Hanover School Board considers leaving the VSBA for SBMA [Video]

Some board members say the organization has become too political and that it does not advocate for the needs of Hanover, among other gripes.

The 116-year-old organization has membership from almost every school board in the state. It supports boards and divisions with policy and legal services, collective bargaining expertise, helping in superintendent searches and lobbying at the state and federal level.

The Hanover board discussed leaving the VSBA at a work session in May. School Board Chair Bob May said he worried that the organization’s lobbying efforts were too focused on two or three larger school districts and not on Hanover’s needs. Cold Harbor representative Steve Ikenberry said he thought the association had become too political and that he did not feel the trainings were effective.

Three school districts have recently voted to leave the VSBA, saying that the organization had become too politically left-leaning.

In September, Warren County …