SUFFOLK, Va. — Three borough seats are up for election in the Suffolk School Board. The city's nonpartisan borough system divides Suffolk into seven districts. Residents in each borough elect their school board and city council representatives, who serve four-year terms.
Here are the election night results for all three school board boroughs that are up for grabs.
Nansemond Borough
The Nansemond Borough seat is seeing a race between retired Marine James Shores and real estate agent and retired teacher Valerie Fields.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Valerie Fields is projected to win, with provisional votes outstanding, leading James Shores 67% to 33%.
Fields is a real estate agent and retired teacher. In a statement previously sent to 13News Now, she shared, in part, that she plans to prioritize advocacy and "communicating the accomplishments and challenges of the Suffolk Public Schools honestly and accurately to local, state, and federal legislators in hopes of securing needed fiscal and human resources to support the operations of Suffolk Public School Division."
She also expressed a commitment to addressing the evolving challenges in the school system and working with other board members to improve education.
"I believe that the issues confronting Suffolk Public Schools are ever changing," Fields' statement reads. "As a lifelong learner, and retired teacher, it is my responsibility to learn about the issues, and continue to serve the school system by collaborating with school board members in a manner that will ameliorate issues and promote excellence in education on a global level."
Sleepy Hole Borough
The Sleepy Hole Borough seat is the only one to have an incumbent school board member, Heather Howell. She was challenged by Carly Bosco.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Howell is projected to win, with provisional votes outstanding, leading Carly Bosco 55.13% to 44.87%.
Howell is a special education advocate and former teacher. She previously told 13News Now in a statement that the school board should focus on "enhancing school safety, recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers... ensuring that special education is a budget and policy priority, and continuing to encourage and enhance community engagement."
Part of Howell's statement goes into further detail about how she plans to achieve these goals, suggesting targeted funding strategies for safety initiatives and advocating for policies that bolster teacher support.
"Ideally, I’d like to have an SRO (School Resource Officer) designated to each of our 21 schools, as first suggested by board member Slingluff. Maintaining our current safety equipment and remaining abreast of new technology is necessary. I also feel it’s essential to tap into community resources as volunteer opportunities to promote school safety and security," Howell's statement reads, in part. "As for teacher recruitment and retention, competitive salaries are always important but not singularly so. Teachers must feel supported at the building level and by our administrative office team. Doing so through policies that support teachers’ classroom efforts, as well as policies that firm up discipline practices would be of great benefit to the morale of our teaching staff."
Whaleyville Borough
Three candidates are in the running for the Whaleyville Borough: Marine Corps veteran and father Sean McGee, parent Jonathan Rankin, and former school board member Thelma Hinton.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the race remains too close to call between McGee and Hinton, with less than a hundred votes separating the two candidates. Provisional ballots remain outstanding at this time, and could ultimately be the deciding factor in the race.
McGee currently has a razor-thin lead over Hinton, 43.62% to 42.79%. Rankin trails in third with 13.58% of the vote.
McGee has five children in Suffolk Public Schools. The Marine Corps veteran and former police officer wants to address recent security concerns.
"What we need to do is... do a risk assessment, a vulnerability assessment of all Suffolk Public Schools, list out weaknesses, and gaps, and look for ways to find and mitigate those threats," McGee previously said to 13News Now. "Another thing I think we ought to do is create a behavioral threat working group that would consist of law enforcement, psychiatrists, school social workers, seasoned teachers, and administrators of the school, where we can try to identify potential threats before incidents like what happened at Kilby Shores the last day of school in Suffolk occurred."
McGee also said he would advocate for a dedicated School Resource Officer in every Suffolk school, highlighting the importance of student safety and a secure learning environment.
Hinton, meanwhile, is calling for infrastructure upgrades and improved communication methods to enhance school safety.
"I would love to make sure that schools that have open fields – and what I mean by open fields, like no fencing around that particular school – I would make sure that we fence those schools," Hinton previously told 13News Now. "I would make sure that all of the hall monitors… I would love to see walkie-talkies for them as well."
With experience on several boards, including the Virginia Legal Aid Society Board of Directors, she also acknowledged the importance of accountability and fair treatment for every person involved in the education system.
"When I look at the staff, I’m not just looking at teachers. I am looking at cafeteria workers, bus drivers... I am equally fair," Hinton said. "As a team member, it doesn’t make any difference what party line that you may be on. But we all can disagree without being disagreeable."
