Five candidates made their case Monday night to replace James Monroe District representative Matthew Roles on the King George County School Board after Roles resigned last month.
A sixth candidate was not present for the board meeting but submitted a resume and letter of interest for consideration.
The board decided on a candidate after interviewing hopefuls for 15 minutes on Monday, but Chair David Bush said the choice will not be revealed until next Monday.
Bush said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the board initially wanted to inform the candidates this week but changed its stance to let everyone know at the Oct. 14 meeting.
Bush said only the four board members — himself, Ed Frank, Colleen Davis and Cathy Hoover — are in the know as to the selection. He pushed back on assertions made by other candidates online that the first interviewee, Carrie Cleveland, was appointed to the position.
“Only the four of us know,” said Bush, “unless they’re psychic.”
Roles, a Wisconsin native, was elected to the board in 2021 and stepped down in September following a contentious vote to maintain Superintendent Jesse Boyd’s process for checking out books considered sexually explicit from the King George Middle School library.
Roles was in favor of removing certain books altogether rather than keeping them in a restricted area and requiring parental approval before checkout.
School board members are allowed to appoint an individual to fill a vacancy that was created by a resignation within 45 days, per Virginia code.
Cleveland, an eight-year resident of the county with three children in the school division, said safety is her No. 1 priority. She said she considered leaving her children at home after hearing about threats of violence in the schools last month. She also considered homeschooling her children.
“Getting access to a school building should be harder than getting into an office building,” she said.
Cleveland said she also wants to help put an end to “physical, verbal and psychological bullying.” She said teachers are her second priority and also expressed support for the county’s preschool program.
Cleveland ended her presentation by stating that she believes schools should only focus on the basics and that students “should not be exposed to information inappropriate for their ages or level of understanding.”
Cleveland served on the King George Service Authority Board of Directors from 2021-23, the Infrastructure Advisory Committee in 2020 and the county Budget Advisory Committee in ‘20 and ‘21.
Candidate Bryan Metts moved to King George from Fredericksburg in 2013 because he was enamored with the county’s school system. He works for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Dahlgren. He said ending bullying is his No. 1 priority.
“I think it’s important to have someone on the board that can bring people together and get a solution,” Metts said. “My viewpoints are very much in the center. I do get alarmed when that pendulum starts to swing to one side or the other.”
Jonathan Dachos, who works for NAVSEA in Washington, D.C., is the candidate who did not appear before the board on Monday.
Dachos is a cross country coach at Caroline High School and previously coached the sport at King George High for five seasons. Dachos said his goals include teacher retention, school safety, parental involvement and preparation for college, military or the workforce.
Alexander Strugatsky, a retired scientist at NSWCDD, submitted his letter of intention and resume as well. Strugatsky said he applied so that he could bring his experience and knowledge to the next generation.
“Quality education is a fundamental building block of a civil society, and its importance cannot be overestimated,” he said.
Neil Richard, a former educator who grew up in the county and served on numerous boards and commissions, stated that he entered his name to replace Roles because “I have more experience and a deeper understanding than many of my fellow residents in regard to the skills needed to perform the duties as a school board member.”
Some of Richard’s experience includes serving as the director of academics at Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic High School in Fredericksburg.
Miriam Niemi was the final candidate who spoke before the board. Niemi is a preschool teacher at the King George YMCA and former client manager for ParentLink K12, a company that streamlined communications between parents and school divisions. She was on the ballot in 2021 and was defeated by Roles.
“One of the greatest responsibilities we have at this time is to plan for the education of our county’s youth,” Niemi stated in her letter to the board. “These are critical and challenging times for public education. I find satisfaction in energetically confronting tough challenges and working collegially to overcome them.”
