Side by Side: Buchanan District School Board Candidate Interviews

The Botetourt Bee recently interviewed the two candidates running for the Botetourt County School Board in the Buchanan District.  This election will be held on November 4th. We interviewed each candidate with the same structure of questions; their replies are given side by side.

Jenny Wilson is currently serving her first term on the School Board. She has two children: one attending a BOCO school and one an alum. She is a practicing physical therapist with a second degree in psychology.

Dr. Kathryn Beard has 35 years of experience as a professional educator; 16 years of teaching K through 12, six years as a central office administrator, three years as a college professor at Virginia Tech, and 12 years as the Virginia Western Community College dual enrollment coordinator.

Why are you running for a seat on the BOCO School Board?

Wilson: We’ve been one of the few districts in the state that has been able to maintain our academic excellence post-COVID. We’ve consistently been ranking in the top 5% for reading and math. We’ve increased access to preschool programs for some of our most vulnerable students. And now we have a VPI classroom in every elementary school. Our schools have also been able to get a dedicated resource officer through a partnership with the sheriff’s department in every building, which is a great accomplishment.

I’m hoping to serve another four years on this board and continue working with my fellow school board members and other elected members of our community to continue to see great things for our school. I think that strong schools build strong communities, and I’m committed to continued work on school safety, responsible budgeting, and preparing students for success in life, no matter what path they may choose.


Beard: I believe it’s essential to have at least one school board member with a strong background in education. Someone who understands how policy decisions affect classrooms, teachers, and families. […] My career has been devoted to helping students achieve their goals, supporting teachers, and promoting excellence in both academic and career pathways.

I understand what teachers, parents, and students need, and I’m running to ensure transparency, some fiscal responsibility, and equitable opportunities for every student while keeping our schools strong, safe, and student-centered.

What do you think is the most important issue for students currently?

Wilson: I think the biggest issue of our school system, that our school board is certainly going to be addressing in the very near future, is our aging school facilities. We are just reaching a critical point. Nine of our twelve schools are over 50 years old. So our board, we’ve been working hard the last couple of years with really limited funding to stretch every available dollar, […] So as a fiscal conservative, I’m just committed to improving efficiencies where we can and just continue to maximize every tax dollar that we do receive. […] We recently put a roof on at Buchanan Elementary, so I’ve been fighting hard, really just for our end of Botetourt to see some of these needed upgrades, but there’s so much more work to be done.

I think that having experience on the board, knowing exactly what the LCI is, which is a local composite index, I think that money is our biggest concern, and how to spend that money wisely, and how to work through partnerships with businesses or work through grants.


Beard: I think one of the biggest challenges facing our schools is to ensure that every student, in every part of the county, has equal access to high-quality educational opportunities. For me, that means including and maintaining safe, well-equipped facilities, addressing teacher shortages, supporting both college-bound and career-focused pathways through dual enrollment and career and technical education opportunities.

But our schools are also aging, and we need to evaluate our building conditions and long-term facility needs in a fiscally responsible way. As the Buchanan representative, I would like to focus on transparency and budget planning, listening to community input, and making sure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely to directly benefit students and teachers. I think we need to strengthen communication between the schools, parents, and the community so that we can make decisions that reflect both our educational goals and our local values.

What steps do you think should be taken to ensure teacher retention?

Wilson: Teacher retention, I think it’s multifaceted. Of course, it’s pay. Our governor has worked hard […]to try to increase teacher pay and staff pay, but that comes with matching funds from the locality. When we’ve seen an increase in spending with schools, the majority of that increase in spending has to do with our staff.

So we’ve worked hard on that end, but we’ve also realized that we can do some things that don’t cost money. Dr. Russ was a champion for teacher family balance, and so we put some policies into place that really helped improve that work-life balance. […] We’ve improved bereavement leave, family and sick leave. We’ve improved some of those things for our teachers.

So I think working not only on the money side, which is important, but also on some of those other things to improve stress, workload, and really just trying to support our teachers for the amazing job that they do in the classroom each and every day.

