James 'Vell' Rives Runs For Arlington County School Board: Profile

ARLINGTON, VA — While most of the attention this political season has been on the presidential race, Arlington residents will also be casting ballots on Nov. 5 for candidates running in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives (8th District), county board and school board races.

James "Vell" Rives IV, a psychiatrist with 20 years experience, is on the Nov. 5 ballot in the race to fill two open seats on the Arlington County School Board. He's running against Paul C. Weiss, Zuraya Tapia-Hadley and Kathleen A. Clark.

As part of its coverage of the 2024 election, Patch has asked each of the candidates in the Arlington County School Board race to fill out a questionnaire to describe why they think they're the best person to fill the job they're running for.

Your Name

James "Vell" Rives

Position sought:

Member, Arlington School Board

Have you been endorsed by a recognized political party? If so, which one?

Yes. Forward Party

Age (as of Election Day)

55

Campaign Website

Rives For School Board

Names, ages and any pertinent details you wish to share about your family.

I am married to Carmen; our daughter is a senior at Wakefield High School, and our son is in 8th grade at Gunston Middle School. They previously attended Hoffman-Boston, Claremont, and Abingdon Elementary Schools.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're a candidate in.

No.

Education

B.A. (Music) University of Alabama; M.D. University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL; Internship (Internal Medicine) Baptist Medical Centers, Birmingham, AL; Residency (Psychiatry) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.

Occupation - Please include years of experience.

Psychiatrist, 20 years of experience; Church Choir Director, 20 years of experience.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Political Office

I am serving my 6th year on Arlington Public Schools’ School Health Advisory Board (appointed by the School Board), and I was Co-Chair 2021-2022. I served 6 years as an Arlington County Election Officer, as Assistant Chief in 2021 (appointed by the County Electoral Board).

Why are you seeking elective office?

I’m running for School Board because I value public education, and APS is one of Arlington County’s greatest assets. But too many good teachers – and families – are leaving APS, despite about half of county spending happening in our schools. That is a sign of systemic dysfunction. My experience as a parent, physician, and mental health professional will bring the perspective we need to tackle our problems at this crucial time.

The single most pressing issue facing voters is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Our most urgent issue right now is the fiscal health of APS. Our budget is increasingly strained, and we must not take away from students or teachers. I am not above asking the County Board (i.e. Arlington taxpayers!) for even more money. But to do that with a straight face, we need to get our own house in order and shift current spending to strengthen instruction - in the classroom, the gym, on the stage, or outdoors. A major source of our structural budget deficit is our Capital Improvement Program (CIP). We’ve made huge construction commitments, and there’s no going back on those. But for now, I want us to hold off on additional new projects and, instead, prioritize maintenance and upgrading of our buildings. I also want to find ways for all of our capital projects to attract more competitive bids without sacrificing safety, transparency, or quality of the work.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I’m the only non-Democrat in the race, and School Board members have been exclusively Democrats for 20 years. To solve problems, we need to have different perspectives at the table. Even just one person from outside the party will yield better discussion and bring more credibility to the Board and its decisions. I am also the only repeat candidate in this race, so I’ve done more campaigning than my fellow candidates! I’ve been to every Arlington neighborhood, every school, every precinct, usually multiple times. Win or lose, that experience – hearing from residents across the county – has been the greatest thing I’ve gotten from these campaigns and makes me, I think, the best candidate.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

The Board kept our schools closed far too long during the pandemic, and we are still trying to recover. Many other systems were reopening safely, and we could have followed their examples. The lost learning is still affecting certain groups more severely: students of color, English learners, students with disabilities, and all those who were in early elementary grades during the shutdown. The Board has also allowed substantial growth of the central administrative office while neglecting the needs of classroom teachers, in fact creating more non-teaching work for them rather than helping them be more efficient and effective.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Substance abuse inside our schools is out of control, and many factors, both external and internal, contribute to this. As a psychiatrist, I deal with substance abuse every day, so I have a lot of ideas - more than I can detail here. But generally, I want to see continued harm-reduction strategies (like overdose rescue medications) and escalating interventions for each successive incident of drug use. We also need to distinguish between recreational use (needing discipline) versus addiction (needing treatment). I am also concerned about students missing instruction time because of absenteeism or discipline issues or because of the system calendar and school schedules. I support a system-wide “Away for the Day” policy for students’ cell phones.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Completing a medical internship back in the day (1995-1996) was about as grueling as it could be. I work hard, and I can take the heat. I’d also cite my 20 years of directing adult and children’s choirs and instrumentalists! It requires extensive planning, coordination, listening, teaching, communicating, encouraging, and bringing together many individuals with different needs and abilities into a unified, effective performance.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am different. After 20 years of only Democrats winning school board elections, I think it’s fair to say I’m the unconventional candidate in this race. But I am no stranger: I know Ms. Zecher-Sutton, Ms. Kadera, and Ms. Turner (the continuing Board members), and I would be so excited to work alongside them and any one of my fellow candidates. I think we could make a Dream Team for APS. I hope you can see that too, and I respectfully ask that you make me one of your two votes for School Board.