Tag: Albemarle County School Board

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A seat on the Albemarle County School Board is up for grabs in upcoming special election

Candidates Chuck Pace and Jim Dillenbeck. Supplied photos.

It’s election season, but the presidential and congressional races aren’t the only contests on the ballot November 5. Albemarle County is holding a special election for now-Delegate Katrina Callsen’s remaining year as the Rio District’s school board representative.

The district, which spans from just north of the city into Earlysville, includes Agnor, Broadus Wood, and Woodbrook elementaries, Lakeside Middle, and Albemarle High School. 

The candidates—Chuck Pace and Jim Dillenbeck—are both longtime Charlottes­ville-area residents with backgrounds in local education, having previously coached football together at Albemarle High School in the ’90s. Pace and Dillenbeck find common ground in their desire to increase support for teachers and improve student outcomes, but differ on other issues. 

Appointed to the seat last December, Pace says he has “a pretty positive outlook on the schools right now. When I go into them, I do see pretty cool stuff going on, really, and that doesn’t matter if it’s elementary school or middle school or high school.” 

“No question that we have things that we’re struggling with,” he adds. “That’s always true.”

Academic achievement, attendance, and behavior have emerged as challenges—locally and nationwide—since returning to in-person instruction following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve seen deficits, kids who are just coming to the next grade level, but not knowing what they would expect them to at that grade level,” says Pace. “They have created pacing guides for our teachers … tests that are given quarterly to help track progress of students—and that’s making a difference. … We have to figure out where the deficits are so we can address them.”

In addition to pacing guides, ACPS is currently working to implement a new reading curriculum. Pace is excited about the materials, but concerned that the rapid implementation required by Gov. Glenn Youngkin is contributing to teacher burnout. 

“Once teachers get through the stressful period of mastering the tools  … their lives will probably get easier over the long haul,” he says. “I know it’s really stressing some of our teachers out.”

Teacher and staff support is top of mind for Pace, who has worked as an educator and science coordinator for almost three decades. The school board is Pace’s primary job as he was in the midst of a health-related career pause at the time of his appointment.

Dillenbeck is less optimistic about the current state of education in Albemarle County. 

“As a former teacher and having raised four kids and seeing them through school … my concern is for the kids in the neighborhood and the kids in our community who don’t have some of the opportunities that we had,” says Dillenbeck, who was inspired to run after a conversation with former school board candidate Meg Bryce last year.

While he’s been out of the education system for more than 25 years, Dillenbeck believes his two-plus decades in business could benefit the board. “In the business world, we talk a lot about measuring success and addressing areas of weakness in business,” he says. “I’m afraid that if we apply the same standard of success or failure to the schools, what we would see is that the schools are failing.”

Dillenbeck, who works as a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual in Charlottesville, is concerned about low test scores and achievement gaps at several of the elementary schools in the Rio District. Scores at Woodbrook Elementary are consistently below both district and state averages, with significant achievement gaps for Black students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities.

Katrina Callsen resigned from the Albemarle County School Board last fall to focus on her campaign for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Supplied photo.

According to data from the Virginia Department of Education, only 46 percent of Woodbrook students passed state English assessments last school year, compared to a pass rate of 75 percent in Albemarle County and 73 percent statewide. The pass rate for state English assessments at Woodbrook has also declined over the last three years, decreasing from 53 percent in the 2021-22 school year to 48 percent in 2022-23.

Beyond academic achievement, Dillenbeck also wants to improve teacher and staff support, school safety, career preparation, and communication between teachers, families, administrators, and the school board. In each of these areas, he supports increasing resources, with particular emphasis on retaining teachers through salary increases and additional support and safety personnel.

“I believe that the teachers … they’re the front line workers, and if they feel supported by the administration and empowered to enforce the rules on behavior, rules on cell phone use, then the school system is going to be operating at a good level,” says Dillenbeck. “We need to have a school resource officer, in my opinion, in every high school and in every middle school in the county.”

Regardless of which candidate wins, the Rio District school board seat will be up for grabs again next fall. More information about the Rio District candidates can be found on their campaign websites.

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News

In brief: Pipeline protests, tiger trouble, and more

Anti-pipeline activists in western Virginia are monitoring construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. PC: Mountain Valley Watch

Pipeline pushback

In June, environmental activists celebrated as Dominion Energy canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would have carried natural gas from West Virginia to North Carolina, passing through central Virginia. A little further west, however, the fight continues, as construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline inches along. Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lifted a stop-work order that had been slowing the 300-mile pipeline project.

FERC also gave the MVP two more years to finish construction of the project, which has been grinding forward for six years, slowed by resistance from landowners and litigation from environmental groups.

The watch team for the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights coalition, an umbrella organization made up of smaller groups pushing back against the pipeline, has carefully monitored the pipeline’s construction, looking out for violations that can be reported to the Department of Environmental Quality. It continues to find new violations (the photos above were taken at various points over the last two years).

