10-28-2025 12:31am

Jennifer Craig-Ford Spotsylvania County School Board Battlefield District

John L Williams Editor

Why are you running?

I’m running because Spotsylvania deserves leadership that puts classrooms, families, and community stability first. Literacy is the foundation of every future opportunity, yet reading proficiency is slipping while schools are asked to take on responsibilities outside their mission. Teachers are teaching, but they are also being asked to serve as crisis responders and social workers. I want to restore focus, restore balance, and ensure that schools can fully devote their time and resources to student learning and academic excellence.

Spotsylvania is home. I want every child here to read confidently, grow confidently, and stay confident in their future. Our schools are not just buildings where children spend their days. They are where Spotsylvania’s future workforce, voters, innovators, and leaders take shape.

Parents expect schools to teach academic excellence, responsibility, and respect for differing viewpoints. When classrooms drift away from core learning and into political agendas, students lose the skills they need to succeed in careers, in their communities, and in democracy. We must restore our focus on literacy, mathematics, science, and history taught with accuracy, not ideology.

Strong schools create strong citizens. That is how we protect Spotsylvania’s future: by ensuring every student can think clearly, work skillfully, and lead boldly.

2. What are the top three issues you want to address in office?

1. Removing politics from the School Board and refocusing on solutions that elevate the common good.

2. Concentrating on literacy as the academic foundation that strengthens every other subject.

3. Competitively paying our staff and restoring step increases to retain the dedicated people who directly support student learning.

3. What is the number 1 issue on the minds of voters in Spotsylvania County?

Voters want a functional School Board that focuses on student academic outcomes, so their children succeed academically and professionally. They want results, not political drama.

4. What problems are you noticing in the county due to the Federal Government Shutdown?

Shutdowns disrupt paychecks and create anxiety for families who rely on federal jobs or contracts. That stress shows up in the classroom. When families struggle financially, children struggle to focus and learn, especially in developing core reading skills. Stable government supports stable learning, and our community deserves leaders who keep families at the center of every decision.

5. How should we improve education in County?

We must return the focus to literacy, learning, and classroom support. Our school budget should invest directly in the people who shape student achievement every single day: teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, and support staff. It is unacceptable to claim that educators cannot be paid competitively while central administration continues to grow in positions and salaries.

Focusing on literacy early ensures students are prepared to succeed academically and thrive later in life. We must retain great staff by paying them competitively and restoring step increases. Why would a paraprofessional who has served us faithfully for a decade continue if we do not honor their experience? And how can we keep excellent teachers if surrounding districts pay more?

Education dollars belong in classrooms, not in administrative expansion or services that rightly belong to county agencies. An excellent classical curriculum paired with excellent teachers and staff is how we improve education in Spotsylvania.

6. How can the County and or the State improve Mental Health Services?

Right now, too many social challenges land in the classroom long before county support arrives. Teachers are being asked to serve as social workers and mental health responders while still expected to accelerate reading and academic progress. That model is unfair, unsustainable, and it isn’t working for our students.

These are county responsibilities and should be funded through county agencies, not drained from the school budget.

We can do better by:

• Expanding county-run mental health services and family support programs outside school funding
• Increasing access to licensed social workers and mental health professionals who support schools without shifting costs to education

• Helping children and families address crises before they spill into the classroom, so educators can focus on teaching

When the county handles mental and social services properly, schools can do what they do best: build strong readers, confident learners, and bright futures.

7. How can we improve funding for Special Education and English Language Learners?

The state and federal government provide mandates but far too little funding to implement them. These programs are essential to early literacy and long-term success. We must:

• Demand full state and federal funding for mandated services
• Ensure resources directly support classroom instruction, not get stuck in administration
• Retain specialists by paying wages that reflect their expertise
• Coordinate supports with county agencies to serve the whole child

Protecting classroom resources is how we protect every student’s future.

8. What can we as a County do to create affordable housing for our Teachers, Police, Firefighters, first responders, and health care workers?

Student success is built on consistency. When the people who teach our children and protect our families can’t afford to live in Spotsylvania, students lose trusted mentors and our community loses stability. Importantly, affordable housing is not a School Board responsibility. This is a core duty of the Board of Supervisors and must be funded and managed at the county level.

The County can and should:

• Prioritize workforce housing developments near schools, hospitals, and stations

• Partner with builders and nonprofits to convert underutilized county properties

• Streamline smart development that keeps construction costs down and homes attainable

Keeping the people who care for our community rooted in our community strengthens classrooms, literacy progress, safety, and local economic health.

9. Is there anything else the voters should know about you?

I believe literacy is freedom. I believe classrooms should come before bureaucracy. I believe that when each part of government does its job well, our children soar.

I also believe representation starts with belonging. My family and I have lived in the Battlefield District for eight years. My kids attended the schools I will be responsible for, and I actively listen to teachers, parents, and students here to guide my priorities. I didn’t move here to run for office, and I’m not a perennial candidate chasing open seats. This is my home, these are our children, and Battlefield’s success is personal to me.

I will always show up. I will always listen. I will always put students, families, and educators first. Together, we can restore focus, improve results, and secure a brighter future for every child in Spotsylvania.