VOTE411 Voter Guide

First, I believe that if we want to take care of our students, we must first take care of our teachers who are with them in the classroom daily. That is why I support giving our teachers a seat at the table to negotiate for the pay and benefits they deserve. Second, I want to make sure all students have more opportunities available to them to be the best version of themselves here in Williamsburg. That means more vocational and trade opportunities based in Williamsburg, establishing a JROTC program, and expanding advanced courses for our college-bound students. Lastly, I want to make sure every student has access to counseling or other mental health resources so they can navigate the difficult emotional or academic situations that arise.

WJCC Schools are, without a doubt, stronger together. A larger school district gives our students access to more academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities to help them grow and succeed. Moreover, breaking apart the school district would cost both the City of Williamsburg and James City County millions of dollars in new spending. In fact, breaking apart the school system would lead to both the City and County paying more per student for worse outcomes for the very same students they are supposed to be serving. Splitting WJCC Schools would leave teachers, students, and our community at a disadvantage, and that is something we absolutely cannot afford to do to ourselves.

WJCC Schools are situated in the backyard of foundational American history. There is no reason we should not be able to provide our students with a robust and thorough civics education here. To that end, I propose exploring new ways of engaging our students civically, teaching them comprehensively about early and modern American history, about how local, state, and federal governments work together, and giving them more opportunities to get involved in community service so they can see firsthand what it looks like to be engaged and active in building a brighter future for everyone.

WJCC Schools rank 4th out of 6 regional school districts in terms of teacher pay. While there have been attempts to address this issue, they haven’t matched the gains of our peers. I am proud to be the only school board candidate endorsed by our local teachers union, which overwhelmingly backs my platform when it comes to retaining and attracting the best teachers to WJCC. I believe the best way to keep our top educators is to treat them like true partners in education and give them a seat at the table when it comes to pay, benefits, and classroom resources. We should also ensure smaller class sizes, expand classroom support staff, and provide more structured planning time. These changes would improve our recruitment and retention efforts.

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