Saundra Davis Enters At-Large School Board Race In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Saundra Davis, a mother of three, announced her candidacy Monday for one of the three at-large seats on the Fairfax County School Board.

Davis, who lives in Burke with her family, said she is running for the school board partly in response to the county school system’s policy of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her campaign announcement, Davis also said she views Fairfax County Public Schools' “lack of focus on academics” as a threat to the future of the county’s students and "a risk to our national security."

“Groups of decision makers cannot function properly without diversity of thought or by locking alternative points of view out of the conversation,” stated Davis, who said she identifies as a moderate.

If elected to the school board, Davis said she will seek to put the focus on academics “over the partisan politics of the current school board members and superintendent.”

Davis said she is amenable to an endorsement from any entity that values common sense and academics first in public education. As a former Democrat who is now an independent, Davis said she tends to associate more with the Fairfax Republicans "because they are, ironically, an inclusive and welcoming group."

"The Fairfax Democrats did not appreciate my Open Schools efforts and did not allow any parent who advocated for open schools to remain or join," she said in an email to Patch.

Davis, who noted that running for school board was not on her radar when her family settled in Fairfax County, said other campaign priorities will be “learning loss and the mental fallout from extended school closures,” declining test scores and new grading policies, an exodus of teachers and students from FCPS, and the school system’s "failure" when it comes to special education students.

Davis has an undergraduate degree in psychology from Colorado State University, and spent her postgraduate years at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she earned master’s degrees in health care administration and gerontology.

She is planning a formal launch of her campaign on Sunday, March 26 at Burke Lake Park. The event will also serve as a picnic and a book drive for disadvantaged FCPS students.

The event will begin at 1 p.m. and will feature state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico), who serves as a member of the state Education and Health Committee.

Other candidates who have registered to run in the at-large school board race include Cassandra Aucoin, Linda Pellegrino, Rachna Sizemore Heizer and Mark Stanley Tenney, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Among the candidates seeking the Democratic endorsement for the school board's at-large seats are incumbent Abrar Omeish; Lawrence Webb, a former member of the Falls Church City School Board; former School Board Member Ilryong Moon; and Kyle McDaniel, who unsuccessfully ran as an independent for the Springfield District seat on the school board in 2019.