Conroy says transparency, special education are priority in school board race

Tracy Conroy, a registered nurse and small business owner, has announced her candidacy for the Prince William County School Board Chair seat.

The incumbent for the seat is Milt Johns, who has decided not to run for reelection. Conroy will face Ryan Swayers and Tim Singstock in a three-way run for the seat.

Conroy is a graduate with her Bachelor’s from the University of Philadelphia and is currently a nurse for an infusion therapy company based out of North Carolina.

She has worked with county school PTO groups and has been a member of the Prince William County Committee of 100, but Conroy is most well known in the county for her leadership role within the ‘Our Schools’ blog. The blog speaks about several school related issue in the county and calls for transparency in school decisions.

Conroy stated that her experience with ‘Our Schools’ has primed her to become chair of the school board.

“My son had an IEP when he was two, so my involvement in schools started by seeing what I could do to help my son…[we wanted] to talk about the schools, have conversations, reveal ‘sunshine’ – because often we didn’t know what was going on with the schools. In my opinion, the role of the chairperson is to represent all of the county. I’ve been able to hear so many voices, that I would not have heard without ‘Our Schools’…I feel that ‘Our Schools’ has given me a greater understanding of that role,” Conroy said.

During her campaign, Conroy is seeking to address transparency in decision-making, special education funding and reducing class size.

“The needs of our special education students weigh really heavily on my mind. We really need to fund these students at a level that is necessary – just like all students – because we aren’t funding the students at the level that we need to be,” said Conroy.

Conroy lives with her husband and two sons in Bristow.