“These ground photos of the construction are significant to me,” says Roberta Bondurant, POWHR’s co-chair. “We’ve got pipe that floated 1,000 feet across a floodplain when they built the week before storm Michael. Pipe that’s dated 2016 that’s out now, on the ground, [with] coating that’s over 4 years old.”

Bondurant points out that last week’s permit is not definitive. A key permit from the Forest Service is still missing, and other important permits are currently under consideration by the federal court in Richmond.

The MVP group continues to cut corners in order to continue construction, the activists say. “It’s a real word game they play with FERC to allow themselves to go forward,” Bondurant says.

PC: Mountain Valley Watch

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Quote of the week

“This is the third fatal crash on Fifth Street investigated by CPD in less than three months…In memory of those who have died, CPD is asking motorists to be mindful of their speed. Please drive carefully.”

—Charlottesville Police Department, after two people passed away in an accident this week

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In brief

Tiger trouble

Doc Antle, the sinister zoo owner famous for his role in Netflix’s viral “Tiger King” documentary, could wind up wearing orange himself—he’s been indicted on wildlife trafficking charges by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. Antle lived in Buckingham County in the early part of his career; the indictment alleges that he has recently worked with a private zoo in Winchester to move tiger cubs and other exotic species back and forth between Virginia and Myrtle Beach.

Back to school

After a period of contentious discussion, the Albemarle County School Board voted 4-3 last week to allow up to 5,000 preschoolers through third-graders to participate in non-virtual, face-to-face classes twice a week, starting November 9. Parents must decide by October 16 if they’ll send their kids into school or continue with virtual learning, while teachers have only until the 15th to request to stay home.

Museum motion

As Charlottesville continues to grapple with its legacy of slavery and oppression, a group of nearly 100 local activists, community leaders, and residents have called for the creation of an enslavement museum in Court Square, “depicting in a more visual manner the injustices, horrors, and truths about enslavement.” They hope the city will acquire the 0 Park Street building, the site of the auction block where enslaved people were sold, to house the museum. In February, Richard Allen, a 74-year-old white man, removed and disposed of the slave auction block marker (pictured below). He is now a member of the coalition calling for the museum.

PC: City of Charlottesville

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Coronavirus News

Tough call: Albemarle allows in-person learning for select students, while Charlottesville opts for all-virtual reopening

Charlottesville City Schools will reopen virtually for all students, while Albemarle County will allow a limited selection of students to participate in in-person learning. PC: Eze Amos

After weeks of discussion and debate, the verdict is in: Charlottesville City Schools will reopen virtually for all students, while Albemarle County will allow a limited selection of students to participate in in-person learning. Both districts finalized their decisions at school board meetings on Thursday.

During the division’s virtual meeting, ACPS staff detailed the division’s five stages of reopening. Superintendent Matt Haas recommended the board approve the second stage for the first nine weeks of school. Most students will begin the year learning online only, but the plan makes an exception for students with inadequate internet access that cannot be improved, those with special needs who cannot fulfill their individual education plans at home, and English learners with low proficiency levels in fourth through 12th grades.

These students—an estimated 1,000 to 1,500—will be put into pods of 10 or fewer, and paired with a learning coach, who will assist them with their online coursework. Everyone will be required to wear masks and adhere to social distancing within the school buildings, which will be regularly cleaned and disinfected, among other mitigation measures. Bus service will be provided for families who request it.

All students and staff members coming into the school buildings will be doing so voluntarily, Haas emphasized throughout the meeting. 

In the coming week, Albemarle will release more details on how it’s revamping virtual learning, which will include both asynchronous and synchronous coursework, and what actions it will take if a student or staff member involved in in-person instruction contracts COVID-19.

Ahead of Charlottesville’s virtual meeting, Superintendent Rosa Atkins recommended that the board approve an all-virtual model for the first nine weeks of school, pointing toward the rising cases and positivity rate in the area and many remaining unanswered safety questions. She emphasized that virtual learning in the fall would greatly differ from the experience offered in the spring, and would include a variety of new features, from social-emotional learning to peer engagement.

Both divisions will revisit their decisions in the middle of the first quarter to evaluate whether they will move forward with reopening, or stay in the same phase for the next school quarter.

Though all classes will be online, Charlottesville plans to host individual in-person, socially-distanced meet-and-greets with teachers, which students and their families will sign up for. Additionally, it is possible that a small number of students in great need of in-person instruction will be grouped into pods, and have classes in outdoor settings, said Atkins.

About 200 families in Charlottesville have indicated they need child care, she added. The division is working with community partners—including the Boys & Girls Club, Piedmont Family YMCA, and City of Promise—to figure out how to best provide assistance. Students could participate in virtual learning while at a child care center.

Feelings about virtual reopening were mixed in the county. Board members Judy Le and Ellen Osborne emphasized the various risks of in-person learning and lack of solid data on how the virus transmits between children, and preferred to start with stage one, or all-virtual classes.

