In a Thursday night forum, candidates for the 55th District of the Virginia House of Delegates each said they rank education as a top priority — including manageable class sizes.
Republican Hyland “Buddy” Fowler Jr. and Democrat Toni Radler said the state needs to set its priorities straight to ensure adequate education funding. Libertarian Christopher Sullivan shared the sentiment, and emphasized that the state needs to cut unnecessary spending to help fund schools.
“I’ll support efforts to maintain current funding levels … and if possible, restore (funding) to their previous levels,” Sullivan said, adding that he won’t support tax increases and believes education can be adequately funded without them.
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Fowler and Radler also voiced reluctance to raise taxes.
“We have got to restore funding. And you don’t have to raise taxes to do it. You have to set priorities,” Radler said.
The candidates spoke in a forum at Patrick Henry High School in Hanover County, vying for the seat being vacated by Republican Del. John A. Cox, to represent parts of Hanover, Caroline and Spotsylvania counties.
Class sizes were also emphasized as an area of interest for the candidates.
Small class sizes allow teachers to “reach every student,” Radler said.
Fowler said he’d like to see a statewide goal of at least 70 percent of funding spent in classrooms, cutting back on outlier education expenses such as administration costs.
Fowler has been a 55th District legislative aide since 2000, first for Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr. and now for Cox. According to Fowler’s campaign website, he has received endorsements from all seven members of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. All seven are Republicans.
Radler, on the other hand, distanced herself from county supervisors.
She has denounced a split decision by the board last year to drastically reduce cash proffers imposed on new-home developments to offset the cost of infrastructure, contending it could mean a reduction in local funding for education. She said Thursday that Hanover needs a new Board of Supervisors.
Some of the questions were given to the candidates in advance. They also took questions from the audience.
The candidates touched on a variety of issues beyond education, including abortion.
Radler defined herself as pro-abortion rights. Fowler said that while he doesn’t personally support abortion, the matter has already been addressed at the judicial level. Sullivan said he believes the state should cut state funding toward abortions and address the matter through education and compassion.
Radler, the vice chair of the Hanover Democratic Committee, had worked as a newspaper and radio reporter early in her career and retired as the director of communication for the Christian Children’s Fund.
Sullivan is a 2002 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute who served in the Marine Corps for more than eight years, including three deployments as an intelligence officer, earning the ranking of captain.
Cox is retiring after two terms.
The forum was hosted by the education advocacy group Friends of Hanover Schools, as well as the Hanover Herald-Progress weekly newspaper.
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