Tell me more about the School Board election process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There needs to be a big turnover on the School Board.

No truer words have ever been typed.

So many of them have tried and failed (or are still trying) to use their school board experience to step over to another political position. I really hope that they have seen the writing on the wall and don’t look back:

Frisch: House of Delegates (lost in Nov)
Cohen: House of Delegates (seeking)
Pekarsky: Senate (seeking)

Others:
McLaughlin (Retiring with honors)
Corbett-Sanders (Retiring)
Tholen (not seeking re-election)

What do we know of the intentions of the other 6? All seeking re-election?

Laura Jane Cohen now has an opponent also seeking the Democratic endorsement for the House of Delegates seat she is seeking. https://www.henrithompson.com/

And he won't be weighted down by a terrible record as a School Board member like Cohen. Wonder if she'll suffer the same fate as Frisch, who thought he could waltz into the House and got rejected by the voters.

You love to see it when others realize what weak candidates these School Board members make when they seek other offices. They deserve to be forced out of their current seats, not elevated to higher office.

You folks need a hobby. Your nastiness and gross obsession with the current SB is going to give you an aneurysm.

I'm the OP-and I actually agree. I do think that people interject crap about the SB in threads that have nothing to do with the SB. And I'm over the whole Covid closure stuff. BUT-I do want to understand how this whole process works because I am concerned about the current state of affairs. My biggest worry is that we will either have status quo or swing the other direction (school choice/vouchers, censorship). I really wish candidates were not affiliated with parties at all.

I wish that too, and agree on most counts.

However, as a former teacher, I know that the SB actually makes little difference in the day to day running of the schools. The state and federal govts have a palpable effect though, and we really used to feel the politics of that in the classroom. The SB on the other hand, we never really paid any attention to, as little that they did was really very important, and most of it was actually ignored in the schools. I'm afraid you are all thinking that voting differently for SB will make a difference in some way, but it is really unlikely that it will. If you care that much, you'd be better off voting for state and federal candidates who support your own views on education policy, as that is where the most important decisions are made.

[Anonymous]

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Keeping schools closed --even when the health dept said it was okay to open--was pretty far left.
Why? The SB was only concerned about the Teachers' Union. And, yes, I know it's not a "union."

When the teachers were given priority and then we were told that they refused to go back, that is on the School Board. And, yes, that is "far left." It scares me to think what will occur with upcoming "collective bargaining."

And, FWIW, I was a teacher in systems where I saw what teachers' unions are capable of--and it is not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Keeping schools closed --even when the health dept said it was okay to open--was pretty far left.
Why? The SB was only concerned about the Teachers' Union. And, yes, I know it's not a "union."

When the teachers were given priority and then we were told that they refused to go back, that is on the School Board. And, yes, that is "far left." It scares me to think what will occur with upcoming "collective bargaining."

And, FWIW, I was a teacher in systems where I saw what teachers' unions are capable of--and it is not good.

Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Of the five members apparently seeking re-election, I'd say Rachna Sizemore Heizer is the only one who isn't far left. The others - Ricardy Andersen, Karl Frisch, Melanie Meren, and Abrar Omeish - are all far to the left, both in absolute terms and in terms of the political preferences of most Fairfax County residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Of the five members apparently seeking re-election, I'd say Rachna Sizemore Heizer is the only one who isn't far left. The others - Ricardy Andersen, Karl Frisch, Melanie Meren, and Abrar Omeish - are all far to the left, both in absolute terms and in terms of the political preferences of most Fairfax County residents.

+1 And anyone who says the people who object would prefer Confederate candidates just proved how far left they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Keeping schools closed --even when the health dept said it was okay to open--was pretty far left.
Why? The SB was only concerned about the Teachers' Union. And, yes, I know it's not a "union."

When the teachers were given priority and then we were told that they refused to go back, that is on the School Board. And, yes, that is "far left." It scares me to think what will occur with upcoming "collective bargaining."

And, FWIW, I was a teacher in systems where I saw what teachers' unions are capable of--and it is not good.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Of the five members apparently seeking re-election, I'd say Rachna Sizemore Heizer is the only one who isn't far left. The others - Ricardy Andersen, Karl Frisch, Melanie Meren, and Abrar Omeish - are all far to the left, both in absolute terms and in terms of the political preferences of most Fairfax County residents.

