A Spotsylvania County School Board representative who often found herself embroiled in controversy announced during Monday night’s meeting that she will not seek reelection this November.
Lee Hill District board member Lisa Phelps served two terms after she was first elected in 2017. The November slate of candidates for Lee Hill now includes candidates Paul Dotto, Rich Lieberman and Todd Rump.
Phelps said she made the decision “after much prayer and reflection.”
“Serving the Lee Hill District has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” she said. “I want to thank each and every one of you for your trust, partnership and support.”
Phelps’ tenure was not without contention. She filed a misdemeanor assault charge against fellow board member Nicole Cole last May. A judge dismissed the charge in July. Cole is now suing Phelps and Berkeley District representative April Gillespie, alleging malicious prosecution.
Phelps was reprimanded by her fellow board members last spring after it was alleged that she violated the board’s code of conduct on several occasions. But the disciplinary measure was later rescinded. Phelps, one of two conservative members on the board along with Gillespie, is also often criticized for missing several meetings in the past year.
Phelps’ husband, Scott Phelps, a member of the county’s planning commission, spoke during public comment Monday and said his wife was often misunderstood.
“Everything that you’ve gone through, your name being dragged through the mud, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Scott Phelps said. “If you had just gotten to know her, she would go to bat for you.”
Scott Phelps said his name became tarnished by association because of his wife’s reputation, which he suggested was based on political differences.
“They put me in places because she ran. They put me in cities I was never in,” Scott Phelps said. “Some of them are still operating in government buildings here. I don’t appreciate that kind of crap, and none of you should tolerate it when it’s on your side or the other.”
Lisa Phelps said that although she’s stepping away from the dais, she will remain active in the Spotsylvania community. She also pledged to support the current board.
“While I won’t be serving in an official capacity on this board moving forward, I am not stepping away from our children or community,” she said. “I remain fully committed to supporting Spotsylvania County in new ways, with the same passion and faith that have guided me throughout my service.”
Strategic Plan approved
The board voted 5-1 to approve the 2025-30 Strategic Plan. Phelps voted against the motion to approve the plan because she wanted time for the board to review it thoroughly during a work session next Monday. Gillespie was not present at the meeting.
Phelps expressed concern that there are elements of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the plan, and that could draw the ire of the federal administration, which is working to ban DEI from K-12 education.
Cole said she would be disappointed if the board went with Phelps’ substitute motion to table discussion of the plan so members could “wordsmith it so someone can take out, ‘diverse,’ ‘equity.’” Phelps’ motion failed 4-2 with only Chair Megan Jackson supporting it. Jackson went on to support the original motion to immediately adopt the plan.
“It just seems crazy for us to sit up here as board members and negate what our entire community put together with leadership from our staff,” Courtland District board member Carol Medawar said. “To think there’s something I’m going to notice in here that I need to pull out to make it better, quite frankly, sounds cocky to me. I’m not going to know better than 150 individuals from our community who did this.”
Cambridge Strategic Services, a consulting firm, assisted the school division with generating the plan. The committee featured 94 individuals, including parents/guardians, staff, teachers and community members. A total of 158 people spent 190-plus hours over five months providing input.
Superintendent Clint Mitchell said he was not actively involved in the process but served as an advisor and now it is his job to move the plan forward.
The new SCPS vision statement reads: “We inspire students to reach their highest potential through educational excellence.
The mission statement notes that the division is a “cornerstone of the community” that seeks to support educators, partner with families and engage the community to provide a “high-quality” education that will empower and inspire students to “positively impact a global society.”
The division’s five pillars will be: academic excellence and achievement; a safe, engaging and supportive learning environment; joy, health and wellness; a diverse, innovative and supportive workforce; and family and community engagement.
Policy enforced immediately
Last week, Jackson sent out an email to community members that served as a “first warning” to public speakers that expectations for decorum will be enforced going forward.
It did not take long for Jackson to act.
She requested that speaker Shamgar Connors depart the podium unless he was prepared to be escorted out by law enforcement.
During his three-minute opportunity to comment, Connors made up a rap mocking DEI and began talking about pedophilia, alluding to an incident in which an SCPS bus aide was arrested and is facing charges of child molestation of disabled students last September.
While asking Connors to step away, Jackson said ‘we’re not discussing pedophiles.”
“You hired one. Maybe you should stop hiring them,” Connors said. “You guys hired one and you know you did. You can’t just deny people when you guys hired someone that’s a pedophile.”
Speaker Jen Peterson later accused Jackson of violating Connors’ First Amendment rights by dismissing him “for speaking about the results of who you hired that has been widely reported in the paper.”
Jackson did not respond to Peterson’s First Amendment remarks.
