George seeks Prince William School Board seat, focused on teacher retention

Joseph George is running to represent the Neabsco District (Dale City) on the Prince William County School Board. He works for the Department of Defense and has been heavily involved with Prince William County Schools over the years in leadership positions for PTO/PTA and the Principal Advisory Council.

George last ran for the seat in 2015 and lost to current Neabsco District School Board representative Diane Raulston.

Name: Joseph Heston George

Party: Democrat

Town: Dale City

Running for: Prince William County School Board, Neabsco District

Website: josephgeorge4neabsco.com, Facebook

Work: Senior Criminal Investigative Analyst for the Department of Defense

Education: Rutgers University – Business Management; Central Texas College – Criminal/Homicide Investigations; University of Phoenix – Business Management

Community Involvement: Joseph George has been a PTO/PTA President or Vice President at Woodbridge Middle School or Minnieville Elementary, as well as either the Chairman or Vice Chairman for Minnieville Elementary’s Principal Advisory Council and a member of Woodbridge Middle School’s Principal Advisory Council.

In the 2010-2011 school year, he was on all three boards: as the PTA Vice President at Woodbridge Middle School, PTA President at Minnieville Elementary, and Chairman for Minnieville’s Advisory Council.

George is active as a coach for the local softball leagues that his daughters have played in (Prince William Lassie League from 2008-2012 and Prince William Girls Fastpitch Softball [PWGFS] from 2013 to this Spring Season), and is currently a PWGFS Board Member since 2016. All the while, he has worked within the Intelligence Community for the Department of Defense (25 years of experience), currently holding the position of Senior Criminal Investigative Analyst for DoD.

Questions and Answers

PL: What are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent? 

George: Everything I do is to the benefit of the students. 1. Ensuring that we are providing the best education for all of our students to ensure they are ready for life after PWCS. 2. Ensuring that we recruit, keep, and retain the most capable teachers within our School District. 3. Ensuring that our District members, both parents and taxpayers without children in the School District, have a voice on decisions made that impact spending.

PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues?

George: Engage with all stakeholders within the community, to include parents, educators, administrators, community leaders, and other experts in education.

PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?

George: Representing the Neabsco District on the PWC School Board means to ensure that my District student’s needs are voiced to the rest of the Board Members, in order to make the best determination of how our dollars are spent, and what programs to promote. I will ensure that I work closely with my Board of County Supervisor Representative, to ensure that the funds needed are allocated properly. The students are my number one priority and as a watchdog of their needs, I must ensure that funds are spent properly. I must seek the advice from the community, because first and foremost, the schools belong to them, so their voices must be heard, and acted upon.

PL: What expertise will you bring to the office?

George: My expertise is one of a passionate parent, one that will seek out the hard answers and make difficult decisions, based on community input. Additionally, I will take my experience as an Intelligence Analyst, taking facts and assumptions, in order to make acceptable decisions, as well as my exposure as a Principal Advisory Council Chairman to understand the significance of expenditures. As the Corresponding Secretary of the local party, I pride myself on my communication with others, keeping them informed as to what is going on, encouraging engagement, and expanding the knowledge of our organization.

PL: Do you feel that the average citizen is well-informed and understands the workings of local government?

George: The average citizen is well-informed with national-level, and to a lesser extent, state-level politics, but many are unaware of local-level politics unless they have a relationship or a need with someone in local politics. Many people I have met have told me that they feel like they have no say in what the School District does or does not do if they do not have a child in the system. Many do not understand that they still fund the School District with their tax-dollars (about 57 percent), which makes the need for their voice to be heard, as much as parents with students in our schools. A person’s sphere of influence is much larger than they know and I feel that it would be my responsibility to inform them of that.

PL: Have you ever made any mistakes in your public life? How have they affected you?

George: Working for the Department of Defense, I have made mistakes in my public life, but all of which I have learned from, improved through, and assisted others in not making those same mistakes. My 2015 campaign resulted in many mistakes, which I have learned from and have corrected. In my professional life, I engage in mentoring and coaching individuals to become the best that they can be, which I try to do on a daily basis.

PL: Our readers want leaders in local government. Why should they vote for you?

George: I have been an effective leader within the Department of Defense for over two decades and a motivated local leader for about a half a dozen years. A vote for Joseph George means that the public’s voice will be heard (even those that do not vote for me will be heard as well) and I want them to have faith that I will make the tough choices, based on their input, as well as the input of my fellow Board Members.

When decisions are to be made that may be unpopular, I will be the one to explain why the choice was made and allow those that are disappointed in the decision to speak with me one-on-one or in a public forum. I want to ensure that I interact closely with my counterpart on the County Board of Supervisors so that our District is in lock-step on what we are trying to accomplish.