I can't believe someone would say this School Board isn't far left. They put religious holidays on the school calendar and lowered academic expectations in the name of equity. They also lowered standards at TJ and sent emails claiming they needed racial quotas. These are very fringe educational philosophies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There needs to be a big turnover on the School Board.

No truer words have ever been typed.

So many of them have tried and failed (or are still trying) to use their school board experience to step over to another political position. I really hope that they have seen the writing on the wall and don’t look back:

Frisch: House of Delegates (lost in Nov)
Cohen: House of Delegates (seeking)
Pekarsky: Senate (seeking)

Others:
McLaughlin (Retiring with honors)
Corbett-Sanders (Retiring)
Tholen (not seeking re-election)

What do we know of the intentions of the other 6? All seeking re-election?

Laura Jane Cohen now has an opponent also seeking the Democratic endorsement for the House of Delegates seat she is seeking. https://www.henrithompson.com/

And he won't be weighted down by a terrible record as a School Board member like Cohen. Wonder if she'll suffer the same fate as Frisch, who thought he could waltz into the House and got rejected by the voters.

You love to see it when others realize what weak candidates these School Board members make when they seek other offices. They deserve to be forced out of their current seats, not elevated to higher office.

You folks need a hobby. Your nastiness and gross obsession with the current SB is going to give you an aneurysm.

I'm the OP-and I actually agree. I do think that people interject crap about the SB in threads that have nothing to do with the SB. And I'm over the whole Covid closure stuff. BUT-I do want to understand how this whole process works because I am concerned about the current state of affairs. My biggest worry is that we will either have status quo or swing the other direction (school choice/vouchers, censorship). I really wish candidates were not affiliated with parties at all.

I wish that too, and agree on most counts.

However, as a former teacher, I know that the SB actually makes little difference in the day to day running of the schools. The state and federal govts have a palpable effect though, and we really used to feel the politics of that in the classroom. The SB on the other hand, we never really paid any attention to, as little that they did was really very important, and most of it was actually ignored in the schools. I'm afraid you are all thinking that voting differently for SB will make a difference in some way, but it is really unlikely that it will. If you care that much, you'd be better off voting for state and federal candidates who support your own views on education policy, as that is where the most important decisions are made.

Can we just make this statement a sticky and be done with it? It is so much bigger than the SB and even FCPS. Things like NCLB, etc had a much bigger impact on education and the push for equity, etc. Yes, still pay attention to SB elections but SB members can't change state and federal regulations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Of the five members apparently seeking re-election, I'd say Rachna Sizemore Heizer is the only one who isn't far left. The others - Ricardy Andersen, Karl Frisch, Melanie Meren, and Abrar Omeish - are all far to the left, both in absolute terms and in terms of the political preferences of most Fairfax County residents.

I can't believe someone would say this School Board isn't far left. They put religious holidays on the school calendar and lowered academic expectations in the name of equity. They also lowered standards at TJ and sent emails claiming they needed racial quotas. These are very fringe educational philosophies.

How so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

Go away, troll. There is not a single "fringe" left candidate on the board. The current dem supported candidates are not even close to far left. Omeish is reviled by everyone, including the dems, and including the actual far left. The current SB is only far left if you are the type who would prefer Confederate candidates, which is, sadly, the other option.

Of the five members apparently seeking re-election, I'd say Rachna Sizemore Heizer is the only one who isn't far left. The others - Ricardy Andersen, Karl Frisch, Melanie Meren, and Abrar Omeish - are all far to the left, both in absolute terms and in terms of the political preferences of most Fairfax County residents.

I can't believe someone would say this School Board isn't far left. They put religious holidays on the school calendar and lowered academic expectations in the name of equity. They also lowered standards at TJ and sent emails claiming they needed racial quotas. These are very fringe educational philosophies.

How so?

I am not the person you're quoting - but what immediately comes to mind is allowing late work indefinitely and test make ups for low scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So in multiple threads, people bring up the current SB and the upcoming 2023 elections. Based on what I've read on DCUM, there are no actual primary elections--the parties hand pick who they want to run? Is this correct? I am not happy with the current state of things in a lot of areas but I also do not want to vote for book banning/right wing funded/undermine public education folks. What are the chances that moderates will actually be on the ballot? Is it usually 2 people running for a specific district? And several for the at large positions? I feel bad that I honestly never paid attention to the SB before.

