And the winner is…
It was hard-fought, but the race is over and your new 4th District School Board rep is Adria Graham Scott. Marty Jewell and Doug Conner keep there 5th and 9th District Council seats, respectively. Betsy Carr retains the 5th District School Board seat.
Congrats all. Now let’s get this city moving in a better direction, please.
The voters came out and yelled, “We don’t like the leadership in Richmond Public Schools”. The school board candidate in the 4th that was supported by our current chairman lost decidedly.
The vice-chair for the school board, incumbent Lisa Dawson, lost decidedly. I call this a mandate for change and am excited about the possiblities to come.
Kudos to the citizens of Richmond, especailly those in the 2nd and 4th district.
I’m curious, To what do readers attribute the big Scott margin, the Dawson loss?
What do these results mean to the PHI?
Dawson has been out of touch with her families and citizens in the 2nd district. She was a sb member for 4 yrs and just recently started asking families their concerns about RPS. I believe she only recently began to engage the 2nd because she had competition for the first time. I expect more from my elected officals.
This was the first contested sb election in the 2nd district in 14 yrs. Since Emblidge, that seat has been “handed down” to a hand picked person by the sb member leaving. That isn’t democracy. Tuesday was democracy and the 2nd district said they liked what they heard from Kim Gray.
I appreciate all the time and effort that Dawson gave to the sb but I am more hopeful about the future of all our schools in Kim Gray’s hand.
Interesting. thanks.
This really shows that Lisa Dawson and George Braxton are not the leaders they wanted everyone to think they were. They have been “misleaders” not leaders.
Had Dawson and Braxton devoted even half the time they spent puffing themselves up and bashing 3rd District SB member Carol Wolf when she blew the whistle on their dirty politics and administrative cover-ups, maybe these votes would have gone a different direction.
I’m sorry Wolf won’t be on the board, but I hope she sees these elections as a sign that citizens in the Second and Fourth Districts clearly saw through the dirtball games Dawson and Braxton played 24/7 and — we were not fooled.
We should all thank Wolf for enduring Dawson and Braxton, and for having the strength and courage to show “real leadership.”
And, we must thank Kim Gray and Adria Scott for stepping up and not letting Dawson or Braxton intimidate them.
Your welcome David
I would also like to see some discussion of the impact on Patrick Henry initiative. Graham Scott supported; how about kim gray? I think supporters need to watch this carefully, and talk with new members, and reasuure old members.
Of far greater importance to the Patrick Henry Initiative than the personalities of new board members, will be the “bottom line.”
If there is not enough money to devote TWO MILLION to PHI, where do PHI members think this money should be obtained?
The voters of the fourth district have spoken. We all need to get behind Adria and help her do what is necessary to make our schools better.
To all who voted for me, thank you.
Bert
For what my opinion is worth, I did not lose the election because I was endorsed by George Braxton. I am convinced that had George run for reelection he would have won handily.
I think it is wrong to see any city-wide pattern. The fact is that Adria ran a better campaign than I did. I made some mistakes that I couldn’t overcome. I focused on issues that were too complex for me to explain to the voters. I also let myself get distracted by things like my signs disappearing which I should have ignored.
Once Adria won the endorsements of the REA and the Coalition for a Greater Richmond she had a big money advantage and also had professional campaign help. That was difficult to overcome.
Then there’s the Kathy Graziano factor. Kathy is very popular in this district and her endorsement of Adria was decisive.
But, all of this is irrelevant. The fact is that Adria will be representing us on the school board. I am sure that she will do a great job.
Bert
Don’t forget the fancy mailers. I got two from her, one from Lloyd, one from Bert and a postcard in my door from Jonathan. Name recognition plays big with people who aren’t paying attention to actual issues.
…and for what it’s worth, I don’t mean that to sound like Ms. Scott isn’t willing to address the issues in RPS. I just wish I knew more about her plans.
Thanks Bert for taking the high road. I hope that others who didn’t get elected realize, as you have, that the greater need is coming together to make the schools better not the fact that they didn’t “win”.
I think the answer is quite simple: Adria garnered more support than the rest of us. I would like to thank everyone who voted, and especially those who voted for me.
Tuesday was a true example of democracy in action. I’m unaware of any altercations during the process. I am somewhat disappointed that 8 years after watching the Florida episode, our system isn’t more fail-safe against anomalies and abnormalities.
I cannot begin to start a discussion on all the issues and challenges the schools face. Whatever your background may be, I’m confident that if you have some time to donate, it will be put to good use.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Patrick Henry Initiative is holding a volunteer rally this Saturday at the Patrick Henry building at 11:00 am. Please come, tour the building, enjoy some food, and sign up to help on a committee.
I have said before, I think the Fourth is very fortunate that we had four very good candidates. We would not have lost no matter who won. Bert and Jonathan ran intelligent, thoughtful campaigns. I do regret that John Lloyd would not control his supporter who repeatedly removed signs of other candidates. Shameful behavior.
D
Don’t know where “fightermom4ever” is getter her numbers, but they are inaccurate and misleading. PHSSA will be entitled to a per pupil amount x number of students attending. The per pupil amount is about 80% of what other RPS schools get. the rest will come from grants and other fundraising. The expense is higher in the first 2 to 3 years because of the start-up efforts for the building. these certainly are tough economic times, but as my 18+ years in budget experience has taught me, when it’s time to cut the budget (RPS or any other), you look for WASTE first and you prioritize projects – you don’t simply take the last approved project and not fund it.
Susan,
How much will it take? My 50-plus years in making ends meet has taught me that you don’t always get what you think you should.
And, what “WASTE” do you suggest be eliminated?
Regarding PHSSA. It’s an understatement to say that they are taking things one step at a time, working diligently and staying hopeful. So far they have overcome some pretty significant odds. The budget is very sound and the potential for grants and donations is unlimited.
The President-elect and his incoming administration has stated that charter schools and school choice is a high priority. Clearly change along with partnership with public schools is needed to help our children succeed. PHSSA is ahead of the curve and poised to be an example of a successful elementary charter school for other schools in the country to follow.
I have heard the $2 million figure mentioned in public by RPS’ Dr. Ronald Carey, former asst. Supt. for Elementary Education. It is the amount of money RPS spent when Norrell Elementary last used the Patrick Henry building.
Thank you Carol. That clears up where $2 million figure comes from. What I can tell you is that if PHSSA opens in 09/10 school year, the student count will not be at capacity year 1; therefore, the needs from the per pupil funding do not approach $2M in year 1 of operations. The plan is to have the building full by year 2 or 3 of operations.
Anyone interested in seeing PHSSA budget specifics, you are welcome to come by some Tuesday at 8pm, at the Berryman Center and I’ll gladly go over the figures with you before/or after our regular PHSSA meeting.
When and where can we register our children to attend PHSSA for school year 09/10? Will the school have all grades, k-5th, the first year?
There is a volunteer committee working on admissions procedures. A decision will be made by January 1, 2009 regarding opening July 2009. (If not 2009, then July 2010). The admissions process will probably begin in either late January or February (details & specific dates to be determined by committee). Once determined, these details will be available on the website http://www.patrickhenrycharter.org, and many other places (as many avenues as we can get!), with lots of help from the Diversity and Outreach committees.
Susan,
Call me about this.
David Hathcock