Fairfax County School Board Election 2023: Candidates, How To Vote

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — The Fairfax County School Board will be one of the key races on the ballot for Fairfax County voters on Nov. 7, 2023. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

All 12 Fairfax County School Board seats are on the ballot, including three at-large seats and nine district seats. Voters will have one district seat to decide and will choose three candidates in the at-large seat race.

School board members are elected for four-year terms and set policies for Fairfax County Public Schools, including annual budgets and capital project schedules. FCPS is Virginia's largest school division, serving more than 181,000 students.

Many school board incumbents are not running for re-election. The only incumbents seeking another term are Rachna Sizemore Heizer, an at-large representative running for the Braddock District, Hunter Mill District representative Melanie Meren, Mason District representative Ricardy Anderson and Providence District representative Karl Frisch.

Meanwhile, two former board members — Ilryong Moon and Ryan McElveen — are seeking at-large seats. Newcomers in the at-large race are Cassandra Aucoin, Linda Pellegrino, Ahmed Hussein, Maureen Brody, Kyle McDaniel and Peter Gabor.

One notable update in the school board elections involved the Franconia District seat. Marcia St. John-Cunning, the Democratic-endorsed candidate for the Franconia District seat, was reinstated on the ballot after a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge's ruling. St. John-Cunning had been previously disqualified from the ballot after a circuit court judge ruled her ballot petition was invalid for not correctly placing her address on one page of her ballot petition. The other candidate in the race is Republican-endorsed Kevin Pinkney.

The school board races are nonpartisan, but Democrats and Republicans have endorsed some candidates.

Other Fairfax County races include Board of Supervisors district and chairman races, Commonwealth's Attorney, Sheriff, and Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. The towns of Vienna and Clifton will also have mayoral and Town Council elections.

What's on the Ballot

Member, At-Large, Fairfax County School Board (choose three)

Saundra T. Davis

Cassandra R. Aucoin

Linda A. Pellegrino

Ilryong Moon

Ahmed Mahdi Hussein

Maureen T. Brody

Robert K. "Kyle" McDaniel

Peter C. Gabor

Ryan L. McElveen

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Braddock District

Rachna Sizemore Heizer

Priscilla M. DeStefano

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Dranesville District

Robyn A. Lady

Paul M. Bartkowski

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Franconia District

Kevin R. Pinkney

Marcia C. St. John-Cunning

Editor's note: Marcia C. St. John-Cunning was reinstated as a candidate in the Franconia District School Board race.

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Hunter Mill District

Harry R. Jackson

Melanie K. Meren

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Mason District

Ricardy J. Anderson

Kristin F. Ball

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Mount Vernon District

Mateo Dunne

Stori M. Zimmerman

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Providence District

Karl V. Frisch

Anthony A. "Tony" Sabio

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Springfield District

Debra A. Tisler

Sandy B. Anderson

Peter J. Bixby-Eberhardt

Member, Fairfax County School Board, Sully District

Cynthia L. Walsh

Seema Dixit

Voting on Election Day

To vote on Election Day, visit your assigned polling place during polling hours. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 7. An acceptable form of ID is required to vote in person in Virginia.

To confirm your polling place, visit the Virginia Department of Elections citizen portal. Sample ballots by precinct are available from the Fairfax County Office of Elections.

Unofficial election results will start to come in after polls close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7 on the Virginia Department of Elections website. Follow Patch on Election Day for live coverage of the Fairfax County School Board election and other races.

For more information about voting in Fairfax County, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections.