‘Dysfunctional’ reputation on the ballot as some School Board candidates and donors pitch better governance
Matthew Percival has an idea: ‘Make School Board Boring Again’ buttons.
He’s joking — sort of.
Percival, who is running unopposed for the 1st District School Board seat being vacated by Liz Doerr, pitched the idea after a candidate forum this September that saw him outline changes he’d like to see on the governing body that oversees Richmond Public Schools as it moves into the next year.
“There’s a lot of divisiveness in our country when it comes to politics. That’s no secret. It’s also no secret there’s been some divisiveness on the RPS School Board,” he said. “But I feel like if there’s one place that we should all come together, it’s in the education of our children. So this is a good place to start, and that starts with a good board, a board that has good governance, a board that has good self-respect.”
With all nine of Richmond’s School Board seats up for election this November, five of them contested, “governance” is a word that’s been on many Richmonders’ minds as they evaluate who will shepherd the school division over the next four years.
“When I talk with voters, primarily they have this perception that our School Board has historically been dysfunctional,” said 5th District member Stephanie Rizzi, who is running against former School Board member Mamie Taylor. “Those are the questions I tend to have to field more than any others.”
Moneywise, governance concerns are driving the races. Together, We the People for Education and Richmonders for Effective Governance of Schools, two groups that emerged in recent years to promote better School Board operations, have given almost $36,000 to their favored candidates.
Most of that — almost $30,000 — is in the form of in-kind donations from We the People, a statewide organization that formed in 2023 to combat what its members saw as growing “divisiveness and extremism” on boards around Virginia. Tiffany Van Der Hyde, executive director of the group, has said it doesn’t make endorsements but instead is “working really closely” with REGS, which has endorsed candidates in eight of the nine districts based on whether they adhere to the National School Boards Associations “Eight Characteristics of Effective School Boards.”
“We are very invested in seeing a School Board that is able to work together effectively,” said Van Der Hyde this September. “I really want to see a board that is committed to building more bridges, that is committed to good governance.”
Besides money, both REGS and We the People offered other resources to candidates: training, help navigating the campaign filing process, assistance with developing materials. And REGS, which unlike We the People formed specifically in response to what its members perceived as dysfunction on the board, waded into the candidate recruitment sphere.
“People could look at the School Board over the last four years and be unsure about whether they wanted to do that,” said Katie Beck Sutler, a member of REGS.
