City hears hours of school-board candidate statements as council narrows interview list

Lynchburg City Council opened a lengthy public hearing on June 9 to receive candidate statements for school-board vacancies in Districts 1, 2 and 3. Statute requires applicants’ names to be read into the record and gives candidates an opportunity to speak; the meeting featured multiple three-minute candidate presentations and several public endorsements.

District 1 candidates included Shay Tinsley (behavioral-health executive and parent), Jack Schul (longtime local resident and proponent of literacy retention strategies), Britney Smith (parent and community leader), Xavier Story and others. Tinsley emphasized low local test scores and argued for stronger alignment of schools and family support. Schul recommended studying the Mississippi reading approach that raised scores in that state.

District 2 candidates who spoke included Leticia Lowry (incumbent, retired teacher), Angela Payne Cox (longtime community worker), Dr. Toby Braden Johnson (former LCS teacher and private-school teacher), Roman Franklin and Tiffany Good. District 3 speakers included Delisa Rogers (speech-language pathologist and licensed nursing-home administrator), Tiana Wilson and Tisha Royal.

Council members thanked applicants, listed names they wished to interview, and narrowed the pool to roughly 15 candidates across the three districts. Interviews were scheduled for the coming Thursday and Friday (9 a.m.–1 p.m.), and staff were asked to verify candidate residency and provide interview schedules to council.

No formal appointment was made June 9; the council moved to interview and then select candidates at a future meeting.