School board candidates outline their priorities at a Republican event
Kristin Ball, a candidate running to represent Mason District on the school board, wants Fairfax County Public Schools “to get back to the basics.”
FCPS’ top priority should be academic excellence, with a focus on “reading, writing, and arithmetic,” Ball says, with the goal of bringing up test scores.
Ball outlined her priorities at a Republican event on April 5 at Glory Days in Barcroft Plaza, where she was joined by Cassandra Aucoin, an at-large candidate for the school board.
School board elections are considered nonpartisan. Both Ball and Aucoin are expected to be endorsed by the Fairfax County Republican Committee.
Related story: School board member Ricardy Anderson announces re-election plans
Ball, a former communications professor at George Washington University, said she’s seen a decline in the skills of students who came out of the K-12 system over the past five or 10 years.
A resident of the Westlawn area, she said she would like to transfer her 7-year-old son from a private school to a public school “but I worry about the quality of education in public schools.”
When an audience member at the event asked Ball about the concept of “equity,” she said equity “pulls the best and the brightest down to the lowest level.”
Ball said her other main issues are school safety and “fiscal efficiency,” citing the funds FCPS is spending on collective bargaining.
Both Ball and Aucoin said they support school choice. Aucoin favors giving parents the right to use the per-pupil funding amount from the state or federal government to pay for private school tuition.
Aucoin, a Reston resident who retired after a long career at the Department of Defense, said she would focus on “parents’ rights,” bringing FCPS “back to a meritocracy,” academic excellence, safety, and responsible spending.
During the Covid epidemic when FCPS had a mandatory mask policy, Aucoin pushed for letting parents decide whether their students should wear masks or not.
“What bothered me was the disrespect. There was no collaboration at all,” she said. “Parents have the right to educate children the way they want.”
What a bunch of nonsense buzz words. I hope she gets trounced.
She will get trounced and the quality of fcps education will continue to go down at the same accelerated rate.
The cognitive dissonance with these people is insane. Ball wants to send her kid to public school but says she wants school choice. These ideas do not go hand in hand. Also, her opinion on this issue directly contradicts the responsibilities of the role. It’s fc-PUBLIC-s not fc-PRIVATE-s.
Sorry ladies, it’s not 2021 anymore. We know what “parents’ rights” really means. So where do you stand on book bans? Or having a parent declare Michaelangelo’s David pornographic if it’s shown as part of a lesson in school?
These days, all I need to see is an (R) next to the name to know who to vote against
“Parents have the right to educate children the way they want.”
This is why home schooling is a thing.
Not sure this was a “Republican event”- it was not billed that way- also, wouldn’t it be Dr. Ball, as she has a Ph.D. Regardless of your thoughts on her positions, it seems that ethical and honest reporting is also a need.
We only use the title Dr. when referring to a medical doctor in a health-related story.
The event was promoted by the Fairfax County Republican Committee.
She’ll be getting my vote for sure.
I enjoyed meeting her at the latest Republican event. Good luck to you Kristin !
“Ball…said she’s seen a decline in the skills of students who came out of the K-12 system over the past five or 10 years.”
K-12! Five OR 10 years? She’s personally seen a decline? In what way? Are you looking at standardized testing? For Ks, are you looking at reading scores? Are you talking county-wide or a sampling?
Equity is every individual getting what they need. She’s practicing equity by having her child in private school since that’s what she’s decided they need. It’d be nice for folks to actually understand the terms they hate so much. No one with a student in private school should be allowed to run for a public school district school board.
What an incoherent spat of rambling!
I completely agree with you! She does not have an inside view into public schools if her child attends private school. She should not be allowed to run!