School Board votes matter

An editorial written by Justin Burns ahead of the November 6th, 2018 midterm election, shared as published in the Virginian Pilot.

Last May, I began my campaign to be elected to the Virginia Beach School Board. On June 16, I made the tough decision to withdraw my name from the race after the loss of a close family member. I recalled the conversation I had with my family before I began campaigning. I said that family would always come first. Since then, I have paid close attention to our local races, especially the race for School Board.

My campaign ran on a platform that focused on students and their education. I offered reforms that would help teachers and students continue to improve.

We must remember, party preference shouldn’t matter when it comes to moving Virginia Beach forward. We shouldn’t be looking toward candidates who try to divide teachers, students, parents, and the administration. We shouldn’t be looking toward candidates who run on hateful rhetoric and refuse to offer feasible solutions. We should take a step back from the “they’ll do this, and I’ll do that” and look for the people proposing fresh ideas.

Next month, Beach residents’ votes matter more now than ever before. We must elect candidates who understand the issues our students are facing — candidates who acknowledge the progress our school division has made and who give us a hopeful outlook on where we can go from here. Voters need to take the time to learn about all the candidates and then go vote this Nov. 6.