VIRGINIA BEACH — School Board Member Carolyn Weems faces a challenge from first-time candidate Erika Guess in District 9.
Guess, who lives in the Bayside area, said she is running because she wants to help the board prioritize important issues such as teacher retention.
“I was content with the way the School Board was running for most of my life,” said Guess, a communications professional who has two children in city schools. “In recent years, it seems like things have gotten a little off track. Sometimes, their priorities aren’t student focused and educator focused. There have been some politics at the School Board level that are distractions from the business at hand, from the business of education.”
Weems, who has served on the board since 2002, said she values what she is able to do for the community and hopes to continue her work. She said she works to be a calm voice on the sometimes-divided board.
“I love being on the School Board and serving the community this way,” Weems said. “Education has been my heart and soul. I don’t just go to the meeting and press a red or green button.”
Guess and Weems face each other in a new district created due to a federal lawsuit that found the former local voting system here violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act. The city is now using a 10-district system rather than the former at-large system that mixed citywide seats and seven district seats.
District 9 has been a focal point about how the new system will change city government. Board incumbents were not considered when districts were created by the court, and District 9 has four current members of the board living within its boundaries. However, Weems is the only current member of the board running.
Weems joined the board in 2002 as at-large member and then represented Bayside from 2009 until now. She is a graduate of Clemson University and had lived here for 36 years. She taught and coached at Old Dominion University. This past year, Weems, who lives in Lakeview Park, taught first grade through a private school. Her five children attended city schools, and she has grandchildren in the schools now, including one she is raising.
The death of her daughter, Caitlyn, who became addicted to prescription pain medication, led Weems to found the nonprofit Caitlyn’s Halo. The group provides a bereavement group and a speaking program that presents talks in schools, and it is developing a scholarship program, Weems said.
“You can get help,” she said of its work amid the opioid crisis. “Don’t be ashamed. You can get rid of the stigma and talk about it.”
Weems is working with a civic league and the schools to develop a park and playground that includes equipment for special needs youth, and she is working for the district to open a recovery school in Virginia Beach.
“A recovery school is where students who struggle with substance abuse disorder or substance misuse can still take the classes,” Weems said. Such a school would have additional resources and a pathway for students who want to continue their education at colleges with similar programs.
Guess grew up in Great Neck and is a First Colonial High School graduate. She graduated Virginia Wesleyan College, now Virginia Wesleyan University, which she attended planning to study chemistry before finding a career in communications.
“I’m really grateful for my time at Virginia Wesleyan because it opened up career possibilities I didn’t even think about,” Guess said.
She worked for 11 years at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach, becoming its marketing director. She moved to the private sector working in public relations and social media in Virginia Beach, and later worked in digital marketing and strategy. She is now at a Williamsburg-based firm that specializes in tourism marketing.
Guess, whose mother taught for 30 years, said she always wanted to stay in her hometown. She is raising two children who attend city schools.
Guess said some issues such as banning books get a lot of attention, but they are not the highest priority for the district.
“I don’t think it’s the best use of the School Board’s time,” Guess said, noting that issues such as retaining teachers and personnel in the schools are bigger issues.
“I think we’re on the verge of a crisis in Virginia Beach, not just with teachers but with staff across the board,” Guess said. “I want to address that and start attracting new talent and making sure we’re able to retain all the talent we have.”
Guess said she also values being clear and consistent when it comes to schools policy. She said she hopes to help find technology solutions to help people work more productively and restore planning hours for educators, and she wants to improve communication between schools and families.
“I think, during quarantine, a lot of parents became more involved with their children’s education than they had been, which is terrific,” she said. “It gave us a new perspective about what’s happening in the classroom, and I think all of us encountered some hiccups with technology the schools are using.”
Guess also wants to address issues such as use of personal devices at school by students and school safety. On the latter issue, she noted she did not believe teachers should be expected to do the jobs of law enforcement.
Guess said the first issue she spoke about during a School Board meeting was equity policy, which she supports and says some people have misrepresented.
“We’re talking about treating students with respect,” Guess said.
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