Editor: This week, the Arlington County Democratic Committee is holding an electronic caucus to determine who to endorse for School Board. This caucus typically dictates our choice in fall.
The caucus is a referendum on the failings of our School Board; if you disapprove of their performance, vote for Miranda Turner.
Over the course of the pandemic, Arlington Public Schools offered no new instruction last spring; it was the first to close schools and last to open; it deemed a four-day school week this spring to be a “monumental logistical hurdle”; and it failed to provide summer school classes to many of our most needy students. And our elected School Board did nothing. It took no votes, asked few questions, and refused to engage with the community.
The choice in this election is stark: Miranda Turner has led our community in asking the questions the School Board has refused to ask, and has been months ahead of APS in anticipating the challenges it must overcome. Her opponent, however, aligns closely with the existing board, preferring no four-day school week this spring.
Going forward, Turner would prioritize recovering learning loss, improving community engagement, and adopting a budget that puts money toward teachers, not central administrators. Her opponent’s approach to learning loss is to “reframe” it as “unfinished learning,” and her budget priorities include advocating for increased average class sizes.
Reginald Goeke, Arlington