SchoolMatters Blog

Incumbent holds county schools seat: Wheeler Defeats Wood

We did it!  Thank you to everyone that supported my campaign and that voted on election day.  I am honored to get the opportunity to serve Albemarle for another term in the at-large seat on the Albemarle County School Board.  THANK YOU!

I would link to the Daily Progress article ("Incumbent holds county schools seat: Wheeler Defeats Wood"), but they have decided not to share the news on their website. So here is my brief summary.

Results from Virginia State Board of Elections:

Here are the results by precinct...

I told Daily Progress reporter Barney Breen-Portnoy that:

"As an incumbent, an election is when I get my report card.  I am honored to have the community show its support and give me a passing grade.  I am proud to have run a non-partisan and positive campaign.  Over the past four years, I have built a broad base of support in the community and I think the results reflect that."

A couple highlights from the numbers:

• Of the contested local elections in Albemarle County, our race had the highest percentage of victory at 56.17% and a margin of victory of 2,476 votes.  By contrast, my first election in 2003 was a hard-fought battle with a margin of only 101 votes County wide.
• We almost won the Hollymead precinct (Forest Lakes-Hollymead area).  That was my lowest performing precinct in 2003.  My family knocked on a lot of doors in these neighborhoods over the past month.  It makes a difference.  MANY people do not follow school board elections and it obviously helps to put a name with a face, to listen to your constituents, and to personally ask for their vote.
• We won 24 of 28 Albemarle precincts.  (The Daily Progress reported 25 of 29 precincts, but the 29th is for the absentee voters).

Special thanks to my wife Jean for all her love and support, to my children Abby and Sam for their unwavering support and enthusiasm for going door-to-door, and to our many friends who gave us their encouragement and support. We did it! 

Brian Wheeler

Teachers Endorse Brian Wheeler for School Board

I am honored to learn this week that I have been endorsed by the teachers of Albemarle County in my campaign for a second term on the Albemarle County School Board.  The Albemarle Political Action Committee for Education (APACE) publicly released their endorsements earlier today.  My county-wide race is the only contested election for school board this year, and the teachers had a choice between myself and one of their own (my challenger is a teacher in Fluvanna).  APACE announced:

Mr. Wheeler is the at-large Board member, and has demonstrated his strong support for our teachers and our children by favoring rigorous math and reading instruction for all of our students.  He values good communication with his constituents as evidenced in his web blog, SchoolMatters.  Mr. Wheeler understands the need to keep our teachers’ salaries competitive with the regional and national markets, and has voted consistently to support our budgets.

I want to thank APACE for giving careful consideration to my voting record and record of service to the community.  Their complete press release is below.

You can help my re-election campaign in two important ways.  Make a donation to support our upcoming advertising efforts and GET OUT THE VOTE.  My last race had a margin of 101 votes County-wide.  Every vote counts, particularly in local elections when there is not a state or national race on the ballot.  If you live in Albemarle County, I'll be on your ballot. Thanks in advance for considering giving me your support!

Brian Wheeler

P.S. Need a yard sign or a bumper sticker?  Send me an e-mail.

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Albemarle Political Action Committee for Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2007

    The Albemarle Political Action Committee for Education (“APACE”), a non-partisan organization representing professional educators throughout Albemarle County, is pleased to endorse the following candidates for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and the Albemarle County School Board.

    In the Board of Supervisors races, APACE proudly endorses Ann Mallek, and Marcia Joseph as friends of public education.  Ann Mallek, a candidate for the White Hall district seat, is a passionate defender of public education: “education is the common thread which holds all citizens together.”  She believes that the budgeting process should be completely transparent so that every member of the public is well-informed.  She also understands that the greatest expenditures of money for education should be spent in the classroom in order to give the greatest benefit to our students. 

    Ms. Joseph is an ardent supporter of public education, and understands that our success as a community depends on a well-educated citizenry.  She wants to promote greater communication between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board in order to create a better working relationship between those two bodies.  She understands that the two Boards must work cooperatively in order to ensure that our students and our teachers receive adequate funding and support.  She also believes in needs-based budgeting.

