CCPS Board Member, Salem District
Culpeper peeps, please take a second to read this, especially folks in Salem. I will try to be brief, which is challenging because I have many thoughts on this topic.
I have been sitting in this school board seat for 16 years. Yep, 16. Many board members have come and gone in those years. I have heard and learned so very much. I’ve also watched board member agendas, and some craziness, come and go.
What has always been steadfast was a solid majority of the Board. That majority weathered the agendas and bore more than the public could ever know. A board majority matters.
School boards are at a crossroads in our country and county. They are increasingly becoming a political forefront for a lot of junk. The politicalization of our school boards is impacting the education of students and it is driving teachers away. So far, the politicization hasn’t touched Culpeper because the common sense of Board majority is helping to keep it at bay.
Please understand, CCPS is run by an AMAZING superintendent, administrators, teachers, and support staff. Those folks do the heavy lifting. And the Board supports their efforts. When school boards get mired in political agendas, the efforts of the staff and education of students get lost in the drama. School boards SHOULD be talking about student achievement, budget, student code of conduct, and policy -not the policies that are in the news- the operational policies that actually matter to education.
If you know the majority members, you know we don’t always agree on the Board, but we respect each other. We DO agree, as a majority, that the election of Kelley Pearson is vitally important. I’d be honored to turn my 16 years over to her. And, please, trust me, Culpeper wants Kelley in the school board seat. We want CCPS to keep moving forward. Big, important things are ahead for our school system. The Board majority needs to focus on the those important issues.
The election of Kelley will ensure that happens.