Debate Coverage by Hburg Citizen
- hilaryirons
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
By Bridget Manley, publisher
In their only public forum before next week’s election, the three candidates seeking the District 3 seat on the Rockingham County School Board clashed Tuesday night over how best to deal with continued population growth — such as building new schools or redistricting to ease overcrowding.
Spotswood High School’s Youth in Government class organized the forum, which attracted about 100 people to the school’s auditorium. The Youth in Government students asked the questions, which also covered other key issues such as school curriculum and school safety. The 3rd District covers precincts in Melrose, Keezletown, Massannetta, Crossroads, Port Republic and Grottoes.
As the forum went on, candidates Hilary Irons, Lauren Mullen and incumbent Matt Cross used their answers to draw clearer distinctions between each other.
The forum began cordially, with questions about the current year-long grading system and after-school clubs, but grew more contentious, especially when the topics of redistricting and building new schools were brought up.
Irons disagreed with past school board decisions not to build new schools, citing the growth in new housing, larger populations and overcrowding at existing schools.
Irons said she supports building a new elementary school, adding that her conservative ideology doesn’t mean avoiding spending money — but spending it wisely.
“No, our new elementary school isn’t going to cost $150 million, as Mr. Cross stated online, but $40 million,” Irons said. “The Board of Supervisors has already set aside money for that.”
Irons said building East Rock High School near the edge of the county was a mistake because the county’s growth is happening closer to the center.
Both Irons and Mullen declared firm opposition to redistricting. Mullen said the redistricting process causes logistical problems that upset many people and that she had spoken with parents who agreed their schools were overcrowded but were worried about what redistricting might lead to.
“The impact of families is consequential,” Mullen said. “It tears communities apart; it affects how people parent their children.”
Mullen said, in the short term, she would support moving eighth graders at Elkton Middle to East Rock High School to address overcrowding, while also speeding up the construction of the new elementary school and starting renovations at Montevideo Middle School and Spotswood High School.
“I will not vote for redistricting,” Mullen said. “Not on my watch.”
Cross took a different stance. He said he prefers redistricting over building, because there is “room to go east,” such as shifting students to schools in eastern Rockingham County.
“Fifty percent of people in Rockingham County do not have children in schools,” Cross said. “And so the parents, I know it’s a tough thing for us to redistrict our children, but we are asking 50% of the people in our county to spend that taxpayer dollar money when we do not need one at this time.”
Cross said it had become a political issue but added that, under the proposal, the students redistricted would change elementary schools, not middle or high schools, and that he did not expect it to happen for several years.
Irons seized on an opportunity to criticize Cross when he said during his answer that he had spoken with Larry Shifflett, the school district superintendent, about purchasing enough land for the new school construction. Cross said Shifflett had congratulated him on a good idea, and Cross told Shifflett, “Don’t tell the rest of the board that came from me.”
“What struck me in Matt’s response is that he said, ‘don’t tell the rest of the board the answer came from me,’” Irons said. “What kind of relationships do you have with the board that you can’t be honest with them that an idea came from you. And I think we all know the kind of relationships Matt has with our board, and it is not a good one.”
She also said Cross’s approach undermined other county officials.
“The Board of Supervisors was just thrown under the bus, and you cannot operate in the county like that,” Irons continued. “We are all tired of drama and division. The evidence of your relationship speaks for itself. Everyone is ready for someone else to be in this seat.”
The answer was met with applause from the audience.
Mullen pressed Cross on whether the conversations he revealed occurred during a closed or open session and asked whether Cross had asked taxpayers what they thought about delaying renovations to buildings.
“We have to be fiscally responsible, yes, but we can’t tear families apart,” Mullen said. “When you say they just have to be bused over there to another elementary school, that is still tearing a family apart.”
Throughout the forum, each candidate sought to make their case for why they believed they were the right candidate. Irons focused on the importance of critical thinking skills amid the world of misinformation that Rockingham County school students were entering. She asked that voters think critically when making their decisions.
Mullen said her grandchildren and their future as her motivation for running. She said she wanted to use her skills as an educator and leader for all students on the school board and emphasized her campaign of unity to help all students feel safe.
Cross listed the accomplishments he was proud of during his last four years on the school board, including installing security cameras in schools, establishing lab schools in every high school, and launching mental health programs. He took a jab at the former school board and superintendent, saying the current board did not “burn the system down,” but instead made it better.
When asked about school safety, all three candidates took the opportunity to stray from the question to air grievances.
Cross criticized Rockingham County supervisors for opposing a recreation center during their campaigns and then voting in favor of it after being elected. According to Rockingham County officials, the recreation center was approved and financed before the new members were seated. The contract for the center included a 20% cancellation penalty and would have cost the county millions of dollars if they had reversed course.
He also attacked Irons over her stance on mask mandates during COVID, accusing Rockingham County of being one of the last in Virginia to require mask mandates.
Irons took the opportunity to address Cross for “slander” online, saying his supporters had attacked her and her husband over the summer after vowing to stick to the issues of the campaign.
Cross spoke over Irons, repeating “false, false,” to which Irons said Cross could not even follow the forum’s rules.
When asked about spending tens of thousands of dollars on cameras in school and a safety officer position while neglecting school renovations, Cross said he was proud to make those decisions, noting that parents’ biggest concern was their children’s safety.
‘When parents send their kids to school, they want to know they are safe,” Cross said. “And they want to know they are going to come home alive to them.”
Both Irons and Mullen criticized Cross for controversies in which he’s been involved, including his attendance record for school board meetings, fines levied on his campaign by the Rockingham County Electoral Board for failing to file campaign finance reports, and his scuffle with a parent at a youth baseball game earlier in the year.
They also criticized a widely condemned social media post by Cross, in which he shared a fight between students at Rocktown High School in Harrisonburg City, in which the faces of underage students could be seen fighting inside a women’s bathroom at the school.
Mullen called the decision to post the video “wrong.”
Cross shot back, saying that “half-truths” had been used to vilify him, and said there is no expectation of privacy when a person is committing a crime.
Irons shot back, saying the information about the missed meetings was received through verified records obtained from the Rockingham County Schools. Furthermore, Irons claimed that the expansion by Merck, announced last week, nearly didn’t happen because of the chaos on the school board.
“There is a reason why not one single local leader is not supporting Mr. Cross this time,” Irons said. Merck is bringing three billion dollars of investment to the Elkton plant, which was almost not completed because of the school board. They did not want to come here because of the chaos on the school board.”
In her closing statements, Irons, who went first, said that it seemed to her that Cross’s heart was with his church, not the board. She said she would show up, caring for every child and stopping the divisiveness.
Mullen, who went second, said she would keep every student safe, prevent books from being banned, and support teachers who can teach without fear of retaliation or threats from board members.
Cross, who went last, said that he had grown up here, kept his word, and kept “Marxist” ideologies out of the school system. He said he was upset about being called a racist, something he had never been called until he ran for school board, and he stressed that he was holding teachers and administrators accountable.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional context about the financing of the Rockingham County Recreation Center.
Thanks for reading The Citizen, which won the Virginia Press Association’s 2022 News Sweepstakes award as the top online news site in Virginia. We’re independent. We’re local. We pay our contributors, and the money you give goes directly to the reporting. No overhead. No printing costs. Just facts, stories and context. We value your support.
Comments