Advocacy For Appointed School Boards in Hanover County

by Mindy Ruggiero, (as presented to the Hanover Republican Committee in April)

Click the pic for a rebuttal.

This speech is presented as given to me by Mindy Ruggiero for your edification. I do not agree with the assumptions or solutions presented and have published my views HERE. I will also present an updated answer to any additional points made here on Substack so that you have both pros and cons on the issue in order to form your own opinion.

I’d like to share about a crucial matter to the citizens of our county, one gone overlooked due to its initially non-threatening, even welcomed, connotation. That matter is the campaign being undertaken to change Hanover County’s School board selection method, from a board appointed by the Board of Supervisors to an elected school board.

The concept of the elected school board carries weight with it, that it is continuing the American tradition, one built upon democratic principles, one in which an informed and engaged citizenry allows their voice to be heard. One where the process is open to the true stakeholders, those who live here and send their children to schools here. Let me assure you, the actual intent, as well as those endorsing it, is far from that ideal.

There is a petition circulating to place a referendum on the November ballot. The referendum would ask citizens if they would prefer to have an elected school board over one appointed by the Board of Supervisors.

Those who are behind this petition claim that their effort is non-partisan. What they conveniently fail to point out is who is really behind the coordination of the petition. Why would they do so?

Many other communities have been saddled with an elected school board with no improvement in the quality of education. Let’s ask ourselves the question: would you rather send your kids to a Richmond or Chesterfield County school? How about Loudoun? In Loudoun, a transgender student was found to have sexually assaulted another student in the school bathroom. It was covered up, they transferred the student to another school and it happened again. The elected school board was knee deep in this cover up.

I pose this question to you: what problem do they want to remedy with our Hanover County Public Schools?

Elected school boards mean that candidates must conduct campaigns. As you are well aware, these campaigns consume time and money. Often, the best qualified candidates are those who don’t have the connections, and it is naïve to assume that those costs could be covered by contributions from friends and family.

Campaigns then become fertile ground for special interest groups, the groups that do have the funds and time necessary to back these campaigns, whether directly or indirectly. There will be a lot more money coming in from special interest groups to mold the candidates in their image, not that of the residents. The candidates who receive this support will have someone to answer to, and it is NOT to the people, and especially not the students.

Local elections for other school boards often result in extremely low-voter turnout, unless the election is held concurrently with a presidential election.

Let’s add another layer to this: in Virginia, we have a 45-day period in which mail-in ballots are accepted, without the requirement for photo ID. And we’ve all seen how transparent and vetted that process is.

Here’s a fun fact: The majority of states in the United States, that’s 33 out of 50 states, have only elected local School Boards and give them taxing authority to raise money for school operations.

School boards in Virginia do not have taxing authority - they depend on the county or city government for their local funding, with the real estate tax being the largest source of revenue.

Our current system for funding public schools: First, you have the property tax feeding the general fund, and then State aid and Federal aid being funneled into the school operating fund, both controlled by the Board of Supervisors. Another input is the School Board’s proposed budget, which for 2024 is $234 million, must first be approved by the Board of Supervisors. So, the Local government contributes $112 million, or 48%. The State also contributes 48%, and Federal chips in 3%. Then with all three of these inputs, the Local government appropriates the funds to the School Board for public school operations.

Many people would not be happy with a new level of taxation, some may accept it under the thought of it as a necessary investment into our local school systems. But the ability for the school board to tax you is only the beginning of a domino effect that we’ve seen happen in other states.

Our future system for funding public schools with an elected school board with taxing authority: First, you have the property tax, that was once collected by the Local gov’t, now feeding directly to the school board, and then State aid and Federal aid also being funneled directly into the school board. Another input is the School Board’s proposed budget, which no longer needs oversight or approval by the Board of Supervisors. You no longer have the Local government appropriating the funds to the School Board for public school operations, and if they do, it’s very little.

One theme that shows up in several states is funding equity. Once the school boards have taxing authority, then comes the question of funding equity across school districts. In other words, resources, such as property values, may differ considerably between localities, so several states have taken steps to assure a level of equity in funding across local school districts through tax reforms. In effect, property tax revenue is taken from the local gov’t, and is now collected by the school board and then the SB must give a portion to the state to be redistributed to the state’s schools “equitably”. The revenues gathered from the residents will no longer be enough, especially if the money isn’t put back into our own schools.

Do you want your property taxes controlled by the local government, or given to the state for redistribution?

This brings me back to a statement I made earlier: Those pushing the school board referendum have worked to make themselves as ambiguous as possible. Who is pushing this, and why?

Many of these groups have been, or are advocates, of causes that have stirred up many controversies recently throughout Hanover County as well as other school boards in Virginia. These groups have advocated for movements that distract our students from the education they deserve.

