The Richmond School Board appointed Anne Holton, Virginia’s former secretary of education, to fill the vacant 6th District seat this week.
Why it matters: She told Axios in an interview that the opportunity feels like a chance “to come full circle” — her father, former Gov. Linwood Holton, helped integrate RPS in the 1970s — and bring back her state-level experience “to a cause I care about desperately.”
The latest: Holton, who lives downtown, is joining the board during a tumultuous budget season, as members weigh Superintendent Jason Kamras’ proposed cuts.
- The vote to appoint her over the four other candidates was nearly unanimous, with the exception of Emmett Jafari (8th District), who abstained and argued that the process had been unfair.
Her top three priorities, as told to Axios:
- Helping students succeed and “be prepared for successful lives after school.”
- Attracting and retaining “the very best teachers.”
- The budget, which she noted “is really under stress right now.”
Some RPS successes she’d like to see scaled up:
- Year-round school, which she acknowledges might not be the solution for every community but has helped improve reading scores.
- Support for English Language Learners, who have seen on-time graduation rates rise in recent years.
The big picture: Holton has been in local and state politics for decades.
- Her father helped integrate RPS by sending his four kids to majority-Black schools in the 6th District.
- She’s been a Richmond district court judge, the state’s education secretary, a State Board of Education member and a visiting professor at GMU.
- At one point, she was also the first lady of Virginia — because her husband famously is Sen. Tim Kaine, a former Virginia governor and Richmond mayor.
Fun fact: All three of their kids went to RPS, including the elementary school named after Holton’s father.
- And Kaine was “excited and encouraging, right from the get-go” about Holton’s idea to apply for the 6th District seat vacated by Shonda Harris-Muhammed late last year, she says.
- “Some of my other family members thought I was on the crazy side,” she adds, chuckling.
The bottom line: “It’s a collaborative group,” Holton said of the school board. “I’m eager to join it and learn with them and from them.”…