Championing K-12: Advocacy & Collaboration Between Boards of Supervisors and School Boards

In this episode of Uplifting Our Children Through Education, host Jeremy Bennett sits down with J.T. Kessler, a classroom teacher and longtime advocate for public education, to explore the essential partnerships that shape K-12 outcomes across Virginia. Drawing on his hands-on experience in both North Carolina and Virginia schools, J.T. offers a dual practitioner-advocate perspective on how boards of supervisors, school boards, and the broader school community can work together to advance student success.

Jeremy and J.T. discuss what effective K-12 advocacy looks like at the local and state levels, how communication between local governing bodies can strengthen funding and policy outcomes, and why collaboration remains critical as localities prepare for future General Assembly sessions. The conversation also examines shared priorities such as teacher recruitment and retention, school infrastructure, capital planning, equitable access for rural and low-wealth communities, and navigating Virginia’s education funding and regulatory landscape.

With a focus on practical strategies, lived classroom experience, and opportunities for joint advocacy, this episode highlights the importance of building strong relationships between school leaders, county officials, and community stakeholders to ensure every student has access to quality learning environments.

In this episode of the Uplifting Our Children Through Education series, host Jeremy R. Bennett sits down with three local leaders from Prince Edward County to explore the powerful intersection of history, policy and infrastructure in public education.
Joining Jeremy are:

• Douglas W. Stanley, County Administrator for Prince Edward County;
• Cainain Townsend, Executive Director of the Robert Russa Moton Museum and member of the Prince Edward County School Board; and
• Dr. Donald “Chip” Jones, Jr., Superintendent of Prince Edward County Public Schools.

Together they trace the legacy of Barbara Johns and the 1951 Moton School student protest, challenge the realities of aging school infrastructure in a rural locality, and dive into efforts to finance tomorrow’s learning environments — including recent state-legislative initiatives around local referenda, sales-tax options and the future of school-construction funding. Listeners will learn how the community is balancing heritage, equity and capital investment, and what it takes for counties like Prince Edward to uplift children through strategic partnerships and forward-looking planning.

• Prince Edward County Supervisor Jerry Townsend (right) and Prince Edward County Administrator Doug Stanley
• Prince Edward County Elementary School Rendering 1
• Prince Edward County Elementary School Rendering 2
• Prince Edward County Elementary School Photo 1
• Prince Edward County Elementary School Photo 2

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 23 | Using Wood Byproducts to Make Sustainable Energy. In a conversation with Terry Lasher, Executive Director for the Virginia Forestry Association, we learn how Virginia’s forest economy contributes to sustainable energy production. We also discuss the potential for utilizing forestry and agriculture waste to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• Wood Supply Chain (Forest Resources Association)
• Virginia Forest Carbon Report (Forest Resources Association)
• Virginia Forestry Association and Virginia Forestry Foundation
• CAAFI - Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative | Sustainable Aviation Fuel
• Wisconsin Forestry Revitalization Act - $210 million (tax credits and bonds) to supplement $1.5 billion private investment in plant to make jet fuel from wood biomass
• Agricultural Technology Innovation (ATIP) Foundation
• ATIP - Advancing the Bioeconomy in SW Virginia (webinar slides)

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Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 22 | Logging and Biomass Energy Production. Joe Lerch visits the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) Halifax County Biomass plant to learn how biomass energy production contributes to the health of Virginia’s forests and the environment. The episode begins with a conversation with plant manager Mike Davis and Palmer Dugger of L.P. Dugger Logging followed up with a tour of the facility.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode.

• NOVEC Halifax County Biomass Electric Generating Facility 
• L P Dugger Logging, L.L.C 
• Forest Sustainability Fund for Local Government: Virginia Department of Forestry
• Photo 1 and Photo 2

Joe Lerch and James Hutzler visit Rob Farrell, State Forester and Director of the Virginia Department of Forestry, to learn how management of Virginia’s oak and hickory forests can be combined with biomass energy production. We also take a tour of a forested plot to learn in depth how effective trees species management can produce a renewable source of energy.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• Report of the Biomass Advisory Panel – December 30, 2024 (Virginia Department of Forestry)
• Hardwood Initiative: Virginia Department of Forestry
• White Oak Initiative - Ensuring Regeneration of White Oak
• Pictures of Tree Species 

In this episode of the Uplifting Our Children Through Education series, Host Jeremy Bennett sits down with County Administrator Carol Steele and Deputy County Administrator Maria Calloway of Gloucester County to discuss the county’s school construction journey—from the local sales-tax referendum to planning, community engagement, and delivering modern learning spaces. Hear how Gloucester aligned vision, funding, and partnerships to support student success and long-term community growth.

