Five candidates seek Dale District School Board seat in November
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Holland

School boards in Chesterfield County have been elected since 1995, but there have never been more than two candidates running for any one of the five magisterial districts. Until this year.

Now there are five candidates looking to replace Beth Davis who passed away last June. Jim Holland, Art Maxwell, Verena McCall, Janet Stephens and David Wyman turned in at least 125 valid signatures to the Registrar's Office before the Aug. 25 deadline, qualifying them to appear on the Nov. 7 ballot. Since School Board positions are considered to be nonpolitical, no party affiliation will be listed.

Here is a rundown of the candidates:

Jim Holland

Holland is a certified public accountant with 20 years of experience in the educational field, having served as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in accounting and at J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College. He has a bachelor of science degree in accounting and an MBA from North Central State University.

"We need better communications with parents in the district...to give them more opportunity to express their concerns," he urged. He planned on "shaking a lot of hands" to get elected and seeking endorsements from district residents and groups.

Maxwell

"We need more computers-particularly at the middle school level-with fully qualified instructors," he said. Passing SOL score levels are "just the minimum acceptable for reading, math and financial literacy."

A district resident for 19 years, Holland ran for supervisor in 1999 as a Democrat, but lost to Republican Kelly Miller.

Art Maxwell

Maxwell spent most of his military years in the Marines before finishing up his 30-year career in the Air Force. He has an undergraduate degree in management and a masters degree in education. Though he has his teaching certificate in business, his classroom experience is limited to four years as a substitute teacher at L.C. Bird High School. Maxwell was also the Band Booster president there from 2000-2003.

"Those kids need to know a lot more doors open when you get your education," he said.

Maxwell and his wife own Open Door Realty, a residential and commercial real estate firm in the county.

He is critical of how redistricting has been handled before new schools open and questioned the location of Cosby High School. "We have one of the worst roads leading to our new high school," he argued. "There has to be more thought going into these locations."

McCall

"I'll be talking to a lot of people and hoping for debates," the Treemont resident said. Maxwell's campaigning will be interrupted for about 10 days starting on Sept. 15 when he heads south to New Orleans to help Habitat for Humanity build homes.

Verna McCall

McCall was selected by the School Board in July to serve as an interim board member for Dale District and has at least two more months until the voters choose their representative on Nov. 7.

In an interview with this newspaper shortly after she assumed the School Board position, she identified a top concern of her constituents as being "sure that their students get the best education that they can." Mc- Call said School Board positions are nonpartisan, so she did not seek endorsements from either political party.

Her son attended Chesterfield schools and now her two grandchildren also go to county schools. She is a portfolio administrator for Wachovia Securities and has an extensive track record with local PTAs. That background includes serving on local, council, district and state PTA boards.

Wyman

"I've been in education working with teachers, schools, principals, parents and the administration for years," McCall explained. In the mid 1980s she worked as a substitute teacher in the county for three years.

Janet Stephens

For the past two years, Stephens has been teaching history in the Richmond school system while also serving as a funeral director for Bliley Funeral Homes. From 2000-2004, she was an executive secretary for the Virginia Department of Education.

She has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Mary Baldwin College, and is pursuing her master's degree in history at Virginia State University. "I understand the policies that are necessary to keep Chesterfield County among the highest academic schools in the nation," she said.

"Chesterfield schools are headed in the right direction," Stephens added, "and we just need to keep on the same path." As a Meadowbrook resident, she has volunteered regularly over an eight-year period at Falling Creek Middle School.

Stephens

She listed herself as a strong supporter of the English as a Second Language program and wants to strengthen it. And, she stressed her support of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

David Wyman

Wyman recently retired from his hightech, international finance job. He lives in the Highlands community, and his two daughters attend Matoaca Middle School. His candidacy has been endorsed by the Chesterfield Republican Committee.

Wyman graduated from the University of Maine in 1981 and was inducted into the Maine State Sports Hall of Fame as a student athlete. He then moved to France where he played professional basketball for two years and also taught English at two schools there. He returned to the United States and received his MBA from Northeastern University in 1985 where he was valedictorian.

Both of his parents were teachers-his father for 30 years in history and coaching; his mother for 20 years in home economics. He believes "teachers are our schools' most precious resource" and stressed that their pay should be"competitive."

During the past four winters, Wyman coached youth basketball in Chesterfield County.