Brookland, Varina candidates outline plans

The topic of education took center stage during a Henrico candidate forum Monday night at the Henrico Theatre, during which nine candidates for the Henrico Board of Supervisors and School Board from the Brookland and Varina districts laid out their philosophies before a crowd of about 110 people.

The six School Board candidates – four from Varina, two from Brookland – each vowed to improve teacher pay, necessary resources for schools and equity.

The three candidates for Board of Supervisors in the two districts who attended the event (incumbents Tyrone Nelson of Varina and Dan Schmitt of Brookland and challenger Angela Rowe of Varina) also outlined their commitments to education. Though specific funding decisions for school projects lies with the School Board, education is a key topic among Board of Supervisors candidates too, since that board allocates a lump sum budget to the School Board annually.

The forum was the first of three involving Henrico races hosted by ChamberRVA. It was moderated by University of Richmond political science professor Dan Palazzolo.

Board of Supervisors – Varina District
In the Varina District, two-term incumbent Democratic Supervisor Nelson, a pastor, is facing Rowe, an independent and longtime banking executive who previously sought the seat 16 years ago and finished second in a three-way race.

During Monday's forum, Nelson attempted to list many of the achievements he and the Board of Supervisors have completed or funded during his time on the board, including the construction of a new Highland Springs High School; the expansion of GRTC bus service in the county; the closure of the East End Landfill; the preservation of green space in the Varina District; the construction of a new aquatics center in Eastern Henrico; and others.

But he ran out of time during his closing statement, prompting him to flip around the notebook from which he was reading and show a page covered in writing to the crowd.

"Ya'll see all that?" Nelson asked the audience with the hint of an exasperated chuckle. "That's all the stuff we've done since I've been in office."

Rowe largely voiced support for many of the same initiatives championed by Nelson but at times questioned whether more could be done in certain areas, such as funding for education, road improvements and new sidewalks, as well as effort to foster more affordable housing.

"While there's been some progress, there's still work to be done," she said.

Nelson took issue with Rowe's insinuation that a new Highland Springs High School "finally" had been funded, saying that student population numbers didn't dictate the need for a new high school in the district but that he fought to have it included in the budget once board members decided they would fund a new Tucker High School.

"My response was you're not going to be able to build a new school in the West End without building one in the East End, so there's going to be a problem," Nelson recalled. "You're going to have to roll over top me with dump trucks and all of that before you can build another school in the West End. That's how we got a new Highland Springs High School."

Rowe suggested that she would be a "positive disrupter" on the Board of Supervisor and work to help provide basic needs (such as covered bus stops) and larger ones (such as more jobs and affordable, quality housing).

"Housing should be a priority for the county and and the board, and it will be a priority for me," she said.

Nelson said he's already worked to enforce higher standards for homes that are built in the district.

"You're not going to build any more junk in Varina like has been built in the last two decades or so," Nelson said, recalling what he's told developers. "We are not just dreaming it – we are already doing the work."

Rowe described her belief in a smart growth approach that would preserve open space in Varina and called for county officials to challenge the way they have done business in the past.

But Nelson cited a planned announcement Thursday of the preservation of a 1,000-acre parcel in the district, along with several other large scale land preservation announcements in recent years, as evidence that that's already happening.

Board of Supervisors – Brookland District
Incumbent Republican Dan Schmitt is seeking re-election after filling the final year of late Supervisor Dick Glover's original term, which also was held on an interim basis by Democrat Courtney Lynch and then (when she resigned unexpectedly) appointee Harvey Hinson.

Schmitt, who owns RMC Events, an event management company, will face Democrat J. Steven Burkarth, who did not attend Monday's forum.

Schmitt told the audience that during his 10 months on the board, he's visited every corner of the district to meet with constituents and listen to their concerns.

He cited a number of Board of Supervisors accomplishments – financing the construction of new versions of Tucker and Highland Springs High School and a massive expansion of Holladay Elementary School; renovations to Bethlehem and Lakeside youth baseball complexes; increased pay for county employees and longer hours at the Libbie Mill Library, among others – as evidence of his ability to work with fellow supervisors to do what's best not only for his district but the entire county.

"It's about a party of H [Henrico]," Schmitt said. "Rs [Republicans] and Ds [Democrats] don't exist in the Brookland District.

Schmitt, whose father was a firefighter and whose sister is a teacher, told the audience that both have influenced his approach to governing.

"If you think that I don't understand the value of supporting our public safety officials and our educators, just take a quick look at my history and you will see that loud and clear," Schmitt said.

Burkarth is a lifelong resident of Glen Allen who works as a community services specialist for a nonprofit civil rights organization in the district. He has vowed to focus on improving diversity and equality, work to improve environmental stewardship, provide necessary funding for schools and promote entrepreneurship and business expansion in the county, if elected.

