State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler is running for Virginia Beach School Board. The Virginia Beach Democrat is serving her fourth term in the House of Delegates, but said Tuesday she decided to run for the board because “politics has taken over” schools across the country — and she wants to take it out.
Convirs-Fowler said she considered running after the board voted to create a committee to vet books. She said school librarians are already doing this work, and schools have processes to ensure that books are age-appropriate. Seeing decisions like this impact her children — who attend Virginia Beach schools — and other children in the division made her want to serve.
She says her background would make her a good fit. She has a master’s degree in education and spent years teaching at elementary schools throughout Hampton Roads.
“Having that, combined with government service and leadership, it really kind of would make me an asset to the school board,” she said.
Convirs-Fowler would vacate her delegate seat if elected. If not, she will continue serving her term. She said part of the appeal is that boards are nonpartisan.
“I’m really interested in running for an independent position,” she said.
If elected, her priorities will be teacher retention and addressing the pandemic’s impact on students.
She is running for the District 1 seat and is one of two challengers to incumbent Jennifer Franklin. Franklin is seeking a second term; she was elected to the District 2 seat in 2020 before new boundaries were drawn.
The board will see at least four new members after the November election; those seats did not have an incumbent file for reelection.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com
