VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach School Board Member Victoria Manning is not running for a third term, she announced on Monday.
In a news release, Manning said she made the decision "after much consideration with her family" and that she will continue to remain involved. She added that she will announce her support for another candidate who has just filed to run for the at-large school board position.
Manning was first elected to an at-large Virginia Beach School Board seat for a four-year term in 2016 and won re-election in 2020.
She has become known for her outspoken opposition to students' access to sexually explicit books and schools, petitioning school leaders to remove "Gender Queer" from school libraries in 2022. The next year, she led the charge for Virginia Beach to adopt Gov. Glenn Youngkin's controversial model policies regarding the treatment of transgender students.
She also garnered attention for several controversial Facebook posts. In 2019, Virginia Capitol Police investigated a Facebook post she made directed at then-Democratic Del. Ibraheem Samirah but ultimately cleared her of wrongdoing.
In 2022, she faced community pushback for a social media post questioning students in the school system's English as a Second Language (ESL) program, leading to her removal from a state working group.
"VB schools has 300 additional ESL students in the past year. Most are from South America," Manning wrote. "Our ESL budget has increased over $1 million in 2 years. Continuing to educate South Americans is not sustainable."
According to Manning's news release, she supported one of the largest pay increases for teachers in 2023 and has advocated for higher pay for bus drivers. She also stated that workforce development and student discipline should be prioritized.
