PTSA held a meeting showcasing the Fairfax County candidates for school board members at large and the Hunter Mill District school board seat on October 12.

Five of the seven at-large candidates attended the meeting, including current Vice Chairman member Ilryong Moon, who is running for re-election.  Absent from the meeting were Steve Stuban and Lolita Mancheno-Smoak.

The at-large candidates include Ryan McElveen, a 2004 graduate of Marshall High School, Ted Velkoff, a father of two FCPS graduates, Sheree Brown-Kaplan, a native to Northern Virginia with two children enrolled in FCPS, Lin-Dai Kendall, a mother of four Robinson students, and Moon, both a father of two FCPS students and husband of an FCPS teacher.

The two candidates running directly against each other, however, are Nancy Linton, endorsed by the Republican Party, and Pat Hynes, endorsed by the Democratic Party.

Both are candidates for the Hunter Mill District seat, which represents 10 high schools including South Lakes.

Both candidates have said they do not support the idea of merit pay for teachers, that the possibility of later school start times needs to be re-examined, and that the board should have an independent auditor examine the way money is spent.

Linton, a professional counselor and mother of two FCPS students, argued that her long-term investment within the school gives her a leg up on opponent Hynes, a former teacher at Louise Archer in Vienna who currently teaches at Forest Edge.

“I am going to have a child in Fairfax County Public Schools until the year 2023,” said Linton.  “I’m coming from the outside whereas my opponent is coming from the inside.  I have fresh eyes while she’s coming from within the system.”

While Linton argues this is a deterrent to her opponent, Hynes countered that it gives her an advantage over her competition.

“I’m the only teacher running,” said Hynes.  “No one teaches on the school board and no one holds that other point of view that is currently missing.”

As part of Linton’s plan to obtain all points of view, she envisions a teacher task force to provide input.

“I really do value teachers’ opinions,” said Linton.  “But I want to represent everyone.  I believe my experience as a counselor has trained me to take every side’s opinion before evaluating the situation.”

Though the candidates certainly have their list of priorities, they all agree on one thing: an independent external audit of the FCPS budget is needed.

Candidates agree that spent money was made virtually untraceable due to a decision made by the previous school board.  The auditor of the county’s money was voted to report directly to the superintendent, rather than the school board.

“Look, the IRS doesn’t say, ‘I’m going to audit your taxes, but you can do it yourself and tell me everything is okay,’” said Linton.  “There is a reason the system doesn’t work that way. We need accountability.”

As for recent fees and cuts that have caused concern among students and parents alike, candidates agreed that they could not quite say whether or not those issues could be resolved until an independent audit is in place.

“Budget time is priority time,” said Hynes.  “We need to go a long way to ensure that our community is spending this money wisely.”

In addition to the budget, school start times and student stress were among the issues discussed.

“We’re putting so much stress on kids,” said Hynes.  “There are fundamental questions on student wellness here. How much homework is reasonable?  Are we overloading on students?  I’m afraid we are.”

Linton agrees.

“The mental health issues more and more kids are experiencing needs to change,” said Linton.  “It has to happen.  I will make sure it happens.”

The general election will be held on November 8.