Karen Boyd

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Karen Boyd

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2019

Education

Bachelor's

Clarion University

Graduate

University of Virginia

Personal

Profession

Educator

Contact

Personal Facebook

Karen Boyd ran for election to the Prince William County Public Schools to represent Occoquan District in Virginia. Boyd lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Boyd completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Boyd was a candidate for Occoquan District representative on the Prince William County School Board in Virginia. She was defeated in the general election on November 3, 2015.

Biography

Boyd earned a B.S. in education from Clarion University in 1993 and an M.Ed. in educational leadership from the University of Virginia in 2010. Her professional experience includes working in the education field as a teacher, an assessment coach, and an assistant principal.

Elections

2019

See also: Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2019)

General election

General election for Prince William County Public Schools, Occoquan District

Incumbent Lillie Jessie defeated Karen Boyd in the general election for Prince William County Public Schools, Occoquan District on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Lillie Jessie (Nonpartisan)	56.8	9,972
		Karen Boyd (Nonpartisan)	43.0	7,548
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	50

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,570
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2015

See also: Prince William County Public Schools elections (2015)

The Prince William County School Board is an eight-member board elected to serve four-year terms. One seat on the board is elected at-large with the remaining seven seats elected by district. The seats of all eight incumbents were up for election on November 3, 2015.

Three newcomers each sought the at-large Chair and the Coles District seats. Ryan Sawyers defeated Tracy Conroy and Timothy Singstock in the former race, while William Deutsch defeated Reggie Henderson and William Reeder in the latter. Diane Raulston won the open Neabsco District race against Joseph George.

Occoquan District incumbent Lillie Jessie defeated two challengers, Karen Boyd and John Gray, in her re-election bid. Fellow board member Betty Covington lost to her opponent, Justin Wilk, for the Potomac District seat. Brentsville District incumbent Gilbert Trenum, Gainesville District incumbent Alyson Satterwhite and Woodbridge District incumbent Loree Williams ran unopposed and won re-election to their seats.

Results

Prince William County School Board, Occoquan District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lillie Jessie Incumbent	45.8%	4,828
John Gray	39.2%	4,132
Karen Boyd	14.7%	1,550
Write-in votes	0.38%	40
Total Votes		10,550
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Funding

Boyd reported $1,515.00 in contributions and $948.60 in expenditures to the Virginia State Board of Elections, which left her campaign with $566.40 on hand as of October 28, 2015.

Endorsements

Boyd did not receive any official endorsements in this election.

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Karen Boyd completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Boyd's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Bringing ethical leadership to the School Board

Establishing a responsible budget and ensuring that our students' needs are at the heart of all financial decisions

Making myself available to openly communicate with our students, parents, staff, and community members

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As it relates to education, I am passionate about the policies we put in place that affect our ability to recruit and retain highly qualify teachers and staff members, the policies that expand the educational opportunities for our students and prepare them for life after high school, and the policies that govern how the School Board and the school system communicate with all stakeholders and avail themselves to hear all questions, opinions, and concerns.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe that an elected official should have experience or expertise in a field related to the position she holds. As an educator for 22 years, I will bring that expertise to the School Board. Elected officials have to be collaborative. As a School Board member, I look forward to collaborating with the other members of the School Board, with our Board of County Supervisors, with the School Division leadership, administrators, staff, and students, and with our community members. Most importantly, I believe that an elected official has an obligation to model ethical behavior. This is especially true of our School Board members, who serve as the educational leaders for the school system and as models for our children.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My husband and I lost a son to cancer when he was 9 years old. The grief I carry with me each day is my greatest struggle. As a high school administrator, I have learned to draw on that experience when I talk with parents. I have been the parent of a child with unique needs, I have been the parent of a son who lost his brother, and I understand the extremely important role the school and the School System played in our lives. I will bring that experience with me to the School Board.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

The primary job of each member of the School Board is to put our children first. Virginia code states that the School Board is an independent body; the reason for this is to ensure that politics and partisanship do not interfere with the work of making decisions that are in the best interest of all students. The School Board has to remember to celebrate the successes of the students, staff, and schools while continuously striving to improve and grow. Continuous improvement and a student-first leadership approach require collaboration and cooperation from all School Board members.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

Unfortunately, our country is experiencing a significant teacher shortage, so I believe it is essential for our school system to find ways to competitively recruit and retain the very best teachers in an age when candidates often have their pick from multiple job offers. Our school system needs to partner with colleges and universities with top teacher preparatory programs for job fairs, early hire opportunities, field experiences, and student teaching placements. We also need to reconsider our teacher pay scale to include higher pay raises earlier in a teacher's career in order to provide our young teachers with a competetive living wage and the means to buy a car, buy a house, and start a family without having to get a second job to make ends meet.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Ballotpedia biographical submission form

The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:

“	Is there anything you would like to add? I have lived in the Occoquan District for 19 years. My husband, Mark, also an educator, and I raised 2 boys, both of whom attended Prince William County schools. Our son Parker, passed away in 2008 after a nearly 2-year battle with cancer. Our son, Austin, is a 2014 Woodbridge Senior High School graduate, a 2018 UVA graduate, and is currently a PhD fellow at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.	”
—Karen Boyd

See also

2019 Elections

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Government

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External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Prince William County Public Schools
• Campaign Facebook page