VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Several new faces are expected to make up the Virginia Beach School Board once results are finalized. As of Thursday afternoon, it appears Staci Martin has won in District 4, David Culpepper has won in District 8, and Carolyn Weems has won in District 9.
In District 6, Mike Callan has an 800 or so vote lead over incumbent Sharon Felton. In District 2, incumbent Kim Melnyk has a slight lead over two challengers. In District 10, Kathleen Brown has about a 180-vote lead over Kim Bentley.
Election officials are in the process of certifying the results, which they are required to do by Tuesday evening.
On Thursday, News 3 spoke with two of the new candidates who appear on the path to victory: Callan and Martin.
Callan, a financial adviser, said he was motivated to run as a grandfather who didn't like the direction the school system is headed.
"That's what made me, a non-educational background guy, to enter the School Board campaign area," Callan told News 3 over the phone.
Callan was one of six candidates backed by the group called Students First VA. The political action committee arose over the last few years against what they call indoctrination, including Critical Race Theory being taught. The school division has previously denied reports that CRT is part of the curriculum.
Tim Mack, the President of Students First VA, told News 3 he doesn't know how the new members will vote on specific future issues but they "hope there will be more unity in putting students and their parents and families first."
Students First VA is hopeful four of the candidates they endorsed will win. Current School Board member Vicky Manning is part of the group's leadership, which would mean they could have five votes on the board.
In an environment that's been tense over the last few years, News 3 asked Callan what he expects moving forward.
"The mindset that I will bring to the role will be one to seek to make a positive contribution to the atmosphere," he answered.
Not all of the Students First VA candidates won. Staci Martin, who works for a state agency and is an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University, defeated a Students First VA candidate in District 4.
"I honestly didn't pay much attention to who was backed by who. I wanted to run because I want to make a difference," she told News 3 over Zoom on Thursday.
Callan said his focus would be making sure parents are included in decisions about their children's education and what he calls bathroom and locker room security, where he said different genders are allowed in the same bathroom.
Martin said she believes the school division is excellent, and she's focused on adding more flexibility for students.
Both said they want to raise student achievement coming out of the pandemic.
News 3 asked both how they plan to work with Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence, or whether they anticipated any leadership changes.
"I think we really need to take a holistic approach at Dr. Spence's performance and see where maybe we need to tweak some things, but I really do think we should stick with what we know," Martin answered.
"I'll hold off on that until we know more. Maybe there will be a change in administrative perspectives and outlooks as a result of the change in the makeup of the board. I'll leave room for that and remain hopeful," said Callan.