The chances of blue Virginia stereotypes of book burning far right people running is completely fabricated by a very vocal left wing troll farm.

The biggest threat to fcps is another 4 years of a democratic dominated school board.

If fcps can get 2 non dems on the school board, then they can at least give a counter argument to the crazy leftist school board. There will not be an R majority, so a vote for an R just keans that kaybe we won't have the rubber stqmping of crazy that defines the past few years of this far left school board.

Vote R. You might end up with 1-3 voices of dissent on the school board speaking on behalf of parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

If the opposition doesn’t want to be painted as extreme right wing, maybe they need to express their clear support for safe and secure public schools with adequately funded facilities. Right now it seems many are just looking to say as many negative things about public schools as possible with the goal of replacing funding of public schools with vouchers. That didn’t get anywhere in the divided state legislature this session but it doesn’t mean they won’t stop trying.

I never see anyone really trying to appeal to the middle.

Agree we need the "middle." However, FCPS is adequately funded--it's the way the Supe, Board, and administration choose to use the funds that is the problem.

Fcps has a budget over over 3 billion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll vote for school security and student safety.

+1 or those who belong to the party of no book banning or giving police access to period tracking apps. Thanks!

You do know that the dem school board put in place bathroom tracking apps for most of the high schools and some of the middle schools, tied directly to the kids school computers.

The bathroom app was recently hacked by an outside group within a month or two, with all of our kid's info if they ever used the app to go to the bathroom at school. Fcps had to drop the bathroom tracking app because of data privacy issues.

A bathroom/period tracking app was used by fcps, put in place by our leftists who are 100% in charge of fcps.

If anyone is tracking periods in fcps, it is the dems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m against all book banning on the right and the left. I am in the minority. The current D school board only supports their narrative as gospel and ignores their own censorship - as evidenced by the FCDC kicking out anyone with alternative views.

The left is not book banning. And it's not censorship by the left when a private organization denies you membership.

The fcps dems got rid of Dr. Seuess celebrations in our local elementary school.

The Rs are banning books with illustrations of butt plugs and orgies.

The left is banning Dr. Seuess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax Democrats posted on their website re: the endorsement process: https://www.fairfaxdemocrats.org/2023endorsement/

This is a change from 2019 and I don’t want anyone to forget it. In 2019 they did not have the qualified voter caveat and Omeish got a ton of people who couldn’t vote in the regular election to vote for her in the FCDC sample ballot process. They did change their rules as a result but that doesn’t change the fact that largely based on their endorsement she won.

Since 2019, FCDC has kicked out lifelong Dems, and did not allow anyone to join who was critical of the school board. They are in an echo chamber and further radicalizing. The ones left to sign a petition to endorse candidates are fringe left. Their only hope is to paint opposition as a extreme right wing.

What lifelong dems have been kicked out of fcdc? Im a longtime member and question this assertion. There was the woman in the springfield district who wasnt allowed to join, the one who kept going on fox news talking about how the dem led schoolboard was awful and was leading the recall petition effort. Why would she be allowed to join?

DP. I wasn’t expelled from the FCDC but I quit because I was tired of getting spammed with messages to show up at School Board meetings to demonstrate my support for Board members. I support the position of Democrats on issues like gun control, women’s health, and tax policy, but I also think the current School Board - which in theory is supposed to be non-partisan - has been negligent and in some instances deeply hypocritical. But if I were to voice those opinions publicly, they’d likely bar me from rejoining the FCDC. So now, after decades of being a Democrat, I just think of myself as an Independent and am less likely to lend my time and support to Democratic causes. I’d say it’s their loss, not mine, except that I would like to have a voice when they tap the next set of School Board candidates, and I probably won’t.

I am also now independent as a result of the school closures, after having identified as a D from 1999-2021. I may continue to vote in D primaries in VA for the same reason but I really want nothing to do with FCDC anymore.

I support gun control and I’m pro choice and I think it’s their loss. Lol.

Me too. There's dozens of us. Dozens!