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 20 | The Convergence of Farming with Solar: What is Agrivoltaics? 

Joe Lerch talks with Rachel Henley, Working Lands and State Advocacy Specialist with the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation to explore how farms and solar installations can coexist and what the term “Agrivoltaics” means within this context.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• 4 The Soil - initiative of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and Virginia Cooperative Extension to raise awareness of soil as a critical natural resource.
• Virginia Tech study sheds light on solar farm impacts to property values | Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech
• Impact of large-scale solar on property values in the United States: Diverse effects and causal mechanisms
• Utility-Scale Solar in Virginia - Virginia Cooperative Extension Webinars 
• Solar Farms – Managing Soil & Water Impacts – Soil and Landscape Rehabilitation
• "RE-EVALUATING THE LAND USE IMPACTS OF UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR ENERGY DEVEL" by Damian Pitt, Aaron R. Berryhill et al.

Episode 19 – Balancing Demand and Supply in the Regional Electric Grid – Discussion with PJM Interconnection. Joe Lerch talks with Jason Stanek, Executive Director of State Government Policy with PJM Interconnection the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) for 13 states and the District Columbia in which Virginia’s electric utilities are members. They discuss the role PJM plays in generation and transmission of electricity and how policies and decisions at the state and local level have impacts on reliability and pricing in the bulk energy market.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• PJM Website - Homepage
• Effective Load Carrying Capability (ELCC) Class Ratings by generation type - 2026/2027 Base Residual Auction
• Asim Haque (PJM) Presentation to the Commission on Electric Utility Commission (CEUR) - May 22, 2025 (presentation starts at 1:25:31)
•  Asim Haque Slide Presentation
• VACo 2025 Department of Energy Webinar - Demand Response Opportunities for Counties
• Virginia narrowly avoided power cuts when 60 data centers dropped off the grid at once - DCD
•  Jason Stanek, Executive Director State Government Policy - PJM, [email protected]

State and Local Housing Policy – Comparison of Maryland and Virginia with MACo Conduit Street Podcast.

Joe Lerch talks with Dominic Butchko, Director of Intergovernmental Relations with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) to discuss housing policy and legislation with our neighbors to the North. Listeners to episode 17 of our Energy Landscape of Virginia series will recognize this as part 2 of our foray into comparing how the Virginia and Maryland legislatures tackle prominent issues involving county land use, and the role that local governments play in addressing energy and housing needs.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• Maryland Housing Expansion and Affordability Act of 2024
• Underdevelopment Despite Upzoning (Presentation to Virginia Housing Commission July 15, 2024 - 1:02:47 - Video Archive) 
• Underdevelopment Despite Upzoning - Richard Schragger, Sarah New -  Virginia Environmental Law Journal, 1 (2024) 
• Maryland HB 1466 (awaiting action by the Governor) - Land Use and Real Property - Accessory Dwelling Units - Requirements and Prohibitions
• Virginia HB 2533 (effective July 1, 2025) - comprehensive plan; tiny homes; accessory dwelling units
• District of Columbia - Residential Accessory Apartment Program (RAAP)
• Virginia Building Code - Accessory Dwelling Units - 2018 USBC
• Code of Virginia - § 15.2-983. Creation of registry for short-term rental of property
• Virginia -  Report on the Findings and Recommendations of the Residential Infrastructure Fund Work Group (Chapter 509, 2024)
• Economic Development Workforce Housing Incentive Pilot Program (Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission)
• Aquifer Recharge - Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) - Hampton Roads Sanitation District
• Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Managed Aquifer Recharge
• § 15.2-2223.3. Comprehensive plan shall incorporate strategies to combat projected sea-level rise and recurrent flooding

Joe Lerch talks with Dominic Butchko, Director of Intergovernmental Relations with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) to compare both the differences and similarities between Maryland and Virginia when it comes to energy and its intersection with county land use and local authority. With a focus on state legislative policy and action, we delve into issues of utility-scale generation, energy storage, transmission, and the growing demand for electricity from the data center industry. 

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• UVA Weldon Cooper – Solar Database
• Virginia (DEQ) Environmental Excellence Award – Nevados Solar
• PJM Regional Transmission Organization (RTO)
• Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project
• Commonwealth Fusion Systems – Chesterfield County Project