A few random statistics with regard to Fairfax County, where I am preparing to campaign for a seat on the School Board in 2007:
County Population: 1,041,200
Student Population: 164,295
School Facilities: 238
2007 School System Budget: 2.1 billion
Members of School Board: 12
Unfortunately, the current Board is dominated by education establishment insiders and career adminstrators/teachers. Our representation is seriously lacking in balance and diversity of background. In past elections, far too much emphasis was placed on whether a candidate was a life-long resident of Virginia or how cozy they could get to the local education powerhouse organizations by promising hefty raises to administrators and our well-paid educators.
If elected, I would be the youngest member as well as the only libertarian. I am not a lifelong resident of Virginia, having moved here in 1992 for my last two years with the United States Marine Corps and staying permanently after my honorable discharge. I could have returned to Central Illinois on Uncle Sam's dime when my time was up, but I consider Alexandria home now. This means I made a conscious decision to live here rather ending up in Northern Virginia through an accident of birth. This is neither here nor there, but some Board members and prior candidates seemed to think it of great importance. I hope that is now settled and we can move on to more important matters – like educating our kids, eliminating waste, fraud and abuse and dealing with our busing crisis.
While I have some teaching experience having spent five or so years as an adult literacy instructor and Board officer in one of the nation's most acclaimed literacy centers, formerly located in S.E. Washington, D.C., I am clearly not beholden to any special interest groups.
I intend to give a sorely neglected voice to the concerns of parents, students, taxpayers, individual teachers, and everyday Joes. In my conversations with many residents and local organizations, I've been told repeatedly that they feel ignored by the Board. The impression is that the Board members tend to go along with the recommendations of the Administration, while pretending to listen to the concerns of the general public. This must change and the only way to bring it about is through a shake-up of the current Board composition.
This should be fun…
How many Board seats are vacant? How many candidates? How are your chances?
12/28/2006 19:50:00
All 12 seats come up for re-election in 2007. None of the current Board Members have indicated their intent to run or not as of yet. I believe I have a good chance for an At-Large seat (need approx. 150k votes) given I have family here (distant cousins) who\’ve been involved in County politics for decades to provide name recognition. If I can raise enough funds and barring anyone finding pictures of me in compromising positions with the pandas at the National Zoo, I ought to be competitive for one of the three At-Large seats. If the incumbent in my district chooses not to run or seeks higher office, I will seek his seat instead. I\’m going to wait until mid-January before filing to see how things flesh out with the incumbents. By then, we ought to see some announcements with regard to their 2007 plans.
12/28/2006 21:12:00