Four Applicants Seek Temporary Fredericksburg School Board Seat
Board will discuss applications and take public comment at a special meeting on Monday evening.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Four residents of Fredericksburg’s Ward 3 have submitted applications for appointment to the School Board to temporarily fill a vacancy created by the resignation earlier this month of Jennifer Boyd.
Applications were due on Monday and the division posted the letters of interest and resumes of each applicant on its website on Tuesday.
The School Board will hold a special meeting on Monday, September 22, to discuss and hear public comment on the applicants. The board will then appoint someone to fill the remainder of Boyd’s term, which expires at the end of the year, at its next regular meeting on Monday, October 6.
Keon Toyer
Toyer has worked for two Washington, D.C. public charter school systems, according to his resume. He served as chief operating officer for Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for just over a year and as senior director of information technology for KIPP Public Charter Schools from 2017 to 2023.
He currently serves on the board of directors of The Literacy Lab, a nonprofit that works to provide literacy instruction, especially in low-income schools.
“I am particularly interested in contributing to Fredericksburg’s educational mission during this interim period by bringing a perspective that balances strategic planning with practical implementation,” Toyer wrote in his statement of interest.
Elizabeth Rehm
Rehm previously served on the Fredericksburg School Board for nine years, and said her prior experience will help her effectively fill the short term without having to navigate a steep learning curve.
According to her statement of interest, Rehm, who works as a physical therapist, has lived in the city for 30 years and had three children go through the school division and graduate from James Monroe High School.
“I understand the important role the School Board plays in setting policy, supporting educators, and serving as a bridge between the schools and the community,” Rehm wrote in her statement of interest.
Caitlin Finlayson
Finlayson is a professor of geography at the University of Mary Washington and has two sons who attend Walker-Grant Middle School in the city. She stated that she is “deeply committed” to the success of Fredericksburg City schools and that her sons “have benefited greatly from their education and experiences” in the division.
At UMW, Finlayson served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching, which provides resources and support to strengthen faculty pedagogy. She also teaches a required class for students in the elementary education program, and therefore has taught many of the school division’s current teachers.
In her statement of interest, Finlayson also highlighted her expertise in data analysis, which she has already employed to help the division evaluate enrollment projections.
“If selected, I pledge to serve with thoughtfulness, integrity, and a collaborative spirit,” she wrote.
Christopher Butz
Butz is the parent of children in grades 3 and 7 in Fredericksburg City schools. In his statement of interest, he noted that his younger child struggled in school until being diagnosed with ADHD, and that the division was “effective in helping us evaluate his educational needs and he is now doing well.”
In his statement of interest, Butz cited his experience as an attorney specializing in eDiscovery, which involves the analysis of a wide variety of documents; as a pro bono defendant of low-income families in Philadelphia; and as a member of last year’s Superintendent’s Advisory Committee.
“The pursuit of high quality public education is more important now than ever,” Butz wrote in his statement of interest. “Public educational institutions … guarantee a free education to all residents, unlike private institutions who do not take the responsibility of educating the most vulnerable… The challenges of the people of Fredericksburg find expression in the public school system. I believe these challenges are worth facing.”
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