“I just don’t feel like I can put our most vulnerable students into the middle of a grand experiment, and have them take that home to their communities,” said Osborne.

However, board member Katrina Callsen expressed concern for the families she has heard from who are unable to adequately participate in distance learning, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds.

The board initially did not agree to reopen under stage two, with members David Oberg and Graham Paige siding with Le and Osborne against the plan. However, Oberg changed his mind after a 10 minute break, and voted to approve it, along with Callsen, Jonno Alcaro, and Kate Acuff.

Albemarle parents and staff were also split on reopening plans, per the division’s latest surveys. Out of nearly 7,000 responses, 71 percent of parents ranged from “somewhat” to “extremely” concerned about sending their student to school for in-person learning in the fall, but 67 percent preferred that the division adopt a hybrid reopening model.

Meanwhile, 65 percent of staff respondents did not feel comfortable returning to the classroom. 

If the pandemic worsens in the area—especially after UVA students return—Haas has the authority to revert the division all the way back to stage one without approval from the board.

While the Charlottesville School Board’s vote approving an all-virtual reopening was unanimous, results from a phone and web survey were split. A majority of staff (about 60 percent) preferred an all-virtual reopening, but families showed nearly equivalent support for face-to-face and online-only learning. 

During public comment, most speakers advocated for a hybrid model, particularly for younger students and those from marginalized backgrounds. 

“There is no clear consensus among families about the best path forward…I’m not sure why we are straying from the multipath system that was first designed,” said Richard Feero, who works for Abundant Life Ministries and lives in the Prospect community. “Choosing an all-virtual path to start the school year punishes working-class, predominantly Black and brown families in the city….Why not just give this small segment the option to have their children attend school in-person?”

During its school board meeting on August 6, Charlottesville staff will give a presentation with more details on how it will implement distance learning for students in special education, ESL, and preschool. 

Albemarle’s next meeting is scheduled for August 13.

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Coronavirus News

Left out: Albemarle teachers, parents call out inequity in reopening plans

Spanish teacher Filadelfia Soto is disappointed in the school district for not consulting with teachers on reopening sooner. PC: John Robinson

For weeks, Filadelfia Soto—along with hundreds of other teachers in Albemarle County—was left in the dark. She had received emails with “general information about school board meetings,” but nothing about how the school division planned to reopen in the fall, or when teachers could weigh in on the issue.

So when division staff rolled out three reopening scenarios—all allowing students to return to classrooms for face-to-face learning—at a July 9 school board meeting, she was as surprised as she was disappointed.

“They went from moving the opening date from August to September…and then all of a sudden they said we are reopening schools face-to-face,” says Soto, who teaches Spanish at Woodbrook Elementary School. When she heard the plans, she felt like she had no choice but to participate in risky in-person learning.

More than 600 teachers—nearly half of those in the division—share Soto’s sentiments, and signed an open letter criticizing their exclusion from the planning process, as well as a lack of consideration for their needs and concerns. Pointing to the rising coronavirus rates in the area, they believe the proposed face-to-face models are “unequivocally unsafe,” and have urged the school board to reopen schools virtually.

“Virtual is not the ideal learning environment for all students, but we must begin there. The rising rates of illness and death across Virginia and nationally do not make me feel confident entering into a building,” says Adrienne Oliver, an instructional coach for ACPS. “We need to begin there also because we’re going to end up there in some capacity.” 

Oliver and her colleagues also believe face-to-face learning puts marginalized communities, specifically those of color, in greater danger.

“It will be our most well-resourced families who opt their children out of that learning environment because they have the means. Which means you’ll then have school buildings that are filled with students who depend upon the resources that the school system can provide for them,” says Oliver, who is Black.

“Black and Latinx people…are [disproportionately] dying from this illness. To have a school that could potentially be filled with vulnerable students in any capacity places the burdens of the illness upon them,” Oliver says.

In response to community backlash, the district sent out a survey to teachers on July 10, asking them for their thoughts about reopening, and if they’d like to be part of a reopening task force. And on July 14, Superintendent Matt Haas announced he would draft an online-only option for the school board to consider at its July 30 meeting, when a final decision will be made.

But there is still a lot more equity work to be done, teachers say. Though ACPS sent out a survey to families last month, asking them if they preferred a hybrid or online reopening, the response rate was only 50 percent, says instructional coach Dr. Vicki Hobson.

“The voices of our most marginalized families…need to be central in the decisions that affect them. We need to find out what it is that they want and need, and how we can support that,” adds Hobson.

“We also need to consider how we’re asking for information. Some families don’t have access to devices or the internet in order to respond to an online survey,” she says. “We need to [have] alternative ways to get information, such as personalized phone calls with those we haven’t heard back from.”

In addition to contacting every family, the district should hear from all staff members, as well as community members and organizations, Oliver says.

Though distance learning did not go well for her eighth grader in the spring, parent Amanda Moxham believes that a virtual reopening is safest.

