Editor’s note: As we learned the hard way during covid, school board elections MATTER. So we asked outgoing Virginia Beach School Board Member Victoria Manning to prepare a voters’ guide for the upcoming Virginia Beach election. She graciously accepted. The citizens of Virginia Beach will miss Manning’s principled representation on that body. Here are her recommendations for candidates that will best put the interests of students and parents first. kd

By Victoria Manning

When I joined the Virginia Beach School Board in 2017, I was in an 8-3 minority viewpoint.

Things were bad.

Teaching accountability was out the window—teachers were told they couldn’t give zeros for work not done or deduct points for work turned in late. Discipline problems were skyrocketing under new “restorative justice” and “positive behavioral” techniques.

When teachers sent students to the office for misbehavior, they were given a reward and sent back to class rather than given an appropriate consequence. For the first 7 years I was on the board, Aaron Spence was superintendent. The majority of the school board would just push the green button for anything he wanted.

After a few election cycles we began to replace Spence’s minion board members and after the 2022 election, Spence’s board majority was reduced to 6-5—only 1 vote away.

Aaron Spence saw the writing on the wall, and he left for a job as the Loudoun County Schools superintendent. This was a huge win for Virginia Beach, but there is a lot of work to undo a decade of his radical agenda that was put into place in Virginia Beach Schools.

There are 6 school board seats up for election this year and I will not be seeking reelection after 8 years of service. It has been an honor to represent the great people of Virginia Beach—a city I love—but it’s time for me to focus on my faith, my family, and my new career. However, I am supporting 6 great candidates across the city. You can find out more information about all of them at StudentsFirstVA.com.

At-Large: Monty Ashliman—(everyone can vote for this seat). Monty is a graduate of the Naval Academy who has a distinguished military career as a TOPGUN instructor and commander of a large naval installation. His leadership ability and management experience of a large organization are much needed on the Virginia Beach School Board.

District 1: Rose Dwyer— Rose has a wealth of experience. She was a PTA President and former school board member in another county. She has a background serving as a youth leader and mission work in prison ministry. She also helped implement capital construction projects in her past school board position.

District 3: Mark Bohenstiel—Mark is a small business owner who has a passion for service and community volunteering in Virginia Beach where he has lived for over 30 years. He has volunteered as a little league coach, in homeless ministries, special needs ministry at his church, and serves on the Mayor’s Advisory Board for Beaches and Waterways.

District 4: Shannon Kendrick—This is a special election to fill a 2-year term of a previous board member who resigned. Shannon has an MBA from Regent University and serves in many volunteer capacities including as a board member of the Life Enrichment Center—a nonprofit dedicated to improving reading levels of children in K-3. She also works in development for a Christian nonprofit. She also previously served as a Congressional District Director.

District 5: Vincent Smith—Vincent is a brilliant problem solver who will bring out of the box thinking to Virginia Beach Schools. He is not only an engineer but previously owned his own welding and blacksmithing business. He has over 25 years of capital construction experience that will be a huge benefit when replacing old schools.

District 7: Noah Moreland—Noah is actively engaged in the community, serving as a youth leader in his church. He has a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University, but ultimately decided on a career as a blue-collar worker. He is living evidence of the need to prepare students for both college and the workforce and is passionate about expanding vocational opportunities for students.

These candidates want to get back to educating students and teaching them HOW to think and not WHAT to think. They want to prioritize making sure students are prepared for the workforce or college, not to train them in social and political agendas.

Let’s get all 6 of these candidates elected to put Virginia Beach Schools back on track to being the best in the state and nation. Go to StudentsFirstVA.com if you want to help.