16 candidates vying for 6 seats on Chesapeake School Board, no incumbents seeking reelection

A shakeup is coming to the Chesapeake School Board.

Six of the nine board seats are up for grabs this election, and no incumbent is running. The majority of candidates have not held public office.

Five of the open seats are for full four-year terms. The other seat is a special election to complete an unexpired term that will end in 2024.

Thirteen candidates are vying for the five seats in the general election. Board members in Chesapeake serve at large, rather than by zone or district, meaning the five candidates securing the most votes will win a seat. Three candidates are on the special election ballot for the unexpired term. Early voting has started and will run through Nov. 5. Election Day is Nov. 8.

The board governs a district that serves more than 40,000 students.

The candidates are: Shirley Auguste, Blaizen B. Bloom, Amanda Grace Dean, Malia Huddle, Michael K. “Mike” Lamonea, Bradley Moore, Kim Scott, Brittany Walker, Jennifer Economy, Gayle Gilmore, Jared Miller, Kimberly Alameda and John McCormick. In the special election, candidates are Brenda Johnson, Jeremy Rodden and Norman Pool. Candidate Dana Cormier has dropped out of the race, according to the Chesapeake Voter Registrar’s Office.

Republican-backed candidates are Dean, Lamonea, McCormick, Scott and Walker; and Pool in the special election. Democrat-backed candidates are Auguste, Huddle and Moore in the general election, and Rodden in the special election.

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Losing ‘a lot of years’ of experience

Among the incumbents not running are several who had spent years on the board, including current chair Harry Murphy and member Michael Woods, both of whom were first elected in 1998. Christie New Craig, who has served for 12 years, is also not running for reelection.

“We’re losing a lot of experience on the board,” Murphy said. “A lot of years.”

The last few years have seen an intensified scrutiny of school boards nationwide, with cultural and political wars playing out over such things as the teaching of critical race theory, pandemic mitigation and policies regarding transgender students. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin ran on a platform that included a strong emphasis on parental rights.

Murphy said he had decided not to run for a seventh term even before COVID.

“I love what I’ve been able to do in the schools,” he said. “People ask me, ‘Are you going to miss it?’ Of course I am, if I didn’t miss it it wouldn’t have been worthwhile to do,” he said.

Murphy added he’s honored to have had the opportunity to be part of work that has an impact on families in Chesapeake, and he wants to the leave the district “pointing in the right direction” for the next board members.”

Murphy said the school district is the biggest asset for Chesapeake, which does not have a beachfront, or the types of parks or arenas or recreation facilities that other Hampton Roads cities have.

Murphy, who has endorsed the Republican ticket, said he’s spoken to several candidates with different affiliations, and all of them want what’s best for the kids and the district. He says much of what the board deals with is about funding.

“It’s always about money, how much money we have to do the programs we want to do,” he said.

He thinks one of the reasons there are so many candidates running this year is because many parents became more involved with the district during the pandemic.

“I think that’s a huge positive trend” he said.

Murphy said he always reminds candidates of what it takes to run a school board: “I told people, I have absolutely no authority unless I’m in a meeting. And then I’ve got to get four other people to agree with me. And if you can’t work well with others, you’re going to hit a lot of stumbling blocks.”

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Candidate priorities

In response to a questionnaire sent out by The Pilot asking about how to address learning loss and what candidates believe is one of the most pressing issues facing schools, candidates expressed concern about everything from staffing shortages to student mental health.

Bloom, Huddle, Walker, Gilmore, Miller and McCormick — as well as Johnson, who is running for the unexpired seat — all said teacher shortages and recruitment and retention strategies were a top priority, and some cited it as the way to recover from learning loss.

Bloom, 19, also said student mental health is a top concern.

Dean said school funding and long-term growth are her top concerns.

Auguste and Lamonea referenced school safety as one of the most pressing issues.

Moore said he wants to see students more involved in the district, suggesting a student representative on the board and a student advisory group.

Miller and Rodden also want to see additional transparency and accountability from administrators and from the board.

Scott said parent involvement is a top priority, and encouraging a school/parent partnership with healthy boundaries.

Economy said improving special education is one of the most pressing issues facing the district.

McCormick and Pool want to see schools working harder to expand vocational options and prepare students for a future in skilled trades, public safety and military service.

Alameda said one of her top concerns and something that parents are “outraged” about is “pornographic books housed in our school libraries.”

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Teachers union PAC endorses 5 candidates

The Chesapeake Education Association PAC endorsed five candidates for school board: Auguste, Bloom, Huddle and Moore in the general election, and Johnson in the special election.

Jennifer Naperala, a high school English teacher in Chesapeake and secretary of the union’s PAC, said they were looking for candidates who were not simply focused on one issue.

“We wanted people who were aware of the public school system as a whole, and the interrelatedness of all the different elements,” Naperala said. “We were looking for people who see Chesapeake Public Schools as the option for the best education for Chesapeake students ... people who appreciate what we have and want to make what we have better.”

Naperala said speaking as herself and not on behalf of the union or its PAC, she believes having a slate of new board members will be good for the district.

“It has been very difficult getting any sort of engagement from [the board] on issues that are important to us,” she said.

She hopes new blood will add diversity to the board.

“We need diversity on the board just so we can get out of the echo chamber that they’re in,” she said.

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com