haven’t taken over the Board of Supervisors, then why do we assume that they’d take over the School Board if that was elected?
And if the liberals ever did take over the Board of Supervisors, it would also allow them to take over the School Board under the current system. At that point, this woman would be advocating for elected School Boards in order to more easily vote out the liberals on the School Board.
Having an appointed School Board is going to backfire on Conservatives if the Liberals ever gain control of the Board of Supervisors. That is why it is important to have an elected School Board to allow the Conservatives another way to protect against Liberals controlling the School Board.
Sam,
The appointment process allows for selecting well-rounded candidates who bring different and complementary skill sets to the board. It is not a perfect process, but responsible Supervisors take the process seriously, and the voters can and should hold their elected supervisors accountable for their appointment of school board members. Appointed school board members are not beholden to special interest groups that influence elections. When special interest groups are allowed to influence elections, regular people who are passionate about education, and care about what is in the best interest of the students, are deterred from running for school board elections because they simply cannot compete with special interest money. Combined with low voter turnout for school board elections and a growing population of newcomers who came here for the schools, but want to change our great system into the system that failed where they came from; you have a recipe for a Liberal takeover of the school board. It may not happen immediately, but over the course of 10-20 years, most certainly. Again, my position opposing political school boards stands regardless of the party in power.