    For the Albemarle County School Board, APACE endorses current School Board members Brian Wheeler and Steve Koleszar.  These incumbent members of the School Board are proven supporters of public education, and we fully support their reelection efforts.

    Mr. Wheeler is the at-large Board member, and has demonstrated his strong support for our teachers and our children by favoring rigorous math and reading instruction for all of our students.  He values good communication with his constituents as evidenced in his web blog, SchoolMatters.  Mr. Wheeler understands the need to keep our teachers’ salaries competitive with the regional and national markets, and has voted consistently to support our budgets. 

    Mr. Koleszar has stood by Albemarle’s students and teachers, and has supported policies that ensure Albemarle’s continued academic placement at the top of school districts regionally.  He vocally supports providing our teachers with fair compensation, and his voting record shows his commitment to fully funding our public schools.

Teacher, blogger in race for seat: 1 contest for county School Board

You can't help but laugh sometimes at headlines that end up in the paper... What do you think?

Teacher, blogger in race for seat
10/15/07 * Daily Progress [full story]

Of the four Albemarle School Board seats up for grabs this year, only the at-large slot is contested.

Patrick Wood, a county resident who graduated from Albemarle High School in 1985 and teaches fifth grade at Central Elementary in Fluvanna County, is challenging incumbent Brian Wheeler, the executive director of Charlottesville Tomorrow, who is seeking a second term on the board. ...

Wood said that he wants to bring an educator’s perspective to the board and help the division focus its attention on teachers and students. ...

Wood said that the main difference between him and Wheeler is the perspective from which they view school issues.

“He is a blogger who looks at everything from an interpretive and theoretical standpoint, based on what he has read,” Wood said. “I look at things based on my experience in the classroom.”

Brian "The Blogger" Wheeler

County School Board candidates for 2007

The candidates for the 2007 Albemarle County School Board races have been determined and, as it turns out, I am in the only contested race.  The At-Large seat has always had competition (three elections have been held for this position), but I am the first incumbent to be on the ballot for re-election in the seat originally held by John Baker. 

I look forward to the upcoming campaign and to the opportunity to make my case that I deserve a second term on the board.  It has truly been an honor to be on the School Board representing all of Albemarle during the past 3 1/2 years.  Stay tuned for more information about the campaign and how you can help volunteer or make a donation.

Here is your slate of candidates for 2007:

At-Large - Brian Wheeler*
At-Large - Patrick Wood

Rivanna District - Ron Price
(Sue Friedman is not running for re-election)

Scottsville District - Steve Koleszar*

White Hall District - Barbara Mouly*
*=incumbent

What does this lack of competition say about County elections for School Board?  The City of Charlottesville now has seven candidates for four open seats in what will be their second school board election.

Brian Wheeler

More school board hopefuls could be surfacing soon

5/14/07 * WINA [news page]

WINA is reporting this morning that I will soon have a challenger for the At-Large Seat on the Albemarle County School Board.  The election is this November for four of seven seats.  Current candidates, besides myself, include incumbents Barbara Mouly (White Hall) and Steve Koleszar (Scottsville), plus Ron Price (Rivanna) who is seeking to fill the seat being vacated by Sue Friedman.

WINA's report:

More school board hopefuls could be surfacing soon

"There could be additional school board candidates surfacing soon in Albemarle County and Charlottesville. Patrick Wood, who lives in Albemarle's Branchlands precinct and teaches in Fluvanna County, is considering a challenge to Brian Wheeler, who's the only at-large member of the Albemarle School Board. Wheeler is seeking a second term. In Charlottesville, where all of the school board hopefuls are running city-wide, Sean McCord is being encouraged to declare a candidacy. McCord has three children and lives on the south side of town. At this point, the city's only declared candidate is Chairman Alvin Edwards (above). Three other current members are retiring, and one of them is resigning as of July 11th. Those who might run for seats during this year's election cycle have until June 12th to declare a candidacy. In both the county and the city, the school board terms last four years."

