Beth Leffel gives her campaign platform for Fincastle School Board seat

Botetourt County is now in the majority of localities that decided having an elected School Board was the best option for citizen representation. Some of you probably remember when Botetourt still had an appointed School Board and truly appreciate the privilege we now have to select people we think are best qualified for the job. We are in the final month of campaigning prior to the November 5^th election and I want to take a moment to remind you why I think I am most qualified person to represent the Fincastle District as your School Board member.

I think a little personal history will help to explain why I am passionate about serving the community and why the School Board is so important to me. I grew up on a dairy farm in Springwood and went to Buchanan Elementary School. When I was a student at Botetourt Intermediate (ok, the name dates me!), we moved to the farm in Eagle Rock and I graduated from James River High School. I was a very lucky kid, living the ideal Botetourt life – I played and worked on the farm, hunted, fished and learned community service through active 4-H and church youth group involvement. After high school I went on to get a degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech and ultimately a PhD in toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia. When I got married my husband’s job as an air traffic controller took us away from Botetourt. I began volunteering in a Rescue Squad and ultimately received an appointment as chairman to the County EMS Commission. I was also elected to the School Board, serving as chairman and leading several initiatives of improvement in the school division. These are only two of my experiences that taught me a lot about local government and make me the most qualified candidate running for School Board.

During the time my family lived away, we were home almost every weekend because I was a “home girl” and my husband’s family lived in Buchanan. So when we were able to build a house and move back to Eagle Rock, if felt like we had never left. Now let’s talk about what happened when I moved back, why I am running for this office, and what I plan to do as your representative. I have three areas of focus which are student needs, responsible funding and strategic planning. Let me speak to these in context of how the board operates.

The job of a School Board is to set policy and govern implementation. Much like the Board of Directors provides vision to a company and the CEO makes it happen, a School Board provides direction for education and the Superintendent gets it done. The School Board does not manage operations and should not get in the weeds of day to day happenings. For example, I have been an adjunct professor at a university but that doesn’t mean that as a School Board member it is my role to direct how teachers should teach. Because of my past board experience, I understand this responsibility of oversight and vision – not micromanagement of daily activities. I have knowledge of the laws that govern the school division and how to apply them to local school policy. But as the parent of a 10^th grader, and a fellow taxpayer, I appreciate that sometimes the worries about daily operations may need to be addressed from a policy level. This is why you need a representative who has an open mind and easy communication style. I will always listen to your concerns, I will find answers to your questions and when an answer just doesn’t make sense, I will work hard for a new solution.

My second area of focus is to promote responsible conservative funding. One of the 1^st things the newly elected School Board will do is vote on the budget. The superintendent traditionally begins preparing a budget in Oct/Nov. There are usually quite a few work sessions before the School Board votes on the budget request in about Mar/Apr. One of the biggest events that made me decide to run for this position was the last budget process. I was at budget work sessions and actually spoke against the proposed cut in the Agricultural teacher position. It was at that meeting that I saw an extreme lack of transparency from the previous school superintendent and administration to the board members. They could not provide facts to the School Board questions on how the cut was justified or why the decision had been proposed. I plan to begin attending budget work sessions as soon as they are announced, not waiting until we take office in Jan. A needs-based well-justified budget is critical and I want to know as much as possible about work completed before we take office. I will be asking hard questions about every dollar requested in the budget. But once I have the data to support the need, I will fight hard to get those dollars that will support educational improvements for our children.

My final point is about strategic planning. We have to begin discussions of where we want our school system to be in 10, 20, 30 years. We simply cannot progress without a roadmap as to how we will obtain our goals. We need to plan around proposed economic development, new cutting-edge educational opportunities, investing in our teachers, taking advantage of technology and addressing aging building and facilities. Being victorious will require collaboration with the Board of Supervisors, strengthening community partnership and encouraging strong parent involvement. I work in our community as an advocate for other issues and so have established relationships with the Supervisors and an awareness of community partnership opportunities. I will do everything possible to be a conduit that engages parents and taxpayers so everyone feels involved in the schools.

I want to be your voice on the School Board and I would appreciate your vote on November 5^th.   

Submitted by Beth Leffel