In Virginia, county school boards are composed of one member from each district in that county, and sometimes include an at-large member. Members are elected to four-year terms and serve as the leaders of the school district by setting the policies for and hiring superintendents, among other duties. The Orange County School Board has five members, one from each of its districts.
There are three candidates certified by the Virginia Department of Elections running to represent District 5: Gary D. MacFadden, James E. “Jim” Hopkins and Sandy J. Harrington. Hopkins, elected in 2007, is the incumbent candidate.
Charlottesville Tomorrow designed a questionnaire based on more than 200 responses we received to a voter survey. None of the three candidates returned answers.
More about the candidates for District 5 on the Orange County Public Schools Board
- MacFadden’s campaign contributions, from the Virginia Public Access Project
- Hopkins’ campaign contributions, from the Virginia Public Access Project
- Harrington’s campaign contributions, from the Virginia Public Access Project
- A report on Hopkins and other Orange County School Board members voting in favor of limiting “divisive” content, from the Daily Progress
- A report about the Orange County School Board considering a policy about alerting parents of changes in their student’s self-identification, for subscribers to the Washington Post
- Orange County School Board postpones vote on “sexually explicit materials,” for subscribers to the Daily Progress
- A report on Orange County candidates, in the Orange County Review, for subscribers to the Daily Progress
- The Virginia School Quality report for Orange County Public Schools
As you get ready to vote, here are some key dates and links from the Virginia Department of Elections:
Polls in Virginia close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, night. The Virginia Department of Elections will publish election results in real time, as they arrive from precincts around the state. To view them, head to this link. These are unofficial results until they are certified. Here’s more about how to get election results.
- Sept. 22: First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office.
- Oct. 16: Deadline to register to vote, or update an existing registration. You can also register after this date, and on election day, but you will vote with a provisional ballot, could take longer for officials to count because they will verify your eligibility.
- Oct. 27: Deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you. Your request must be received by your local registrar by 5:00 p.m.
- Oct. 28: Voter registration offices open for early voting.
- Nov. 4: The last day of in-person early voting at your registrar.
- Nov. 7: Election Day. Here is where you can find your polling place.
Need to know if you’re eligible to vote? Here are resources from the Virginia Department of Elections.