“We’ve been paying attention to the data locally around the number of cases and increases, and looking at the spikes across the country. And knowing that so many students will be returning to UVA this fall, there are [a lot of] dangers that exist,” says Moxham, who is a community organizer for the Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County. “I don’t want to contribute to forcing teachers back into a physical school building who are not comfortable being there…[or] to increasing case numbers.”

Moxham is hopeful that teachers will be able to create a more effective distance learning model, such as by implementing live classes, before school starts on September 8, but is also frustrated with the district’s lack of outreach.

“What could have saved a huge amount of time was…[if] they had actually talked to the teachers first,” she says.

For the students who cannot learn from home, the district could work with community members and organizations to create alternative, yet safe learning options, suggests Moxham. For example, it could assign certain teachers a small group of students, and allow them to teach at outdoor locations.

But regardless of the school board’s decision, the district needs to figure out “how to make virtual learning equitable,” says Hobson. It should not only gather feedback from families about their experience with it in the spring, but also train teachers, set up more Wi-Fi hot spots, and distribute more laptops.

“We have a chance to do so much better than the virtual learning that we provided in the spring,” adds Oliver. “We see this as an opportunity to shift educational practice for the better.”

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Cops out: City schools remove SROs, while county holds off

Ahead of Thursday night’s meeting, city school board member Lashundra Bryson Morsberger tweeted her support for kicking cops out of schools. PC: Eze Amos

In light of the ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism, school districts across the country have cut ties with police—including here in Charlottesville.

On June 11, Charlottesville City Schools announced it was discontinuing its memorandum of understanding with the Charlottesville Police Department, ending its current school resource officer program. Instead, the district says it will put the $300,000 allocated for its four SROs toward a new “school safety model.” Albemarle County Public Schools will also reexamine its relationship with police.

The decision was a hot topic during the city’s school board meeting, held later that evening. Many parents, teachers, and other community members hopped on the Zoom call, and all but one voiced their support of the decision to end the memorandum.

“The removal of SROs is an evidence-based decision,” said Christa Bennett, who has two children in the school district. “There is no evidence that they prevent more violence than they cause, and in some cases, [they] are contributing to a school-to-prison pipeline:” higher rates of suspensions, expulsions, and arrests for students of color (though they do not misbehave more than their white peers).

When her child attended Jackson-Via Elementary, Robin Francis claimed she witnessed this violence firsthand, when an SRO got physical with a small black child unnecessarily on two occasions. As a person of color, the incidents were “terrifying” for Francis to watch, and reinforced her belief that SROs “do not encourage a sense of community—[but] create a sense of fear.”

Putting police in schools has had a “direct effect on [the] educational progress, and mental and physical health” of black students, added Amy Woolard, an attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center. Studies show police presence causes a drop in test scores, high school graduation rates, and college attendance rates for young African Americans, among other negative consequences.

Over the summer, the school board plans to host several feedback sessions, during which it will get input from the community, and the new program will be implemented by August 19, when the new school year begins.

While it remains unclear what the program will look like, CCS school board member Lashundra Bryson Morsberger hopes it will be supportive, rather than punitive, and thinks a lot more black counselors, social workers, and other support staff should be hired.

“Police in schools only serves to expose black children to the criminal justice system at a time when they should be able to make mistakes and learn from them, instead of being put into the system,” she says. “Security and safety can be accomplished in many ways, but it has to start with people from this community who know our kids and live in the same communities and neighborhoods.”

Leading up to its decision to dump the memorandum of understanding, CCS received hundreds of emails from students, parents, teachers, activists, and other community members calling for the removal of SROs, according to CCS Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins. Its equity committee, along with individual school board members, also reached out to many people and organizations to get their thoughts, both positive and negative.

Supporters of SRO programs argue that they keep schools safe, and help build relationships between students and law enforcement, which can prevent crime and acts of violence.

“On several occasions, the school resource officers were enlisted to ensure [my daughter’s] safety,” said Laura Brown, the only person who spoke against CCS’ removal of SROs during Thursday’s meeting. As Brown and the staff at Burnley-Moran Elementary worked to develop a treatment plan for her daughter, who is mixed race and has special needs, “the SROs were nothing but positive with her and provided her with much-needed security and reassurance.”

Others see the programs as a waste of money, among other criticisms. According to the Justice Policy Institute, most situations involving SROs can be handled by school officials. Though SROs have been ushered into nearly half of the nation’s schools to prevent mass shootings, they’ve also been present at many of the schools where shootings have occurred.

Many, including the Charlottesville Black Lives Matter chapter, have called on CCS to use the extra $300,000 to hire more teachers and counselors—particularly those of color. It could also fund the recently eliminated elementary Spanish program and other positions that were cut, suggested several parents.

After receiving numerous messages from the community calling for the removal of cops from schools, the Albemarle County School Board discussed its SRO program during its meeting Thursday evening. But ACPS plans to finish revising its memorandum of understanding with the Albemarle County Police Department, and may conduct an independent review of the program before moving forward with a decision, as suggested by the district’s Superintendent Matt Haas.