Beard: We need to really work on teacher support. If you look across the state and across the nation, there are tremendous teacher shortages, so we need to provide a positive work environment for them, encourage them, help them know how appreciated they are, not only as administrators in the building or as central office or school board, but also parents to take a role in that, we need to provide them with additional opportunities for their growth and development. […]

But most importantly, we need to value them and the time and commitment they put into our students. And I know, as a former teacher, there were lots of times that the teachers are asked to do things that are not part of the normal contract. We all like to go to the games and encourage our students. We all like to help out with club activities. Lots of times, teachers are pouring in their own finances to supplement what they need in the classroom, and they really are the heroes of our school division.

What was your favorite subject in school?

Wilson: I am a math and science girl. I knew my whole life since I was four. I started doctoring my friends on the playground. I knew that I was going to go into medicine. So anything, biology, anatomy, physiology, always fascinated me.


Beard: I had really good teachers in high school, so I don’t have a favorite, and I love the humanities, English, and history. I’ve had many excellent teachers, and they’ve encouraged me in lots of different ways, but I do have one teacher who absolutely was not my favorite. He would yell and criticize and intimidate students, and honestly, he has had the lasting influence on me because he showed me exactly what kind of teacher I never wanted to be. Later, when I became a teacher and my patience sometimes was tested in the classroom, I honestly would think about him and remind myself that that’s not how I would want to respond, that compassion and encouragement reach students far more effectively than fear ever could. That stayed with me throughout my career.

The bullying policy for BCPS accounts for less than one page of the six-page student Code of Conduct. What updates does that policy need?

Wilson: I have full confidence in our administrators and Dr. Womack for the job that they are doing day in and day out. I do know that we just passed the policy [that was a VSBA update to the current code of conduct, which now includes references to social media.] If it’s impacting a student’s well-being when they come back to school, that is certainly a policy for discipline.

I’m open to anything we can do to improve the mental health of our students. I know that currently many of our students are in a precarious state with their mental health, so working on all avenues possible to give kids the ability to learn in an environment that they are free from harassment or, you know, feeling that they are being targeted in any way.


Beard: Well, I think we need to clearly identify and define bullying and the ways that that can be done, whether it’s in person, whether it is through peer pressure, or whether it’s anonymously done over the internet. I think we can’t just say bullying is wrong. Obviously, it is. […] You know, when I was growing up, my mom used to say: Before you speak, you need to ask yourself, is what you’re going to say true? Is it kind? And is it helpful?

So if we start having children think about how their words or how their actions could affect somebody, and then move it out of the classroom into everyday life. But I also think parents and adults in our community need to model that. They need to show at home and in the community why it is important to be supportive and polite and not bullying actions. […] So it’s not just our little one-page summary in our policy, but it’s the lifestyle that we need to look at.

What book are you currently reading?

Wilson: I have one I’m reading called Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande. It’s about the state of aging in our society. It’s a fabulous, fabulous read as a physical therapist who specializes in geriatric care.

Also, my Audible that I’ve got on right now is called Bad Therapy, by Abigail Shrier. But that is about the mental health crisis and how we immediately think that the only thing to throw at that is counseling, when there’s so many other things we can do to be proactive, and I found that book very enlightening.


Beard: Actually, I’m not reading a book, but I’m writing my second book. And I’m focusing on finishing and editing it. It’s a contemporary romance about starting over. And actually, the male lead is from Botetourt County, so I hope that when I get this finished, people will get a chuckle and enjoy reading it. It’s called Little White Flowers.

Any closing comments?

Wilson: […] I have a proven record of steadfast advocacy for our students and transparency for our parents, and not only that, I have [two children in the BOCO school system, one attending, one alum]. I’ve been to the football games. I’ve been to the parades. I think that in the coming years, we might have to make some tough choices about James River, and I think it’s going to be utterly important to have somebody who knows the heart of what our community is and what James River means to our community. And I’m willing to fight for that.

Beard: I think that every student, whether they are in private, public, or a homeschool setting, deserves access to programs that match their goals and abilities. I think we need to celebrate all achievements from academics and art to athletics and student leadership while ensuring that students with special needs are fully supported.

I think our teachers must be valued and encouraged, and our schools must continue to provide lifelong learning opportunities for youth and adults alike. I’m a strong believer in lifelong learning, and I will always advocate for transparency, collaboration, and a student-centered approach that will keep Botetourt County School strong for generations to come.