Debate continues for Warren County School Board’s membership in VSBA

Despite assurances from leaders of the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) that the organization’s advocacy efforts are bipartisan, the Warren County School Board during its Wednesday, August 17 work session unanimously voted again to table action on whether to remain a VSBA member.

Numerous speakers attended the Warren County School Board’s August 17 work session to address whether the board should retain its membership in the Virginia School Boards Association.

Following a motion to table three related VSBA items made by School Board member Melanie Salins, with a second by Board Vice Chair Ralph Rinaldi, the members voted 5-0 to wait until the board’s September 17 meeting to decide on VSBA membership for 2022-2023; to select a delegate and alternate delegate to the annual 2022 VSBA convention; and to renew the VSBA Policy Services Agreement for the upcoming school year.

Board members who voted along with Rinaldi and Salins included School Board Chair Kristen Pence and board members Antoinette Funk and Andrea Lo.
The vote followed a roughly 45-minute presentation from VSBA President Teddy Martin II, who is also a school board member from Henry County, Va., and VSBA President-Elect David Woodard, who has served on the Tazewell County (Va.) School Board since 2008.

Via Zoom, the VSBA leaders answered pre-submitted questions to provide clarity on any concerns the Warren County School Board has about remaining a member of VSBA. They also responded to questions presented during the board’s meeting.

The only board member who asked questions was Salins, the loudest voice on the board against the Warren County School Board remaining a VSBA member, claiming it is a partisan organization that should not receive money from Warren County, Va., taxpayers for its left-leaning political lobbying efforts. VSBA’s Martin explained, however, that the VSBA is divided into regions and each locality — or school board in the state — gets one vote when it comes to adopting new policies, for example.

“Each locality has the exact same amount of say whether it’s in Tazewell County or Fairfax County,” said Martin, who added that the VSBA has voted to oppose proposed policies from members of both political parties. “We work with both Democrats and Republicans in a bipartisan way,” he said.

Once the VSBA does adopt policies, school boards across the state then may choose to fully adopt the same policies in full or in part, amend them, or reject them, Woodard explained.

“We value one thing,” said Woodard, “we value every member of the VSBA. We realize a lot of times that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach and answer that makes everybody happy all of the time. We don’t lean in one direction or the other.”

Woodard also said that even though the Warren County School Board has already paid its dues to be a VSBA member for 2022-2023, if the board decides that it no longer wants to be a member, “we’re not… trying to make you stay; we want you to stay but we’ll be happy to send that check back.”

“We’re not about forcing anybody to do anything,” added Martin.

Salins said she still has unanswered questions that aren’t being addressed by VSBA, some of which she said have come from parents of students in Warren County Public Schools (WCPS).

Martin said the VSBA would provide School Board members with answers as soon as possible. School Board Chair Kristen Pence — deciding that the board had taken up enough of the VSBA leaders’ time, and in an effort to move the work session forward after almost an hour and a half — said board members would submit any new or unanswered questions in writing to the VSBA.

Then, prior to the board’s vote on its three VSBA-related action agenda items, Pence asked if anyone in the audience wanted to speak about the items. More than a dozen people addressed the Warren County School Board’s membership in the VSBA. Members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors also attended the board’s meeting but did not speak.

One anti-VSBA-membership speaker, for example, said “it’s been proven that VSBA is partisan and pushes democratic policies” and Warren County therefore shouldn’t receive legal services from the VSBA because they are “slanted.” He also called the information provided by VSBA’s Martin and Woodard “propaganda.”

Bruce White, a Warren County resident since 2005 who moved to the area after retiring from working in special education in another state, said that during his years in education, he has found that state school boards associations “offer very valuable services” to their school board members and to their educators.

“I think you would be very hard pressed — especially given that the [WCPS] budget has not been fully funded at this point — to get the same benefits that are offered by VSBA… for the membership fee that you’re paying,” White told School Board members, referring to this year’s annual cost of $9,521.19. “So, I would encourage you to continue your membership with VSBA.”

Front Royal, Va., resident Mark Egger spoke against both the School Board retaining its VSBA membership and renewing its VSBA Policy Services Agreement, saying to board members “ya’all are too stupid to read the English” in whatever laws are enacted by the Virginia General Assembly and then decide how to abide by them rather than paying VSBA to provide advice. “I guess it’s rocket science; I’m not sure,” he said.

A South River District resident said the VSBA is not a lobbying group for liberal causes. “If they were a left-wing lobbying organization,” she said, “why would every school board in Virginia be a member? If the organization lobbies — and it does — it does so apolitically on behalf of public schools for educational programs that we believe in because their opinions are based on our input.”

(above) also pointed out — as he did during the School Board’s August 3 regular meeting when the board first voted to table action on the same VSBA-related items — that the VSBA provides school boards with numerous services, including:

• A strong lobbying and advocacy voice locally, statewide, and nationally;
• Publications, daily news, webinars, podcasts, virtual meetings and trainings, and regular updates about important education issues;
• High-quality conferences, webinars and meetings, including one of the largest annual education conventions in Virginia;
• School board development and training programs on a variety of topics;
• Access to policy services that meet the specific needs of school board members; and
• Professionals to assist with superintendent searches, communications and public relations, legal concerns, and other school board needs.

Pence said the option to hire an attorney to handle for the School Board what the VSBA provides would cost an estimated $50,000 for the first year. Salins countered that the VSBA could keep increasing its fees.

Additionally, Salins called the VSBA “a divisive group” that’s pitting community members against each other and the only way to heal is to leave the group. In making her motion to table the three VSBA-related action items, she said the board needs to “take its time on this and really explore other options.”

The vote to table the items means that the VSBA issues will be revisited again for potential action at the School Board’s September 21 meeting.

Click here to watch the Warren County School Board Work Session on this exclusive Royal Examiner video.