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Incumbents ousted in Beach School Board race [The Virginian-Pilot]
[November 07, 2012]

Incumbents ousted in Beach School Board race [The Virginian-Pilot]


(Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 07--VIRGINIA BEACH -- Beverly Anderson, Elizabeth Taylor, Bobby Melatti, Leonard Tengco and Joel McDonald beat out their competitors for five contested School Board seats.

Current board chairman Dan Edwards ran unopposed for the board's Kempsville seat and was re-elected.

With 93 of 95 precincts reporting Wednesday morning on the state Board of Elections site, Elizabeth Taylor, a retired assistant superintendent, and Beverly Anderson, a retired teacher, won the two at-large seats. Anderson took nearly 19 percent of the vote, followed by Taylor with about 17 percent. Incumbents Ashley McLeod and Scott Seery were not reelected.



Leonard Tengco won the board's Centerville seat. Tengco, an attorney, garnered 55 percent of the vote. He ran against Eric Wray.

Bobby Melatti beat out Steve Randolph for the at-large special election seat. Melatti, program director of Beachevents, will fill a vacancy left by a board member who resigned.


With 60 percent of the vote, Joel McDonald won the Rose Hall seat. McDonald, who owns a communications and information technology consulting firm, ran against local fire department captain Chris Arney.

McDonald on Tuesday night said he was happy to see he was in the lead.

"It will be an honor for me to serve on the School Board and make sure we're providing students with opportunities," he said. "I'm thrilled because it looks like I'll have the opportunity to do that." A contentious budget season prompted some candidates to enter the 16-person race for five contested seats. There had been talk of cutting funding for teachers, transportation and sports. City Council voted to raise real estate taxes, a decision the majority of candidates said they would have supported.

Almost all candidates voiced support for all-day kindergarten for all children, a program estimated to cost $11.6 million.

In interviews and Virginian-Pilot questionnaires, many said they would like to expand vocational programs, reduce class sizes, close the achievement gap and focus on attracting and retaining top teachers.

Sarah Hutchins, 757-222-5131, [email protected] ___ (c)2012 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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