The Spotsylvania County School Board pledged to move forward in a positive direction after the installation of a new chair and vice chair Monday night.
The board that often finds itself embroiled in disputes and controversies elected a pair of reserved second-year members who were chosen by voters in November 2023 to change the tenor of the fiery meetings.
Megan Jackson of the Livingston District was elected as chair. Belen Rodas, who represents the Chancellor District, was chosen as vice chair.
“I’m grateful that Megan stepped up to serve our board up here as the chair and Ms. Rodas as the vice chair,” said Lisa Phelps of the Lee Hill District. “I think our board up here needs it. I think our administration needs it, a new breath of fresh air coming from up here. If it doesn’t work out, we can always go backwards, right? I think it’s good. I think we’re moving in the right direction. I’m glad to support it.”
Former Chair Lorita Daniels, former Vice Chair Nicole Cole and Courtland District representative Carol Medawar were also nominated for the chair position.
Cole, who is running for the 66th District state delegate seat as a Democrat challenging Republican incumbent Bobby Orrock, declined her nominations for chair and vice chair.
Medawar only received three votes — from Phelps, Cole and herself — in the first round of voting.
Daniels and Jackson received four votes apiece. In the tie-breaking round, Jackson received four votes and Daniels received three. April Gillespie of the Berkeley District said Jackson was the logical choice because she’s typically neutral during the board’s heated discourse.
Jackson did not vote for herself, saying that while she was grateful for the position, she would’ve preferred to enter into a leadership role with more experience.
“I would like to thank my fellow board members who nominated me and voted for me as chair even though maybe I wasn’t ready,” Jackson said after the votes. “I would have preferred to be vice chair first … I hope this board is willing to work together in this new year with a fresh perspective that says ‘goodbye’ to chaos — at least most of it — and welcomes healthy debate while maintaining respect, fairness and professionalism.”
Board votes down raises
The most contentious discussion of the evening concerned a pay raise for board members. In December 2023, the outgoing board voted to increase pay from $1,000 per month for board members to $1,500 per month with the chair receiving an additional $500.
But the measure could not be implemented because the vote needed to occur prior to June 30, 2023, to become effective in 2024.
The mere thought of exploring raises for board members angered some members of the public, even though representatives noted that there has not been a pay raise for the board since 2009 and members of the board of supervisors are paid twice as much as they are. The raises would cost a total of $46,000 ($23,000 for this year since it wouldn’t take effect until July 1).
“The fact that the pay increase a year later is still on the table and up for recommended approval while I hear the same board members talk about hungry children in this community won’t win you favor with this community,” said Jennifer Petersen, a vocal critic of the board.
The board voted 4-3 not to implement the increase with Jackson, Rodas, Phelps and Gillespie voting against it.
Jackson and Rodas were concerned about the message a raise would send while teachers and staff are struggling to receive pay increases. Phelps, who initially introduced the idea of a raise, suggested Cole has a political motive for wanting to support the increases now.
“There’s no political springboarding up here for me that I’m going to sit here and tout that I need another [$500] or for being the chair, another [$1,000] when at the other end of the spectrum you want to rally up the community to go out and raise our taxes and go to the board of supervisors and tell them how bad they are because they’re not funding us,” Phelps said. “So, what is it? … People are campaigning from up here.”
Cole said her vote was motivated by a desire to see a wider range of potential board candidates in the future. She said that some citizens may be put off by board members being paid and not showing up to meetings, but, if the county wants quality representation, it may require a larger stipend.
“It takes time and money,” Cole said … “If we don’t make sure that school board members are getting paid for their time, then we’ll only have people that run that don’t have to have an income. That’s not necessarily a good thing for our community.”
Assault claim investigated
With the change to a later public comment period beginning Monday (it started after 9 p.m.), the response was light, with five speakers who signed up and two more who decided to comment while at the meeting.
But the second speaker of the evening delivered a serious accusation against a teacher at Ni River Middle School.
The father of a Ni River female student said his daughter was sexually harassed and assaulted by a teacher at the school this past September, and that the board, school staff and administration was unresponsive.
“Your actions have put her in danger and failed to take anything into account for this,” the man said. “There have been numerous failures from the principal failing to notify [the Department of Social Services] or filing any sort of Title IX complaint. I notified all of you in writing but got no response from all but one of you. Ms. Jackson, I appreciate your response, however, it was wholly inadequate. There has been no follow-up. Nobody cares. Nobody is doing anything, and I’ve had enough.”
The father went on to question how the board can discuss security measures at school while employing provisionally licensed teachers who are “in here harassing and assaulting students and you’re doing nothing about it.”
Gillespie called for the board to direct Superintendent Clint Mitchell to have his staff prepare a report on the incident. Mitchell responded that the investigation was completed, and the results were provided to the girl’s parents. Jackson requested that the report be provided to the board at its next meeting.
When reached by phone, Mitchell said he cannot comment on the results of the school investigation because it is a “confidential HR matter.”
“We have followed all of our protocols and policies regarding this allegation,” the superintendent said. “At this time, this allegation has been investigated, and findings were shared with the parent.”
Key dates upcoming
During his comments, Mitchell mentioned a few key dates that are on the horizon. He said later this week he will release the executive summary from the listening sessions he held with community stakeholders in his first 90 days. He provided the summary to the board Monday night.
On Jan. 16, weapon detection systems will arrive and soon be installed at the county’s five high schools, the John J. Wright Educational and Cultural Center and the Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center.
Mitchell will present his fiscal year 2026 proposed budget to the school board on Jan. 21. On April 1, the board of supervisors will hold a public hearing on the real estate tax rate, which will help determine funding for the school division for the 2025-26 school year.