School Board – Varina District
The four-way race for the Varina District School Board seat being vacated by three-term member John Montgomery is guaranteed to produce a historic result: the first African-American woman to serve on the board. It was a fact several of the women seeking the seat mentioned during Monday's forum, but their discussion centered largely upon how they would ensure equity for schools in the district.

Alicia Atkins, who has been endorsed by Montgomery and the Henrico Education Association, championed her extensive work in a number of Varina District schools as a volunteer and PTA official as evidence that she's the uniter the district needs. She vowed to focus on academic growth, health and safety and family engagement if elected, acknowledging that half the district's 14 schools are struggling and calling on parents to become more engaged.

"We have to work together to get this right," she said.

Joyce Davis, who ran for the seat 12 years ago and finished third behind Montgomery and Nelson, is seeking it again because she is concerned about the future of students in the district.

"In my neighborhood alone, I see kids who are hanging around, not being productive, some have no college or career plans," she said.

As a policy advisor, legislative analyst and former teacher and professor, Davis believes she has the right mix of experience working with students and elected officials to make necessary changes to provide for Varina schools.

Michelle Roots Henderson, a longtime educator and child development center operator, vowed to use her three decades of experience working with children to work if elected. She said she'd work to provides more resources for teachers and students in the district, such as classroom assistants and an increased focus on mental health care.

"Our children today have so many obstacles and hurdles – receiving a quality and adequate education should not be one of them," she said. "All children are not the same. They don't come fro the same backgrounds. We as a School Board, we must met them where they are."

Kandise Lucas, a student advocate who has been a frequent and vocal critic of the School Board and school system for a number of years, told the crowd that she is not running for office but rather for a mission – to create in Varina an educational community that sets trends for the nation.

She charged that educational struggles among students in the district are not the result of a lack of funding but rather improper allocation of funds.

"We have more than enough money to have public health officials in our schools, however we choose to use that money another way," she said, as an example. "There is absolutely no reason that a teacher should not have the support they need."

Atkins agreed with Lucas's assessment but said that effecting positive change would require a leader who could engage teachers, county officials, students and parents.

Henderson and Lucas both proposed exposing students to career opportunities – perhaps through visits by various business officials – in elementary school rather than middle school or high school, as a way to excite them about the future.

"The majority of our students [who drop out] begin to consider dropping out in eighth grade," Lucas said.

Davis vowed to devise a strategy to provide tutoring for students in the district who need it but whose parents can't afford private tutors.

"I want to ensure that students can receive those services when they live in certain [at-risk] neighborhoods," she said. "The persons that we should be concerned about right now are the kids, and the plan that I have put in place talks about the children."

School Board – Brookland District
Kristi Kinsella and Jackson Knox are vying for the right to replace two-term Brookland District School Board member Bev Cocke, who is resigning her seat.

Kinsella, a longtime advocate and PTA volunteer who also has served on several school system committees and is the current co-chair of the Henrico Lay Advisory Committee, championed her years of advocacy work and familiarity with the workings of the school system.

Knox, who works as the outreach coordinator at the University of Richmond bookstore, pointed to his service as an appointed member of the Henrico County Grievance Panel and his current role as Brookland District representative on the Henrico Library Advisory Board as valuable experience that has helped prepare him for a School Board seat.

Both candidates pledged to make make teacher pay their top focus if elected. Kinsella vowed to talk with principals from every Brookland District school to take stock of what resources they receive and what else might be needed.

"[T]he Board of Supervisors always funds our school budget, but I'm not afraid to ask for more money if more money is warranted," she said.

Knox several times reiterated his desire to implement solar panels at public schools as a way to save money that he said he would then reinvest in teacher salaries. He vowed to have "open office hours" as a School Board member if elected and said he would proactively work to involve new citizens of the district in School Board matters.

"I want to bridge that gap by being the engaging leader that we deserve in the district," he said.

Both candidates also vowed to support student needs.

Kinsella, who was endorsed by the Henrico Education Association, expressed her support for spending more money for early childhood initiatives.

"The more money we invest earlier. . . that's money we won't have to invest later for remediation," Kinsella said, adding that her seventh-grader still receives extra help for reading. "My children were missed. I vow to you, I will not let your children be missed."

Knox would make the student government presidents of each school in the district members of his "cabinet" to provide him with student feedback, he said.

He also pointed to his work creating an "on-call" mentoring program through the Library Advisory Committee that will debut in the new Fairfield Area Library and may eventually spread to every county library. It would provide specialized help in a variety of subject areas three days a week during peak library hours.

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A forum featuring School Board and Board of Supervisors candidates from the Fairfield and Tuckahoe districts is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 23, from 6-8 p.m. at the Junior Achievement of Central Virginia Finance Park in the Libbie Mill Library.

A forum featuring candidates for the 72nd and 73rd district seats in the Virginia House of Delegates is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 1, from 6-8 p.m. at the same location.

Both events will be hosted by ChamberRVA.