School Board 101: Q&A with Lisa Larson-Torres and Emily Dooley
May 16, 2023 — You can’t talk about the future of public education in Charlottesville without considering the Charlottesville School Board. But as we spend more time out in the community talking with families about our schools, it’s clear to us that there isn’t enough visibility into all the ways — big and small, in public and behind the scenes — these local leaders are impacting our schools and community. And with an election this fall for four of the seven seats, now is the time to get to know the School Board more intimately…and help us track down some more good folks to step up!
Comprised of seven elected leaders along with student representatives, the School Board’s duties include:
Setting policy for the school division
Hiring and evaluating the superintendent
Approving a budget to meet the financial needs of the school division
Approving the annual school calendar and school operating times
Determining school boundaries
Members are elected at-large in the General Election to a four-year term. In this November’s election, there are four seats up for election with the terms of James Bryant, Lashundra Bryson Morsberger, Sherry Kraft and Jennifer McKeever expiring. As of today, none of the incumbents have filed to run for reelection and only one candidate (Amanda Burns) has officially announced. June 20 is the deadline for candidates to file; only residents of the City of Charlottesville are eligible, and candidates must submit 125 signatures of verified registered City of Charlottesville voters (it is recommended these be submitted at least a week in advance as the registrar will review all signatures and potentially identify invalid entries). More information about running for School Board can be found here. Learn more about our current members here.
We asked Lisa Larson-Torres, former Chair of the School Board who joined in 2018, and Emily Dooley, one of the newest members who joined the Board in 2022, t share their perspectives on the role of School Board members, our schools’ biggest challenges and opportunities, and why YOU might consider joining their ranks.
Thank you to Lisa and Emily for taking the time for this Q&A and to all of our School Board members for their service to our public schools and community!
What made you want to run for a seat on the CCS School Board?
Lisa: I spent years advocating for my child/student - a student with an IEP and a student who deserved accommodations to ensure equitable education/instruction. This advocacy increased my interest and desire to speak up for not only my student but others as well. I joined committees and started attending school board meetings. I became a regular at board meetings and also reached out to individual board members with questions and to share my opinions. I never imagined being on the board, but I have no regrets at all.
Emily: I wanted to run for a position on the school board because my background and work experience is in public education. I thought that there was the absence of a member of the board who had actual working experience in school administration and thought that my voice could be a positive contribution.
Thinking back to your initial understanding/expectations, what has surprised you about being on the School Board?
Lisa: The understanding and realization that "things take time" and along with that, that as a school board member, I am 1 of 7 and to get policy implemented or changed is dependent on the support of the rest of the board.
Can you share a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes, when you're not live at a public meeting?
Lisa: I guess this would be dependent on whatever issues or agenda items are at the top of our list at any given time. At times there are telephone calls or meetings with other board members (only 2 at a time when it comes to discussing school board information) to discuss or hear each others perspectives and/or to provide updates to each other. Most of us have full time jobs along with our school board responsibilities. We have opportunities to attend conferences throughout the year and we are all representatives on other committees.
Emily: In the time between our public meetings, I spend a lot of hours preparing for meetings by reading materials that are prepared for us about topics that will be presented or ongoing issues in the system. Additionally, I serve on several committees in the community. I also try to keep up with issues in local and state government that may not be directly related to education, but have an impact on our school community. I also meet and hear from school community stakeholders to hear about concerns.
What do you consider the biggest challenges -- and brightest opportunities -- facing our schools?
Lisa: I feel that one of our biggest challenges currently, is ensuring that we are all supported and mentally/physically stable and well - that we can continue to provide the social-emotional supports to allow for joyful and meaningful learning in the school buildings. CCS is part of wonderfully committed community who values public education - we, like the rest of the country and world have a lot to juggle and manage and it's hard to not let all of the negative seep into our school days at times. We have a very talented, loving and dedicated administration and cadre of teachers/staff in all of the buildings- our new middle school project, our centralized Pre -K center and CATEC are all wonderful opportunities for our students and this community.
Emily: One of the biggest challenges that I see facing our schools is ensuring that we provide avenues for success for all students, even with the constraints of limited resources. I am excited, however, about the opportunities ahead of us with the movement towards the middle school lab school as well as the expansion of career and tech programming. The renovation of Buford and subsequent focus on our pre-school students present additional opportunities to support our students.
It can be intimidating to speak at a School Board meeting or maybe families don't have the time to attend School Board or even PTO meetings. Do you have any recommendations for how families or concerned community members can get more involved/make their voice heard?
Lisa: There are many committees who would love to have parent/family involvement- if you have particular barriers to attending, don't let that prevent you from trying - let someone know and maybe they/we can accommodate or change to make it easier for you to attend/participate.
The School Board meetings are in-person + are streamed live, so if people cannot make it to the actual meeting they can watch/participate from home.
People are welcomed/encouraged to email the school board with comments, questions, concerns (schoolboard@charlottesvilleschools.org)
I, personally, am always willing to call or meet someone in person if they want/need to talk as well.
Emily: Parents, caregivers, and other members of the community should always feel free to reach out to school board members through public comment or email. Also, we try to be out and about at events throughout the community. I am continually impressed by how willing members of the board, but also members of our division staff, are to engaging in authentic dialogue with school stakeholders. We are all members of this community, several of us have children attending our schools, and we often share similar concerns to community members. That said, we don't know what we don't know and the community has a responsibility to communicate with us when they see something on which we're falling short.
Similarly, how can families and community members better support you, the School Board and our schools?
Lisa: We always welcome emails and "shout-outs". :)
It's great to have community members reach out to local (City Council) and state level representatives before/around budget season, advocating for full/increased public school funding.
What advice would you give to anyone who might think about running for School Board?
Lisa: Reach out to prior and current board members to ask questions and get a sense of what the time commitments will look like. Have a good sense of "why" you want to run and what running a campaign entails. :)
June 20th 2023 is the deadline for Nov. 2023 elections and all information can be found at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/
Emily: I would encourage those considering a run for local office to brainstorm and think about the reasons compelling you to even think about running. What is your why? I would argue that if you're even contemplating a run, that you care deeply about our schools and our community. From there, reach out to have a conversation about the work and hours involved so that you can make a truly informed decision about if it's best for yourself and your family.
