Candidate Profile: Chuntao Samuel Yan For Loudoun County School Board

ASHBURN, VA — Chuntao Samuel Yan, an engineer with three Loudoun County Public Schools graduates, is seeking election to the Broad Run District seat of the Loudoun County School Board in the Nov. 4, 2025 general election.

Five of the nine school board seats are up for election in 2025 as the school board moved to staggered terms. Yan is running against Ross Svenson. Current Broad Run representative Linda Deans is not seeking re-election. Other districts with elections in 2025 are Algonkian, Dulles, Leesburg and Sterling.

In addition to the school board elections, Loudoun County voters will have Virginia governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and Virginia House of Delegates seats on the ballot. There are also Loudoun County bond questions on school projects, parks and recreation and public safety projects, and transportation projects on the ballot. The Towns of Middleburg and Round Hill elections are on the ballot within those towns.

Early voting for the general election began on Friday, Sept. 19. More information on how to vote is available from the Loudoun County Office of Elections.

SEE ALSO: Ashburn, Loudoun County General Election Early Voting To Open: What To Know

Patch asked candidates for Loudoun County School Board to fill out a candidate questionnaire with the same questions. Here are Yan's responses:

Name

Chuntao Samuel Yan

Office Sought

Loudoun School Board - Broad Run District

Campaign Website

sam4broadrun.com

Age (As of Nov. 4 election)

63

Education

Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1995, Kansas State University

Occupation

Engineer

Family

Married with my wife of 38 years with three children graduated from LCPS, one is in the military as a cadet at a service Academy.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

One son works for federal government and one in the military

Previous public office positions or appointments

None

Why are you seeking this office?

I have spent 51 years deeply involved in education—as a student, as a professor, and as a parent. For 22 of those years, I’ve been with LCPS. Education is my passion, and I want to see EVERY student succeed in life. A strong education, and being truly well educated, is the foundation for each individual—and for our country.

I don’t see a rosy picture in our public K–12 education. LCPS leadership, in particular, has made decisions that drew national attention for all the wrong reasons. They have lost focus—when their focus should be solely on education, not politics. As a result, we are not producing enough STEM and trade school students, which our country and industries badly need.

Too often, college graduates miss out on good-paying majors because of weak K–12 educational outcomes and we don’t provide enough resources for students who want to pursue trades after high school.

We have to change all that and I am the one who can do it.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidate(s) seeking this post?

My opponent, a Harvard-educated lawyer who has spent his career as a political activist—whether as a campaign organizer or staff for politicians—is seeking political advancement in LCPS, which should be completely free of politics. He bought a house in Ashburn this January and has not mentioned that he is not a LCPS graduate.

He will double down on—the wrongs happening in our schools and to our students. Just take a look at the emptiness of his campaign—and his complete lack of regret for what has happened here in LCPS.

My goal is to take politics out of LCPS so our educators can fully focus on teaching and helping students. I also have very specific plans for what I will do as a school board member if elected.

What do you see as the top issues facing your locality, and how do you address them in your campaign platform?

1. Remove politics from LCPS, including gender ideology and divisive DEI policies, which have distracted from our primary mission.

2. Build LCPS into a STEM powerhouse, expand trade school pathways, and prepare all students for success, rich or poor.

3. Address student mental health early and proactively. This could include banning smartphones at all school levels, prohibiting electronic devices in elementary schools, ensuring each student participates in a group or team activity, and expanding options such as JROTC in every high school, cricket teams, male volleyball, drama/theater, and interest clubs. Additionally, limit social media access and usage.

4. Special education needs renewed efforts and open-minded strategies.

5. Raise academic standards by measuring outcomes against global benchmarks. Restrict AI usage in learning.

6. Parental involvement is a key to education success. Parents should be members of their kids’ education team.

7. Title I schools should be allocated more resources, including hiring international STEM teachers for ESL students. School hours should be extended to allow students to finish homework, read, and even have some meals after school. We don’t want to see LCPS divided into two separate educational worlds.

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

My background as a trained scientist, combined with experience in the semiconductor industry, at a national laboratory, and as a math professor at a top engineering college in the world, includes 51 years of direct involvement in education, 22 of which have been with LCPS.

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

The admission standards of the Academies of Loudoun (AOL) have been weakened since 2021, despite protests from many parents and students. We need to restore these standards so that qualified and motivated students can attend and graduate ready to serve our country and its industries. AOL was established to produce students prepared to meet the nation’s needs, not to achieve equal outcomes as intended by DEI policies.

Recognize and reward excellence in teachers, relieving them of unnecessary administrative burdens so that they have all the time and freedom to focus on classroom instruction and helping students.

LCPS’s nearly $2 billion budget isn’t being used efficiently—we need to review it carefully every year. Loudoun County is the wealthiest county in the nation, yet LCPS’s educational results do not reflect that.