Equality Virginia, one of the groups pushing the trend of gender and orientation confusion on our students, have been very vocal in their support of having elected school boards. Before the time that our students come to understand the way the world has worked, their agenda is to push the alternative as reality. And they will work to push candidates who will support this.

The ACLU, in fact, sought to sue our own school board regarding policies that would allow boys and girls to use the same restroom, based on what they “felt” to be. This was pushed, despite the number of cases that resulted in harm coming to students because of this policy elsewhere.

Not only do these groups seek elected school boards, but they have advocated to not only keep parents out of the classroom, but to keep parents from learning what is in the classroom in the first place. Members of the ACLU have been on the forefront of this issue, fighting for elected school boards and against school transparency for decades.

The NAACP, once the representatives on the front line in the battle of civil rights, has resorted to the endorsement of such policies as Critical Race Theory in education. Also, they spoke out strongly in support of the ACLU’s lawsuit against Hanover County. And they will work to push candidates who support this.

The Hanover Democratic Party is mobilizing to this cause as well. They are actively coordinating the  petitioners for the elected school board referendum. At one event, I overheard the lead Democrat volunteer coordinator on her phone. She mentioned how she had lost some of her elected school board petitioners. When I questioned why she would be coordinating this effort, she backtracked and claimed this is a bipartisan effort. Interestingly enough, it was nothing I had heard being promoted from within any Republican circles.

These organizations want to have a foothold in our county, and it begins in the classroom. These well-organized, well-funded movements have the manpower to operate in local elections, behind the guise of a “non-partisan” movement. Behind the guise of putting the election in the hands of the people. And once their candidates are elected, they will push the interest of these groups.

Their unstated goal is, through teaching CRT, to create a race war and a gender war (which they have successfully done), and to complete their plan, they must have control of the schools and achieve redistribution of wealth. Elected school boards is how they do that.

Do you really put your faith in any one of those organizations to put Virginians interests first?!

I have heard numerous people tell me that they don’t care about this for various reasons: I don’t live in Hanover, I don’t have kids in school, it doesn’t affect me, etc. However, this is an important issue for everyone to watch because everyone pays property taxes. Do you want your property taxes going to our local schools? Or would you rather your property taxes be given to the state for “equitable” redistribution?

We all need to be concerned about what’s going on in the schools, even if you don’t have kids enrolled because it’s the future of our country. These kids will come out of school believing in the artificial race wars, and a new-found gender and orientation confusion. They’ll look to progressive ideals as the solution. Their goal is to create a perpetual state of insecurity, by forcing one of two roads: compliance or silence. Even if students think the contrary, they become so frightened by even the slightest deviation into complete silence. In addition, while their agenda takes up valuable classroom instruction time, real academics are not being taught. Standards are being lowered to achieve equal outcomes for all demographics. Americans will not be able to compete for our own STEM jobs. I refuse to stand idly by and let them have our children and our future.

Republicans seem to be split within the party over this matter. Some believe in an elected school board because of the connotation of the word “elected”. Some know the consequences of elected school boards, but shudder at the optics of fighting that concept in a public forum. “How dare you be against the will of the people?” Hopefully, I’ve shown you that if these school boards become fueled by campaign money over a drive for academic excellence, the will of the people will be erased.

Perhaps some may even be interested in elected school boards, thinking to use the same vehicle that progressive groups use in their own way to influence campaigns. The ones in this group may be the most disillusioned, as for decades, the progressive movement has been at the forefront of community organization, from top to bottom at a moment’s notice. They’ve been doing it faster, smarter and better than us.

The groups behind this effort claim that elected school boards are more “democratic”. However, we already elect our Board of Supervisors, those who are responsible for the overall health of our community. When our education system fails us, we look to them to find the right people to change that outcome. When an elected school board fails, the criteria for what becomes success is ever changing. “Graduation rate” achievements become “attendance rate” achievements. “C”s and “D”s become “A”s and “B”s, and they’ll wrap it in a nice package and call it “equity”. We cannot GIVE our students diplomas. We must ensure that they EARN a diploma. This is the only way we can guarantee that our students will be great contributors to our community in the future.

Why do we care now? BEFORE IT’S A REFERENDUM?

Once it’s on the referendum, it’s too late, the terms and ideas will already be set in place, and we’ll be doing what we’ve always done: engaging this issue on the progressive movement’s terms. Disengaging and discrediting the fallacies, and the word-play needs to start now. I imagine being blindsided with the referendum on the ballot, most people would think, “Hmm I’ve never thought about that before, but it sounds good!” We need to be proactive. This is an imminent threat…

Which is why, rather than fighting at the end, I am fighting at the beginning. We, the residents of Hanover County cannot, and must not allow an elected school board to come into place.

If you’re willing to allow this slow drip of progressive ideology at the expense of our future, then you are complicit, and you can say goodbye to your good school system and your home value.

Video including slides
https://rumble.com/v2ierzw-elected-vs.-appointed-school-boards.html