VIRGINIA BEACH — School Board Member Sharon Felton, who was first elected in 2014 to represent the Beach District, wants to return to the board this year in the new District 6 seat, which is scheduled to be on the November ballot.
“Yes,” Felton said during an interview on Tuesday, Feb. 8. “I am running.”
Felton may have at least one challenger this year, but it will not be her colleague, School Board Member Beverly Anderson. Felton and Anderson ended up in the same district when a federal judge in December approved the new voting system for the city. However, Anderson said she will not seek the new district seat.
Residency complications for the School Board are part of adjusting to the new voting system. The legal process that led to the new 10 districts, though it is under appeal, considered residencies of City Council incumbents but not School Board members. Eight of the 11 members of the School Board now reside in districts with at least one other incumbent.
Anderson, who was elected to an at-large seat under the former system, told The Independent News she will not run against Felton. And Anderson, whose term is scheduled to end in 2024, has not decided whether she will seek a possible at-large seat that may be on the 2024 ballot.
“I’m definitely not running this year,” Anderson said. “I’m not going to run against Sharon. She’s a great board member. She does a lot for the community.”
Anderson, a former board chairperson who first won office in 2014, said she is not yet sure whether she will seek reelection again.
“If I want to run in 2024, I’d have to run for that at-large seat,” Anderson said.
Under the new system, there are 10 district seats, and their representatives are picked only by voters who live within the district. On the council, the mayor’s seat is selected by all city voters. The School Board chair is not elected citywide, but there is expected to be one at-large seat on the board so its elections align with those of the council.
There is one other known candidate for the School Board in District 6, which is located in the northeast area of the city.
Mike Callan, a financial advisor from Linkhorn, has filed nominating petitions to run for the District 6 seat, according to the Virginia Beach Department of Voter Registration & Elections. The registrar’s office has not yet verified petitions because it is awaiting guidance from state election officials related to the district voting changes.
Callan, reached by telephone, said he is seeking office for the first time. He first came to the city in 1965 as part of a Navy family, and he raised his children here and now has grandchildren living in the city.
“I had never thought about running before,” Callan said. “It wasn’t the district voting issue that caused me to do so. I’m just deeply concerned about what’s happening, and I figured I’d just raise my concerns.”
Callan said he is still in the early stages of his run for office and is still formulating positions on issues. He said he is concerned about the school system that will educate his grandchildren.
Felton said her primary goal in seeking reelection is to continue to focus on the needs of students.
“They might be placing us in wards now, but we govern for all of our 60,000-plus students,” she said. “Number two, my goal is to make sure the voices of those who want to be heard are heard in all we do.”
She said she wants to ensure parents continue to have a voice in decisions and that personnel from bus drivers to teachers to administrators are represented.
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