School board races don’t often galvanize communities, but more than 400 people are already getting e-mails from a group called Forward Albemarle. Its mission is to promote diversity, equity, inclusivity and excellence in public schools – and to avoid what has happened in Spotsylvania County.
There, a group backed by MAGA Republicans, organized to elect a majority on the board of education – candidates with a disruptive agenda.
![Former teacher and Cville school board member Amy Laufer helped organize parents to block a right-wing takeover of the Albemarle Board of Education.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/98c3835/2147483647/strip/true/crop/600x900+0+0/resize/880x1320!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F14%2F22%2F24fdf23b41b9a4c9955b09be13b1%2Famy-laufer.png)
“The first order of business was to fire the superintendent. The next order they had was to ban books," says Amy Laufer, a former school board member in Charlottesville and a progressive candidate for the General Assembly.
“There are national groups that are contributing money and volunteers to galvanize people to vote a certain way.”
She notes the new board in Spotsylvania replaced its award-winning superintendent with a guy who had no experience in public education and whose kids were home-schooled. Laufer and other leaders in Albemarle are now recruiting candidates for a school board election in November of 2023.
“There are four open seats in Albemarle County this next election, so we kind of wanted to get a head start,” Laufer explains.
Noting that Spotsylvania County now has hundreds of vacancies in its school district, Laufer and her allies also vow to support teachers and staff.