Johnson, who taught in Fluvanna schools for 25 years, considers herself to be well qualified for the job. “I have a huge investment, both personally and professionally, in the success of Fluvanna’s students, and I’m confident that I’m highly qualified to serve,” Johnson said during her announcement. Both of Johnson’s children attended Fluvanna schools, and she now has three grandsons being educated in Fluvanna classrooms.
“For the past five years,” Johnson said, “I’ve attended almost all Fluvanna School Board meetings. I’ve read almost all published documents, heard discussion, and weighed in with public comments on many decisions. I am already up to speed on current issues and future expectations,” she explained.
Johnson, who is certified to teach, and whose Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University is in finance, has applied that education to intense study of the school board budgets and financial statements.
She also has been the president of the Fluvanna Education Association for five years. “In my leadership role, I’ve conducted meetings, communicated by print and social media, talked with state legislators, and, most importantly, earned the trust of Fluvanna’s 150 Association members,” Johnson said.
When asked if she thought she and the existing board members could work together well, she said she has met with them often, and “doesn’t feel we are strangers.”
Johnson had good things to say about the Fluvanna School Board. “The school board members are genuinely people who are passionate about helping kids in education in Fluvanna,” Johnson said. “There is nothing there but good will. They very strongly support their superintendent, and that can be a good thing,” Johnson added. “Certainly the schools have had great success under this school board in some ways,” she said, particularly mentioning the recent focus on STEM education.
“As far as opportunities for change, one of them would be communication, in terms of more transparent discussion and decision making,” Johnson said. She added that she would definitely be more often in the schools than most current board members in light of her volunteer work in her grandsons’ classrooms, and then added another important point: “I believe we need more classroom-focused spending,” Johnson asserted. “I think a much larger portion of the budget should go directly to the students.”
“I do know that teachers should have what they need in the classroom first, because that most directly effects the students,” Johnson said. “That is not always happening.”
She also believes in reducing student testing. “Fluvanna gives a lot of tests that are not required by the state, and I think there is too much testing,” she said.
Outside of her school-related activities, which she said with a laugh doesn’t leave much time, Johnson is active in her church, likes to read, and is an avid flower gardener.
