Meet the At-Large Candidates
Forward Albemarle
The race for the At-Large seat on the Albemarle County School Board is ON now that two candidates have announced, filed, and been profiled by local press.
Allison Spillman lives in Crozet and is a mom of five children who currently attend Albemarle County Public Schools, ranging from elementary through high school. As a parent, she has a personal, vested interest in the success and betterment of our public schools. All students, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, or abilities (physical, emotional, mental, or academic), deserve an equal opportunity at success. As an ACPS School Board member, Spillman will be laser-focused on closing learning gaps and disparities through long-term solutions.
In addition, Allison Spillman is a strong advocate for inclusion and equity in our public schools. One of her children is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, and another is a student with disabilities. In Spillman’s view, it is vital that we recognize, affirm, and respect individuals who come from many different life experiences and backgrounds, and make sure that our schools are safe and caring learning environments for ALL our children. Spillman strongly supports ACPS’s current policy that affirms and protects transgender and gender-expansive students as well as the division’s Anti-Racism Policy.
Unlike her opponent, Allison Spillman wholeheartedly supports collective bargaining for ACPS teachers and staff. Studies have shown that collective bargaining reduces socioeconomic and racial inequalities in educational achievement. In addition, collective bargaining helps reduce the wage gap between the public and private sector, particularly for women and educators of color. ACPS students, teachers, and staff deserve the best, and collective bargaining will ensure better working conditions, help retain our wonderful teachers and staff, and address critical needs for new hires in areas like transportation, special education, and elementary school literacy.
Meg Scalia Bryce is an Ivy resident and the daughter of former conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Although Bryce has multiple school-age children, none of them currently attend ACPS schools; instead, they attend a private school.
Meg Scalia Bryce also, apparently, does not support ACPS’s equity and inclusion initiatives. In a recent interview, she is quoted as saying that “when parents spoke against the Courageous Conversations curriculum and elements of the division’s transgender policy regarding parental rights…the board was “dismissive of any concerns.”” However, this statement fails to account for the many families, students, and teachers who spoke in strong support of both the curriculum and the policy.
In addition, Bryce’s affiliation with right-wing national and state figures and organizations is deeply troubling, especially given the current efforts by these organizations and conservative governments to dismantle public education systems in favor of school privatization.
Public records indicate that Meg Scalia Bryce donated money to the Republican Party during the 2020 election, and she personally appeared at a public event at the White House with Donald Trump in 2019. More recently, Bryce participated in a “development summit” for conservative school board candidates hosted by the far-right Noah Webster Education Foundation, which openly seeks to “reclaim education and culture” by infusing our public schools with conservative ideology and is headed by Melvin Adams, a prominent home-schooling advocate and Republican party activist.
As parents of students in Albemarle County Public Schools, we at Forward Albemarle are working hard to support and strengthen our public schools because we know that strong public schools create a strong foundation for a healthy civic society. We unapologetically support the ACPS Anti-Racism Policy and the Policy on the Treatment of Transgender and Gender Expansive Students because public schools are for students of all backgrounds, identities, and life experiences. Diversity is our society’s greatest strength.
Anti-bias and anti-racism lessons provide our students an opportunity to acquire background knowledge in the history of systemic and institutional racism in our country that will help them to understand how to overcome the racial inequities that persist to this day. Educator-guided conversations about race enable students to develop the language skills necessary to build a better future for all.
Every student has the inherent right to be seen, affirmed, included, and safe in our schools, including transgender and gender expansive students, more than two-thirds of whom do not live in homes that are accepting and affirming of them. When home is not a safe place for kids to be their true and authentic selves, welcoming and affirming schools literally save lives.
Forward Albemarle knows that Allison Spillman is the clear choice for the At-Large seat on the Albemarle County School Board. You can volunteer for and donate to her campaign here: https://electallisonspillman.com/
If you would like to sign up for Forward Albemarle’s newsletter to stay informed of current news and happenings in our public schools as well as ongoing coverage of the Albemarle County School Board races, visit our website at www.forwardalbemarle.com.
Forward Albemarle is a 501c4 non-profit organization of parents, educators, students, and community members who support public education in Albemarle County. Forward Albemarle's primary purpose is to promote social welfare by advocating for excellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion in Albemarle County Public Schools and to support the teachers and staff of ACPS in their mission of educating students.