Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Virginia Beach City Public Schools recall, Virginia (2021-2022)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Virginia Beach City Public Schools recall
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Officeholders
Beverly Anderson
Dorothy “Dottie” Holtz
Trenace Riggs
Jessica Owens
Carolyn Rye
Kimberly Melnyk
Recall status
Did not go to court
Signature requirement
Signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last election for the office
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 2022
Recalls in Virginia
Virginia recall laws
School board recalls
Recall reports

An effort to recall six of the 11 members of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools school board in Virginia did not result in their removal.

The recall effort began in September 2021. At-large representatives Beverly Anderson and Dorothy “Dottie” Holtz, District 1-Centerville representative Trenace Riggs, District 3-Rose Hall representative Jessica Owens, District 5-Lynnhaven representative Carolyn Rye, and District 7-Princess Anne representative Kimberly Melnyk were named in the recall petitions.[1]

Recall supporters listed the board's vote on continuing virtual schooling and not offering in-person schooling during the 2020-2021 school year as reasons for the recall effort.[2] In response, Anderson said it was the school board's job to consider the safety of all students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Anderson, Riggs, and Owens won re-election to the board on November 3, 2020. Anderson received the most votes (31.1%) in the at-large race for two seats, Riggs received 54.3% of the vote against one opponent, and Owens received 55.9% of the vote against one opponent. Holtz, Rye, and Melnyk won re-election to the board on November 6, 2018. Holtz received the most votes (30%) in the at-large race for two seats, Rye received 56.1% of the vote against one opponent, and Melnyk received 59.7% of the vote against one opponent.

To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.

Recall supporters

The recall effort was started by the group Students First VA. According to its website, the group "is a grassroots organization created by concerned parents and community members working together to have a positive impact on local and state education by promoting the interests of students first, advocating current issues and opposing harmful agendas, and supporting candidates for political office as well as current office holders who impact these critical educational matters."[3] At-large school board member Victoria Manning was one of the leaders of the group.[4]

The group's website included the following reasons for recall:[2]

A vast majority of students in Virginia Beach were kept out of in-person school from March 2020 through June 2021 due to the decisions of some members of the VA Beach School Board. These decisions harmed children and caused a major educational setback for students.


School Board members MELNYK, ANDERSON, RYE, HOLTZ, OWENS & RIGGS voted 3 different times to prevent students from returning to in-person learning. On July 28, 2020, these 6 Board members voted to not allow parents to have a choice for their children regarding in-person versus virtual learning and students began the 2020-21 school year in a virtual only setting. On Oct 27, 2020 a motion was made to direct the superintendent to come up with a plan to return all students who choose in-person learning to be able to attend school 4 days per week. All 6 of these same Board members voted against the motion. Again, on Dec 1, 2020, a motion was made to return all students back to school for in-person learning who made that choice. All 6 Board members again voted against the motion.

On November 19, 2020, CDC Director Robert Redfield stated “All Schools should remain open. It is the safest place for children to be” and “It is counterproductive to close schools”. Pediatricians advising the Virginia Beach School Board stated multiple times that mental health problems among children have greatly increased. The VB School Health Advisory Board reported that overall employee medical claims had decreased, but mental health claims had increased. Physicians advising the School Board as well as physician letters sent to the Board stressed the importance of students being in school in person, yet MELNYK, ANDERSON, RYE, HOLTZ, OWENS & RIGGS ignored the advice of medical professionals.

We believe students were harmed by the impacts of these votes as most students remained virtual for the entire year. Reading scores declined and students with special needs did not receive services required by law. Multiple emails to the School Board from parents of students with special needs share the negative impact on their children caused by MELNYK, ANDERSON, RYE, HOLTZ, OWENS & RIGGS.[5]

Recall opponents

In response to the recall effort, Anderson said, "The group’s written reasoning for the recall fails to mention the safety mitigations that the school system, CDC and Governor put into place during the pandemic. As school board members it’s our job to think of the safety of all students, teachers and staff when making decisions for the school system."[1]

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Virginia

To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters would have had to collect signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last election for the office. If enough signatures had been collected, the petitions would have been reviewed by the circuit court.[1]

About the district

Virginia Beach City Public Schools is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is classified as a large city school district by the National Center for Education Statistics. The district served 68,624 students during the 2018-2019 school year and comprised 87 schools.[6]


During the 2018-2019 school year, 39.3% of the district's students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 1.8% were English language learners, and 11.8% of students had an Individual Education Plan (IEP).[7]

Racial Demographics, 2018-2019
Race Virginia Beach City Public Schools (%) Virginia K-12 students (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2 0.3
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 6.1 7.1
Black 23.5 22.2
Hispanic 11.7 16.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.5 0.2
Two or More Races 9.8 5.7
White 48.2 48.4

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Recalls related to the coronavirus

See also: Recalls related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and government responses to the pandemic

Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.

The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

2022 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.

The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.

2021 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 92 school board recall efforts against 237 board members in 2021. Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%.

The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member.

See also

External links

Footnotes