Brian Wheeler

School Board chair handpicks successor

4/25/07 * The Hook [full story]

Albemarle School Board Chair Sue Bell Friedman announced today she would not run for a second term representing the sprawling Rivanna District and endorsed Darden HR administrator Ronnie J. Price Sr. to succeed her.

Friedman, who was elected in 2003, cited the duties of her new job as head of the local Alzheimer’s Association chapter for not running again.

Newcomer Price’s previous political experience– aside from running for student council VP in the sixth grade– includes serving on Albemarle’s school redistricting committee in 2005 during one of the county’s frequent and heated bouts of shuffling students around. “I really got my feet wet,” says the former Stony Point Elementary PTO co-president.

County School Board head won't run again

4/25/07 * Daily Progress [full story]

ue Friedman, chairwoman of the Albemarle County School Board, will not seek re-election in November after four years as the Rivanna District representative and will support the candidacy of Ronnie J. Price Sr., a parent active in the school division.

Friedman said Price would bring a different viewpoint to the board. She would have run again had she not found a creditable replacement who would diversify the board, she said.

“I’ve thought for all of my term that we need to have all voices on the School Board,” she said. “[Price] brings a different perspective to the student achievement gap because he comes from a different background and has a different perception on how things work.”

Price was the president of the PTO at Stony Point Elementary for two years and serves on the school division’s redistricting, strategic planning and parent council committees. He is also a member of the joint advisory committee for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center.

Wheeler running for re-election in 2007

February 16, 2007

Dear friends and SchoolMatters readers:

This week I became an official candidate for re-election to the At-Large seat on the Albemarle County School Board.  It has been an honor to represent the entire county and to advocate for the interests all our students over the past three years.   

In this my fourth year on the Board, I look forward to continuing my leadership in our school community and to outlining my vision for a second term.  I’ll continue gathering feedback from the public, staff, and our students to help shape that vision during my upcoming campaign.  I am running because I thoroughly enjoy serving the community and building support for public education.  Also, we are still in the early stages of a number of important initiatives and I want to help our new Superintendent and the School Board to implement the vision we have for building a world class school system in Albemarle County.

If you are a voter in Albemarle, in November you will get to give me a grade for my efforts thus far.  Between now and then, I intend to give you the opportunity to measure my ideas and contributions, and I hope I will earn your support. 

Sincerely yours,
Brian Wheeler

Albemarle School Board Members & Superintendent Sworn In

Three members of the Albemarle County School Board elected in November were sworn into office today by Circuit Court Clerk Shelby J. Marshall at the County Office Building.  In this photo, Diantha McKeel (Jack Jouett), Jon Stokes (Samuel Miller), and Pam Moynihan (Rio) can be seen taking their oath of office.  Their new four-year terms start on January 1, 2006.

In the background watch three members of the Board of Supervisors who were also sworn in to office.

Also, Dr. Pamela Ridge Moran was sworn in as the new Superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools.  A copy of our press release on Dr. Moran's appointment can be found here. 

On December 9th, after a five month national search, the Albemarle County School Board appointed Dr. Moran as our next Superintendent effective January 1, 2006. Dr. Moran will replace Dr. Kevin Castner who retires December 31, 2005.

Brian Wheeler

Should the City Have Elected School Boards?

WNRN's Rick Moore invited me to be a guest on his Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call program today to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of elected school boards.  Albemarle County has an elected School Board.  I am finishing the second year of my first four-year term on that School Board.  I was elected in November 2003 to serve in the only At-Large seat on this board. The City of Charlottesville has an appointed School Board.  The other guest on the program was City Councilor Kevin Lynch.

While Kevin said he was basically ambivalent about the outcome of the upcoming voter referendum which will determine if Charlottesville holds its first elections for School Board in May 2006, I spoke in favor of elected School Boards based on my experience in Albemarle.

Charlottesville Podcasting has the audio of the one-hour program.  Brian