The back-and-forth over Waynesboro school funding has birthed a candidate for the fall School Board election cycle, in the form of Adam Seipel, who has been leading efforts to fight back against proposed budget caps by Waynesboro City Council.
Seipel announced on Thursday that he will run for the Ward D seat on the School Board, which is currently held by a Republican, Amber Lipscomb.
My only quibble here: school boards, in Virginia, don’t have the power of the purse, meaning, they only recommend budgets; it’s up to city councils and boards of supervisors to decide on the money allocations.
If you want to have a real voice in how much money we spend on K-12 education, run for the Ward D seat on City Council, which is also held by a Republican, the former vice mayor, Jim Wood, the guy who got our city in the national headlines a few years ago when he homophobic-slurred Pete Buttigieg.
Anyway, good on Siepel, for standing up.
The focus of his campaign: Seipel said he wants to create a “Family Roadmap” to help parents during transition years (kindergarten, sixth grade, ninth grade, graduation) and fight for a budget that supports recruiting and retaining exceptional educators.
“Right now, schools and families feel disconnected,” Seipel said. “Students succeed when we all work together. I plan to bridge those gaps so our students are ready for the future.”
Seipel, who holds a master’s in education and an active license in educational leadership, is an education consultant with the Portland, Oregon,-based Clarity Innovations, a K-12 education-focused professional services and consulting firm.
Also from his bio: Seipel is a father of two Waynesboro Public Schools students, a Scout leader and youth group leader.
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Chris Graham