While the county school board agreed to discuss the issue again during its June 18 meeting, most of its members, including Judy Le and Katrina Callsen, supported removing the district’s five SROs, and funding mental health resources.

“I hear our black brothers and sisters, some of whom have been risking their lives in the streets for weeks to protest the generations of trauma from overpolicing and brutality,” said Le, who represents the Rivanna District. “How can being faced with the embodiment of that trauma every day make for a safe and positive learning environment?”

“When I’ve asked questions about it in our division, I’ve been assured that there are infrequent arrests made in our schools, which is great,” she added. “But it leads me to ask: ‘Why do we have the SROs at all? Why are we paying $265,000 for them each year?’”

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How much do cops cost kids?

By Ben Hitchcock

Charlottesville City Schools and the Charlottesville Police Department have discontinued the school resource officer program, which means that the $300,000 the schools were paying the police department can now be put toward other ends.

The school district’s total budget is well over $80 million, so $300,000 for cops in schools might not seem like much. But vast portions of those millions are tied up in fixed costs like real estate and building maintenance. The actual, everyday experience of students is determined, in large part, by budget decisions made on the margins.

For example, earlier this year, when the coronavirus’ economic downturn forced the district to tighten its budget by $1.16 million, CCS decided to cut, among other things, the entire elementary school Spanish program. Eliminating Spanish for elementary schoolers saved city schools $500,340.

The school district’s preliminary funding request for the 2020-21 fiscal year, released in January, gives a loose sense of the district’s aspirations, and also how much those aspirations might cost. CCS and the city spent the ensuing months haggling over whether these additions would be possible. This isn’t meant to suggest that the elimination of the SRO program means these positions will be filled, but the numbers below show the scale of the SRO program in comparison to the district’s other unfulfilled needs.

$300,000

School resource officers program

$97,076

Engineering teacher for Buford

$97,076

English language learners teacher

$75,820

Specialist for annual giving to solicit donations from affluent town residents

$43,470

Part-time orchestra teacher for Walker Upper Elementary

$41,525

Support for social-emotional learning program at Clark Elementary

$16,250

Art supplies

 

Updated 6/15

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A different perspective: New faces in county school board race share a focus on equity

Juliana Ko Arsali and Judy Le are competing for the Rivanna District school board seat being vacated by Jason Buyaki.

Editor Judy Le and realtor and former educator Juliana Ko Arsali are vying for the Rivanna District school board seat being vacated by Jason Buyaki.

The two women share a passion for equity and accessibility, and both want to expand school resources and support services, as well as tackle the county’s racial achievement gap.

“In my experience, I’ve seen children thrive when they feel safe and supported. [This] is a way to close the achievement gap.” says Arsali, 33.

Prioritizing social-emotional learning, Arsali seeks to provide easy access to counseling, build empathy into the elementary school curriculum, and expand middle and high school peer advising programs.

Le, 43, wants to better support working parents by expanding the county’s afterschool care program,“which right now has a huge waitlist.”

“People [also] are not being served well by the buses. I would work to make our transportation system serve our families [and] the drivers better,” says Le.

Le’s other priorities include improving services for students with special needs and hiring more diverse teachers.

It’s been an unusually contentious couple years for the Albemarle County School Board, where a movement to ban Confederate and other hate symbols from the district’s dress code led to months-long debate and six arrests. Buyaki, who expressed concerns about the ban, made waves for wearing a Confederate tie to one of the meetings about hate symbols (and for questioning the science of climate change and fossil fuels). He is not seeking re-election.

Both candidates say they will bring a unique perspective to the school board, citing their diverse backgrounds and accomplishments.

After attending college in Illinois, Arsali joined Teach for America and moved to Thoreau, a small town on the edge of the Navajo Nation in western New Mexico, where she taught middle school math for three years.

Her perspective on education completely changed when one of her students committed suicide.

“A lot of my other students were just shaken by it and were questioning what’s the point in learning algebraic equations when they’re going through so much at home,” says Arsali.

She decided to quit teaching and start a nonprofit community center, which offers counseling, tutoring, and afterschool activities in an effort to prevent youth suicide.

“We revitalized an old building [and] partnered with organizations, like the Boys & Girls Club,” says Arsali. “We were able to create a comprehensive program to provide a safe place for the students.”

After serving as the center’s executive director for three years and sitting on the board for several more years, Arsali moved back to her home state of Florida. There, she served on the town of Lantana’s education council, and participated in the Palm Beach County Schools’ task force on black male student achievement.

In 2017, Arsali and her husband, who graduated from the University of Virginia law school, moved to Keswick, and Arsali completed her master’s in educational leadership. She is currently a realtor with Frank Hardy Sotheby’s International Realty. Last October, they welcomed a baby girl.

“A big part of me running is to be a good example for her,” says Arsali. “I’m really driven to make sure that our schools are the best they can be, not just for my daughter but for every child in our system.”

