Victoria (Tori) Beachley
Running for school board in Washington County
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?
34
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Yes, Sixth Avenue Custom/Carriage Hill Cabinets, chief operating officer
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
I have my bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University in supply chain/operations management and then a graduate certificate from Penn State University in supply chain management.
Why are you running for the school board?
I am running for school board because I had an awakening once I became a mother. On Election Day, my oldest will turn 4 years old, my youngest will be almost 2 years old, and I have another kid on the way! I started paying closer attention to what is happening around me in the state of Maryland, and it hit me hard when I realized our oldest is going to pre-kindergarten next year and what this will mean for him. I started watching the school board public meetings and talking to other parents and community members. While I think Washington County Public Schools have a lot of great things to offer, there is always room for improvement, and that is my specialty: problem solving and continuous improvement. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a quick shoutout to the Birth-K/Early Intervention program and the therapist and teachers in that program; they have been wonderful and a huge part of my youngest son’s development.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I’m a good candidate for the school board because I have children in Washington County who will soon be school age and/or already use services through Washington County Public Schools. I grew up with a mom who was a public-school teacher (now a well-deserved retiree). I am fluent in Spanish and have lived abroad giving me a diverse perspective and respect for different cultures and ways of life. I have a career background in being fiscally responsible and focusing on continuous improvement. Finally, and most importantly, I am ready to fight for your kids and mine.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
There are a lot of important issues facing the school board. The problem I continue to hear from parents, teachers and students from schools all over the county is the behavioral issues in classrooms. This problem has been brought up to the current board, with even potential solutions to be reviewed; however, unfortunately most of the current board stops the discussion and throws up their hands citing state laws that prevent solutions to this issue. I am a problem solver who doesn’t throw up my hands but rather tries every possible route to get to a solution (over, around, through, under, etc.). A recent student (who had just graduated) during a public forum brought up in almost every class, every year of his high school career, there was a student who would disrupt the classroom. This disruption prevented the rest of the class from learning. We must come up with a solution that will allow teachers to manage their classrooms, and if needed, remove disruptive students. Students do not repetitively disrupt classrooms without mental or emotional hardships or struggles or some other underlying factors. By leaving those students in the classroom, we are doing a disservice to not only the rest of the class who are eager to learn but also to the student who needs more devoted attention and help.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
A particular public leader doesn’t come to mind, but what comes to mind is characteristics of leaders that I admire. Characteristics that include thoughtfulness, the ability and willingness to listen and learn, negotiation skills, being able to communicate effectively and efficiently, and lastly but probably most important is unwavering values. One of my pet peeves is when leaders/politicians sacrifice values for votes. I’m a firm believer in term limits to help prevent this career-politician mentality that leads to decisions for votes.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, is a 10-year plan that includes increased education funding to support early childhood education, increased teacher starting pay, college/career-readiness standards for high school graduates, and expanded services to multilingual and impoverished families, among other goals. Please tell us your views on the Blueprint and how it will affect your school district.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is presented in a way that would make it very difficult to have anything but positive support for it. Even how it is presented in this question, at face value I agree it because it is all important and needed things — increased funding for early childhood education, awesome! — increasing our hardworking teachers' pay, awesome! — expanding services to multilingual and impoverished families, awesome! — etc. However, when this passed it was presented as being fully funded for at least the first 10 years, which only three years later is proving to unfortunately not be the case. For example, the Kirwan Commission says this law will require at least 15,000 more teachers (statewide), which will be around an additional $900 million in just salaries (not including benefits). I’m not against additional teachers and additional resources for our kids, but I’m also pragmatic, and right now the state does not have a solution for the financial burden of this Blueprint. So, it is and will impact our county significantly as these laws (there are different steps to implement this plan) come into effect and we cannot fund them.
Some school districts nationwide are placing new limits on the use of cellphones in middle and high schools. What do you think should be the policy on student use of cellphones in your district, and why do you support that policy?
In general, I think we are all plugged in too much. Adults and students are experiencing higher levels of anxiety, depression and poor sleep quality due to cellphone usage. With that in mind, I am for limitations and restrictions of cellphone usage. Before creating a policy, I would need to hear more from teachers and parents. I like to make holistic and thought-out decisions and would not be doing that if I came up with a policy on cellphone usage in a vacuum.
Are you satisfied with your school district's efforts to ensure the safety of its students? What, if anything, should be done to improve school safety in your district?
Our children, teachers and staff’s safety is the highest priority. If you read through the Washington County Public Schools Safety and Security Measures (wcpsmd.com/safety-security), it’s clear safety is a priority and we have a plan; but I do think we can continue to improve and add safety measures. I am in favor of having a resource officer in every school. We should also have closed-circuit TV in all schools and intrusion alarms (currently we have in many but not all schools).
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries? If so, what kind of books should be removed, and who should make those decisions?
I believe there is a time and place for all things. I do not believe our school libraries are the right place (or time — especially since students’ junior year and below are minors) for books that include crude sexual content. At a public forum, a concerned grandma read from a book that is in our school’s libraries that contained crude sexual content. One parent grabbed their kid to leave, and other adults were visually uncomfortable. I’m not sure why any book like that is needed in our school libraries.
Some school districts enact policies allowing transgender and gender nonconforming students to use their preferred pronouns while at the same time not informing those students' parents about that decision. What is your opinion of such policies?
Any policy that intentionally deceives or does not inform parents about their child is a policy I do not support. The only exception to that would of course be a policy that deals with suspected abuse at home; that would be handed over to agencies that specialize in those terrible scenarios.
