Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has announced the appointment of three new members to the Virginia Board of Education. The appointments were made on Friday evening as part of a number of appointments named to several state boards.
The three new members appointed to the school board are Mashea Ashton, founder and CEO of Digital Pioneers Academy Public Charter School in D.C.; Debbie Kilgore, retired family and consumer science teacher at Gate City High School; and Amber Northern, senior vice president for research at the conservative-leaning Thomas B. Fordham Institute. These appointments replace three members whose terms expired last week.
In a statement announcing the new members, Gov. Youngkin said, “With their unique insights and notable career experiences, I look forward to working together to make Virginia the best state in the Nation to live, work, and raise a family.”
With these three appointments, the nine-person board will now consist of eight Youngkin appointees. The only member appointed by a Democratic governor is Anne Holton, who was first appointed by former governor Terry McAuliffe in 2017.
The new members will begin serving on the board immediately, but their appointments will need to be confirmed by the state General Assembly.
Last summer, Gov. Youngkin appointed five members to the board. Prior to his appointments, the board had been entirely composed of members appointed by McAuliffe and former governor Ralph Northam (D). Youngkin’s five appointees last year were made possible after Virginia House Republicans voted not to confirm three members appointed by Northam. This vote, which went against precedent, was widely seen as retribution for Senate Democrats’ rejection of Youngkin’s pick for state secretary of natural and historic resources. This opened up three seats last year in addition to two open seats.
Earlier this year, one of Youngkin’s five 2022 appointments, Suparna Dutta, was rejected by the Democratic state Senate due to her involvement in educational culture-wars. Dutta is a co-founder of Coalition for TJ, a group fighting admissions reform at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County.
Mashea Ashton, one of Youngkin’s newest appointees, founded Digital Pioneers, a charter school that opened five years ago in D.C. The school focuses on teaching coding and game design to “at-risk” students living in D.C.’s poorest neighborhood. Last year, the school was recognized for outperforming other schools with similar demographics on standardized math and reading exams. However, it has faced a rise in violence, experiencing four deadly student shootings this year, including one last week.
Debbie Kilgore, a retired teacher, has also served as an adviser with Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), a career and technical student organization. She is married to House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Scott).
Amber Northern, the senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, supervises the institute’s research on academic standards, career and technical education, and charter schools.
The new members will be joining the board after former superintendent for public instruction Jillian Balow abruptly resigned in early March. Gov. Youngkin appointed Lisa Coons as the new superintendent. On Friday, he also appointed Emily Anne Gullickson as the new deputy secretary of education. Gullickson is the CEO and founder of A for Arizona, an education advocacy nonprofit.
These appointments reflect Gov. Youngkin’s commitment to shaping the education landscape in Virginia and his vision for improving the state’s education system.
What is the significance of Governor Youngkin appointing three new members to the Virginia Board of Education?
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) recently announced the appointment of three new members to the Virginia Board of Education as part of a larger wave of appointments to state boards. The three new members are Mashea Ashton, Debbie Kilgore, and Amber Northern.
Ashton is the founder and CEO of Digital Pioneers Academy Public Charter School in Washington D.C. Kilgore is a retired family and consumer science teacher from Gate City High School, while Northern currently serves as the senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which leans conservative. These appointments replace three members whose terms expired last week.
Governor Youngkin expressed his excitement about the new appointments, stating, “With their unique insights and notable career experiences, I look forward to working together to make Virginia the best state in the Nation to live, work, and raise a family.”
This brings the total number of Youngkin appointees on the nine-person board to eight. The only member appointed by a Democratic governor is Anne Holton, who was originally appointed by former governor Terry Mcauliffe in 2017.
While the new members will begin serving on the board immediately, their appointments will still need to be confirmed by the state General Assembly.
Last summer, Governor Youngkin appointed five members to the board. Prior to his appointments, the board was composed entirely of members appointed by Democratic governors McAuliffe and Northam. Youngkin’s appointments last year were made possible after Virginia House Republicans chose not to confirm three members appointed by Northam. This vote was seen as retribution for Senate Democrats rejecting Youngkin’s nomination for state secretary of natural and historic resources.