Le also wants to make the school system better for her son, who is a fourth grader at Hollymead Elementary.

“When I saw that there were so many equity gaps in our schools, I realized that it can’t just be someone else doing it,” says Le. “We all have to step up and do what we can.”

A native of Iowa, Le graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism. Over the past 24 years, she’s worked in newsrooms as a designer, editor, and reporter. Before moving to Albemarle with her husband in 2015, she worked at The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk for 16 years.

She’s currently the managing editor of the University of Virginia’s alumni magazine, director of communications for the UVA Alumni Association, and on the board of the Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle, which teaches adults to read and write in English.

Le says her experience as a first-generation American (her family left Vietnam the day Saigon fell) gives her a different perspective on school issues, and makes her stand out as a candidate.

“I [also] have a child in our system. I understand what it’s like to be a parent of a student here. I’ve also spent more time [and have volunteered] more in our community,” says Le.

Arsali says that her years of experience in education, as well as her master’s in educational leadership, set her apart from Le.

“I’m the only candidate that’s been in the classroom,” says Arsali.

Le has been endorsed by the Albemarle County Democratic Party, Indivisible Charlottesville, the Local Alliance for Urban and Rural Advancement, and several lawmakers. Arsali has not received any official endorsements.

All school board candidates in Virginia run as independents.

Other open seats

In the county school board’s only other contested race, Anne Elizabeth Oliver is challenging incumbent Jonno Alcaro for the at-large seat.

A financial services professional, Alcaro has worked with students on the board’s anti-racism policy (though he initially was reluctant to approve a ban on Confederate imagery, over concern that it violated the First Amendment). He seeks to increase students’ access to resources and learning spaces, as well as their exposure to trade and technical skills.

Oliver, a real estate agent, says students deserve a safe, inclusive environment. In addition to hiring more diverse teachers, Oliver wants to put a bigger emphasis on mental wellness and counseling in schools.

Meanwhile, incumbent White Hall representative David Oberg is seeking re-election and is unopposed, and Ellen Osborne is running unopposed for the Scottsville seat being vacated by Steve Koleszar.

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Side effects: Cell tower emissions at Western still issue for some

Western Albemarle High’s Blue Ridge views won’t be too impacted by an 80-foot cell tower, but some are more worried about health risks than the aesthetics. (File Photo)

By Caroline Eastham

Aesthetics seemed to have gotten more discussion than health risks when Albemarle County approved a cell tower at Western Albemarle High last fall. The tower will provide sorely needed cell service to Crozet and internet access to over 400 homes and businesses, yet some say the health risks outweigh the connectivity benefit.

There’s plenty of research about the harmful effects that the community needs to know about, says Barbara Cruickshank, a retired nurse.

“You don’t need to have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering or biochemistry,” she says. “The science is overwhelming that human health is being negatively impacted by the radiation that they are being exposed to.”

Theodora Scarato, executive director of the Environmental Health Trust, says hundreds of studies document adverse effects from radiation from cell towers, even at very low levels. “Scientists say the current evidence is that radiofrequency radiation meets criteria to be a human carcinogen,” she says.

When the Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted for the tower at Western Albemarle in September, the board addressed community concerns about the aesthetics of a 145-foot tower by limiting the height to 80 feet.

Supervisor Ann Mallek was in the minority. “Having 3,000 children bathing in the emissions from the tower did not seem like the right thing to do,” she says.

Even a small risk was enough for Albemarle County School Board member David Oberg to oppose the tower. “What we do in our peculiar positions impacts our kids,” says the attorney. “I wouldn’t put my child at risk. I can’t put other children at risk. My colleagues don’t agree with the risk.”

Supervisor Rick Randolph voted in support of the WAHS tower because it would fill in gaps in cell coverage in the locality. “It’s completely safe according to the physics, and certainly the federal government has not deemed the towers to be a risk to public health and safety,” he says.

The current lack of service widens the equal educational opportunity gap, says Albemarle schools spokesman Phil Giaramita. “Cell towers that meet federal safety and environmental standards can narrow this gap by improving the availability, quality, and reliability of school and community access.”

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 says essentially that safety concerns about the close proximity of the towers cannot be used to prevent them from being built.

Mallek claims this law is dated and impacts the ability of local government to provide for the health and safety of its citizens, “which is what our number one charter job is.”

She was the only opposing voted in 2016, too, when the construction of the Albemarle High School cell tower was approved.

Both towers are part of a partnership with Milestone Communications, which grants the schools $25,000 per pole and an additional $5,000 for each carrier that sets up service on the pole. Revenue from the towers will go to the school system’s general fund.

Proponents say the towers increase safety in emergency situations. The Emergency Communications Center falls in the gap of coverage that the cell towers could fill, says Randolph.

Oberg can see the argument for extending internet access to students who don’t otherwise have it. “It’s not wrong, but for me it is not a significant enough benefit.”

