Get ready for this one.
Tonight at FCRC Springfield District once again interfered in the business of Sully District. What now? Follow with me here. Sully School Board member Kathy Smith is vacating her seat to run for supervisor. The process for Sully Republicans to endorse a candidate was for prospective candidates who presented themselves to the Sully voting members. The winner was a woman named Melissa Hughes, a first-time candidate whose background is in education administration whose focus has been on the fiscal issues of the school system that has not only been sucking the taxpayers dry, but also teachers and their salaries. Sounds great right? A Republican soccer mom wanting to run on fiscal sanity, teacher pay raises, and getting taxpayer money to the students.
Enter Elizabeth Schultz, Springfield School Board member.
The heart of this issue is Schultz has become something of a minor celebrity among conservatives for railing against the transgender issues that flummoxed the School Board earlier this year. Schultz, who supported Democrat-endorsed Megan McLaughlin last time around, is suddenly interested in being the top conservative in the county? Megan, by the way, voted for the transgender policy. Melissa Hughes is a school reformer at heart who understands education policy from the inside out, she is the exactly kind of candidate we need more of in Fairfax County. Schultz instead wants a 68 year old white man traipsing around Fairfax talking about sex and transgender issues. That can't end well for anyone.
Not only did Mr. Wilson not present himself as a candidate when five others did, Elizabeth Schultz could be responsible for the defeat of a number of local candidates, not the least could be Sully supervisor candidate John Guevara. So what happens now? What FCRC did was pass a revised motion that Sully must choose their candidate again, basically have a re-vote. Chances are Hughes is re-endorsed by the Sully voting members.
Let's clear something else also. Melissa Hughes, based on everything I know, is a reformer more than a politician. Her interest in running for the School Board is seeking to reform FCPS, which badly needs it. There is a feeling that Fairfax schools, whose budget is astronomical, have been living off of reputation lately and neither parents nor teachers are happy about it. For Republicans to continue to win in counties like Fairfax, we need to find candidates just like Melissa Hughes.
And for the love of God can Springfield politicians leave Sully the hell alone? All these conservatives who got furious at Pat Herrity meddling in the supervisor's race, where are you now that Elizabeth Schultz is doing the exact same thing?
When does the re-vote occur? I've been waiting for a while to see which candidate the Sully Republicans would endorse. I think it has taken too long already. Oh, Itotally agree about the last paragraph.
Posted by: Sully Dad | June 16, 2015 at 01:39 AM
As a parent of FCPS students, the impact of the budget cuts have impacted my children's class sizes and the resources which they need. As far as Ms. Schultz is concerned, I'm more interested in hearing how she feels about raising teachers salaries and lowering class sizes than I am about transgender equality. I'd like my tax dollars to be spent to that end and not lobbying for her personal agenda.
Posted by: K Karabulut | June 16, 2015 at 08:49 AM
Really? Sully is going to endorse a school administrator who advocates for more raises for teachers? An educrat who will vote to increase raises and thus budgets in FCPS? Really??? I can't imagine a worse Republican candidate than a school administrator, steeped in education bureaucracy and education spin and hype. She sounds like the perfect Democrat candidate.
Parents want to know if their little girl is going to be sharing a bathroom or locker room with a boy. I don't think it's too much to ask a school board member where they stand on the issue.
Posted by: Jeanine Martin | June 16, 2015 at 05:03 PM
Schultz did her best to ensure that the best at-large candidate didn't get an endorsement, either.
As near as I could tell, he wasn't exactly pro-transgender.
Posted by: Senjata | June 16, 2015 at 07:14 PM
My question has nothing to do with Schultz and everything to do with who is the best candidate for Sully. An education administrator who isn't fond of the GT program does not appear to be the best choice for School Board. Not that it's up to me. It's up to Sully who they want to represent them. Or it's up to FCRC who they want to represent them. Something like that.
Posted by: Jeanine Martin | June 16, 2015 at 10:24 PM
Melissa's children are in the AA program. Her concerns are the impact that the AAC has on the reputation and quality of the Gen Ed program.
Posted by: K Karabulut | June 17, 2015 at 05:48 PM