On Monday October 7, King George School Board heard from five of the six candidates asking to fill the open seat. A selection was made by the board but will not be made public until next week.

James Monroe Election District’s seat on the board has been vacant since Matthew Roles resigned September 16. Roles was elected in 2021 with 54% of the vote. His replacement will serve the remainder of the term ending December 2025.  

Virginia Code calls for the remaining Board to appoint a replacement within 45 days of the office become vacant.

Letters of interest from qualified candidates were due to the board by October 2 at noon. Candidates are required to be registered to vote and live in the James Monroe district.

Roles was a 2001 graduate of the Air Force Academy and campaigned on issues of parents rights and education equality. Roles served as Vice Chair of the Board and made headlines for his opposition to sexually explicit material in school libraries. His resignation came after the board voted to maintain existing practices allowing students at King George Middle School library to check out sexually explicit content.

Candidates considered include Carrie Cleveland, who called school safety, bullying prevention, and support for the county’s preschool program her top priorities.

Bryan Metts, an employee at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), also listed addressing bullying as his top priority.

Another NAVSEA employee, Jonathan Dachos, did not appear on Monday but did submit a resume and letter of interest. He has coached cross country.Retired scientist Alexander Strugatsky, former educator Neil Richard, and current preschool teacher Miriam Niemi also presented their qualifications and priorities to the Board. Niemi ran for the seat in 2021 losing to Roles by roughly 10%.