We recently invited the candidates running for local office in the Nov. 3 General Election to write a post about why Arlington residents should vote for them. Find information on how and where to vote here.
Below is the unedited response from James “Vell” Rives IV, who is running for School Board.
I have lived in Arlington 27 years. My wife Carmen and I are parents of a Wakefield High School graduate and a Wakefield sophomore. I’m a physician, and I served 7 years on Arlington’s School Health Advisory Board. I’m proud of the education my children have received in Arlington Public Schools. But we are on thin ice.
We’ve got to be smarter with taxpayers’ money. Our current path is unsustainable: Arlington’s maximum bonding capacity can’t cover projected expenses. If we don’t stabilize, we are headed for possible credit downgrading, default, and even more local tax increases which, ironically, will hit hardest on our APS graduates, should they decide to stay in Arlington.
We’re not supporting our classroom teachers. That’s why they’re burning out, and why we can’t cut one dime from instruction. Yet our School Board is making cuts to programs that directly benefit students while continuing to spend so heavily in other areas, like technology hardware (screens) and subscriptions, layers of administration and redundant oversight in the central office, debt service, and fancy new construction, among other things.
We have to get back to prioritizing classroom instruction: that’s core academics, but also Special Education, preschool, arts, athletics, and the Outdoor Lab. Our graduates have to be prepared for real-world jobs or college. I want to see all Arlington students making measurable gains, outpacing their peers in Virginia and other leading states.
Substance abuse inside our high schools is still out of control, and it exploded after the School Board ended our School Resource Officer program in 2021, despite favorable reviews from every demographic group, including Black and Hispanic students and parents, English learners, and students with disabilities. Students and staff are vulnerable every day that goes by without SRO’s. Please don’t let it be a large-scale tragedy that finally brings this Board to its senses.
APS has no objective definition for who can be in a girls’ bathroom or locker room. I support APS’s 2017 nondiscrimination policy, but we should amend it to ensure that female students have the exclusive spaces they are entitled to. I’m a psychiatrist. I know there is a lot of distress and suffering over transgender issues. But we have to find solutions that protect the dignity and safety of all students, and that includes girls.
I don’t disagree with the School Board on everything. But when this Board is unanimous, it tells us nothing. Every board needs one outside voice – someone who will ask the hard questions and ensure that different ideas are truly considered. That’s essential to transparency, and that’s how I will build trust and strengthen our schools, if I am elected.
I know every sitting member of the School Board, and I would be honored to serve alongside them. I am the candidate who would complement their strengths and make a more effective Board. I hope you can see that too, and I respectfully ask that you vote for me, James Vell Rives IV, for Arlington School Board. Thank you.
Hay información en español en mi sitio de web: https://www.rivesforsb.com/espanol
Adicionalmente, tengo un vídeo breve en español:
Conozca a James “Vell” Rives, candidato a la Junta Escolar de Arlington
