Public Education

I believe that the education of our young people must be our highest priority. The very fabric of a democratic society depends upon our public schools and the teachers who go to work there every day. Our teachers don’t just educate students and help them learn math, English, history, science and all the other subjects. Most importantly, our teachers inspire students to achieve new heights and become tomorrow’s leaders. They also provide loving support for those most in need so they can rise above difficult circumstances and find success. Teachers open windows to worlds that our young people would otherwise never know about. Most importantly, teachers help young people to believe in themselves so that they can move forward in life with confidence. Our public school teachers, and our schools, make ALL THE DIFFERENCE for our young people.

As a member of your Board of Supervisors I will work with our local school officials to provide funding for the following areas:

1. Increase Teacher Salaries- Teacher pay in Virginia ranks 25th in the nation. We must be able to attract and retain our finest educators.

2. Address Teacher Vacancies- There are currently 3,500 teaching positions open in Va. Public schools.

3. Infrastructure- Major school repairs and transportation needs are critical and cannot wait.

4. New School Construction- A 21st century education requires state-of-the-art buildings and facilities.

Mental Health Services

Thankfully, mental health is a subject that is being discussed more openly by all of us these days. But more needs to be done. Who among us has known a life completely free of some form of mental health issue, be it mild anxiety or severe depression? And no doubt we all have known a friend or relative who has had a mental health concern of some kind or another. Unfortunately, we have seen a significant increase in mental health concerns over the past decade.

Let’s look at some current statistics:

- As many as 30% of us suffer from a lack of sleep, which is linked to depression and anxiety (CDC).

- As many as 30% of teenage girls in the U.S. report having seriously thought of suicide (CDC).

- Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the U.S for people ages 10-34 (NAMI).

- 46% of those who die by suicide have a mental health condition (NAMI).

I applaud and support the heroic efforts of our local mental health providers and first responders, as well as Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services, for all that they do to address the mental health concerns of Culpeper’s citizens. In fact, the RRCS has a Crisis Hotline, 540-825-5656, that can be called 24/7 for help with a mental health crisis, or just someone to talk to.

However, because so many lives are being affected currently by the increase in mental health issues, I believe we have to commit ourselves to making mental health a priority and look into all of the possible ways we can improve what we do to educate, empower, and treat our neighbors (in particular our young people) when it comes to mental health.

Environment

Friends and neighbors, there’s no denying that we’re ALL going to have to work together to protect the natural environment of the planet that sustains us. We all know about greenhouse gasses, the warming of our planet and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (twice the size of Texas…that’s big!). It’s truly a global problem now that there are 8 billion of us in on Earth (as compared to 3.9 billion in 1973). It may seem overwhelming and we all ask the question, “What can I do to help?”. The good news is that we can indeed start to make progress towards protecting our environment when we do so ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME!

There are many innovative measures being taken right now in the State of Virginia that we can look at and consider implementing right here in Culpeper. For example, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors recently appointed an Environmental Commission to come up with an Environment and Energy Work Plan in order to make the county greener and more energy efficient. This plan includes a “Green Bank” to finance clean energy projects, as well as “Environmental Excellence Awards” to spark more public involvement. Albemarle County has a Climate Action Plan that lists numerous environmental topics for the public to consider, including water conservation, home solar systems, soil regeneration, tree planting, and forest retention. Even the small town of Stanley, Va. (Page County) recently installed a single EV charging station downtown…and they were so proud to be doing their part to help!

While we’ve made progress in this area as a community, we can do so much more. Culpeper can commit to “Go Green!”and to become a leader in protecting and enhancing our environment. We know one thing for sure-we must go beyond “business as usual” and we must do so now.

 Law Enforcement

Our local law enforcement agencies form one of the pillars of our community and the men and women who wear the badge are among the best of our citizens. Their work is demanding, stressful, thankless, and certainly at all times dangerous. Yet they do their duty on a daily basis without complaint, keeping all of us and our community safe. I had many positive interactions with local law enforcement during my time as a school Principal and have come to greatly respect and admire the people and their professionalism.

However, recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers continues to be a huge problem locally and throughout the state. Locally, our officers are paid 15-18% below the national average. We must find ways to improve their pay and benefits and to help with recruitment, possibly through a Public Safety Cadet program in our schools for interested students. As a Supervisor, I will look for ways to support law enforcement and as a community we should collectively do the same.