Opponents claim that near similar access can be obtained with safe-use techniques for technology. “We can do everything that we want to do safely because technology is not inherently bad. Technology has helped us enormously, but it has to be safe,” says Cruickshank.

The Environmental Health Trust is not a fan of wireless, and recommends corded or wired connections to reduce overall radiation exposure. “Most of the time, the internet needs of the school are met by internal networks, not by the cell tower,” says Scarato. Wired connections are also faster, she says.

Choosing not to retrofit the school properly neglects a potential compromise that would provide more access with fewer emissions, says Mallek. “We have every capability to do this in the fiber. We can do it right and I’m very much in favor of doing it right and putting the fiber in where it needs to go.”

No timeline has been set for breaking ground.

Clarification July 15 on Theodora Scarato’s comments about scientific evidence on radiofrequency radiation.

Correction August 20: Barbara Cruickshank was never employed by Albemarle County schools.

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Rutherford Institute weighs in on county schools’ hate imagery ban

Local activists have long called for hate symbols including Confederate imagery to be banned in Albemarle County schools. Photo by Eze Amos

Anti-racist activists have spent more than a year advocating for a ban of hate symbols in Albemarle county schools, and after months of the school board deferring an official vote, the superintendent took matters into his own hands last week to prohibit such imagery in the dress code. Now, a constitutional attorney says he better watch out for a lawsuit.

Some school board members had previously voiced their concerns about the legality of such a prohibition—especially in light of the $150,000 First Amendment lawsuit they were smacked with in 2002 for denying a Jack Jouett middle schooler the right to wear his NRA camp shirt to school.

“Images of white supremacy, including Confederate and Nazi imagery, should not be permitted in our schools because they cause substantial disruption,” Superintendent Matt Haas read from a statement at the February 28 school board meeting, where he announced that he will ban explicit symbols, lettering, or any insignia associated with violence or white supremacy.

John Whitehead. Photo by Stephen Canty

John Whitehead, a constitutional attorney and president of the Rutherford Institute, says when policies are as vague and subjective as he says the Albemarle County Public Schools’ policy is, it lays the groundwork for a host of civil liberties violations.

The move is “consistent with a trend being played out in schools across the country—and in the courts—to censor First Amendment activities under the guise of school safety,” says Whitehead. “As a result, even American flag apparel was banned as dangerous in one major case.”

While this and other hate speech policies may make some students feel safer in the short term, he says it’s the Rutherford Institute’s position that they won’t actually make the schools any safer.

“Ultimately, what we must decide is whether the schools are here to censor or are they here to educate?” says Whitehead. “While this ACPS policy is inevitably going to result in a legal challenge, it’s not going to resolve the underlying problem of racism in our community and in our country, which is something that needs to be addressed and discussed openly and worked out in an open, supportive environment by the students and mediated by school officials.”

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Superintendent says Confederate imagery disrupts learning, but board chair postpones vote

The February 14 Albemarle County School Board meeting got heated after Chair Jonno Alcaro tabled a resolution that would restrict Confederate imagery on clothing in schools until the next meeting. Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County provided refreshments. Photo by Eze Amos

A resolution to ban Confederate imagery on clothing in Albemarle schools was back on the agenda at the February 14 Albemarle County School Board meeting. The last time the issue came up, in August, six people were arrested.

School board members were split on the issue, and again postponed a decision, to the dismay of both attendees and Superintendent Matt Haas, who said he was ready to ban the imagery because it created a disruption to learning.

Haas says that rationale, supported by a recent report from the School Health Advisory Board that concluded Confederate imagery might be harmful to students, could protect the board should a lawsuit ensue. But several school board members, citing a 2003 First Amendment lawsuit from a Jack Jouett sixth grader not allowed to wear his NRA T-shirt, expressed concerns about infringing on students’ rights.

At first, the meeting was business as usual. After commending eight Albemarle students on qualifying for the Daily Progress Regional Spelling Bee, board members listened to local middle schoolers attest to the importance of extracurricular civics programs.

Then came public comment. Most speakers, many with Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County, pressed the board to pass the resolution banning Confederate imagery. They delivered impassioned pleas stressing that minority children cannot feel safe around classmates wearing Confederate imagery, as audience members stood up in solidarity.

“To allow children to wear [Confederate imagery], carry it into a school, is no different from having them bring in swastikas,” said Matthew Christensen, a social worker. “I have seen the violence. I have seen the hatred. It has such an impact on our kids and it’s going to stay with them; it’s not going to go away when the image disappears.”

Star Peterson, one of the victims injured in the August 12 vehicular assault, spoke about the use of Confederate imagery during local hate rallies in 2017. “During the summer of hate…Richard Spencer and his people marched by a family festival with Confederate flags,” she said. “I can tell you I saw Confederate flags at a KKK rally. I can tell you I saw Confederate flags with my own eyes at the Unite the Right rally. There is no question of their significance.”

Before proceeding to debate, the board reviewed new items added to the Albemarle County schools budget, such as $30,000 earmarked for panic buttons. Then, it took a 30-minute break.

When the meeting reconvened, Assistant Superintendent Bernard Hairston submitted the resolution.

Board members Steve Koleszar, Kate Acuff, and Jason Buyaki, who wore a Confederate tie at one of the board’s previous discussions of the topic, said they felt the ban violated the First Amendment and failed to solve the underlying problem of racism.

Chair Jonno Alcaro implied he was reluctant to pass it for similar reasons, and decided to table the resolution until the next meeting, on February 28, to hear public concerns and allow the board more time to review the language.

Many in the audience were stewing. Amidst shouts of “coward” and “you’re supporting fascism,” Lara Harrison stood in front of the dais and flipped board members off with both hands.

After a minute of murmurs and muffled laughter, Alcaro noticed and asked her to sit down. “I’m not disrupting the meeting,” she replied, sitting on the steps. “I thought you were in favor of free speech.”

She returned to her seat after Alcaro threatened to have her removed.

Harrison had been arrested for trespassing during the special August 30 school board meeting concerning the same policy, though the charges were later dropped.

Audience interruptions continued throughout the meeting, but those heckling the board either stopped after being threatened with removal or stormed out of the auditorium.

Board member David Oberg supported the resolution, as did Graham Paige, who said he had evolved on the issue. Citing the School Health Advisory Board report, Katrina Callsen also supported the resolution.

“I think Confederate imagery should be banned from schools,” she said, comparing it to gang imagery. “Our city was the site of one of the largest hate rallies in recent history and the Confederate flag was a hate symbol.”

All board members in favor said they were willing to face a lawsuit but didn’t think it would happen because of the violent history of the flag in Charlottesville.

In response, Koleszar alluded to MLK. “You know, Martin Luther King warned about how the Northern liberal was more dangerous than the white racist,” he said.

“I am not a Northern liberal,” Paige retorted. The room erupted in laughter.

Haas said he would use his authority to prevent students from wearing Confederate imagery in the meantime. “I want a green light to work with the administrative team to have a plan to proactively tell families that the school board supports our current dress code,” he said. “I am now saying that you cannot wear these outfits to school.”

Nobody objected.

Before adjourning, Alcaro suggested the meeting prompted a change of heart. “I look forward to approving the anti-racism consent resolution in the next meeting,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot that I really need to think through.”

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Getting schooled: County school board member questions existence of climate change

Albemarle School Board . member Jason Buyaki has some doubts about climate change. file photo

Science class was in session at the October 25 Albemarle County School Board meeting, when board member Jason Buyaki paused to question not only the existence of climate change but also the nature of fossil fuels themselves.

Buyaki, who represents the Rivanna district, recently wore a tie bearing pictures of Confederate flags to a meeting to consider banning Confederate imagery from county schools. He later told the Daily Progress he chose his neckwear as a historical lesson about “various flags flown over the U.S.”

His latest lessons, this time in geology and climatology, came as the board discussed a proposal for county schools to commit to using renewable energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Buyaki’s ire focused on the proposed resolution’s second paragraph, which said, “there is scientific consensus regarding the reality of climate change and the recognition that human activity, especially the combustion of fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases, is an important driver of climate change.”

“When I read this thing, there’s a lot of hot buzzwords in here and phrases that are questionable, and we should question it,” he said, according to a video of the meeting. “One of the first ones that strikes me, in the second paragraph, says there is scientific consensus regarding the reality of climate change. No, there is not—There is scientific consensus among the scientists who believe that there is climate change, but it’s a pretty broad field out there with diverse opinions. So that’s my first red flag warning on this.”

A United Nations panel of the world’s leading climate scientists warned in early October that climate change will cause catastrophic damage within decades unless humanity takes drastic action, including sharply decreasing carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

First, though, Buyaki wanted to define some terms.

“I also question the idea that petroleum products come from fossils,” he said. “I think that’s a fair thing to ask.”

He continued: “That was something that was taught to me in school, that oil comes from fossils. And I find that really strange as a concept, that fossils are buried so deep in the earth, and we can pump ’em out. And some of these oil fields run dry, and then 30, 40 years later they can pump out more.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, so-called fossil fuels, including oil, coal and natural gas, formed over millions of years when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried by layers of rock.

After the meeting, three school board members contacted by C-VILLE did not respond to inquiries about whether the board shares Buyaki’s skepticism about climate change. Buyaki did not respond to an email request for comment.

County resident Matthew Christensen, with Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle, says Buyaki’s remarks are part of a “disturbing” trend that government officials can decide they “don’t believe in science.”

If the school board member is going to deny science, says Christensen, “I don’t think Jason Buyaki has any business being in charge of our children’s education.”

He adds that Buyaki’s Confederate-flag tie was “a signal to people what he stands for.”

The school board will take action on the clean-energy proposal at its November 8 meeting.

Updated November 2 at 2:30pm with comments from Matthew Christensen.