The View From Over Here: Turning Tragedy Into Purpose

  A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Steve Stuban, a candidate for an At-Large seat on the Fairfax County School Board.

I was curious about Mr. Stuban as a candidate because of the personal tragedy that seemed to have led him to offer himself for public office.  I had heard and read a lot about his son’s suicide, which had been attributed in part by some to Fairfax County Public Schools’ disciplinary policies and procedures. 

There was a vocal group of parents and others attacking the school system, demanding changes to a so-called no-tolerance policy and overly severe disciplinary policies, and wanting a few heads to roll as well.  The controversy was intense, angry and, for some, personal and vicious.  I wanted to see where Steve Stuban fit in all this and what he aimed to do if elected to the School Board,

I had never met him when we sat down to talk for the very first time.

What a pleasant and impressive surprise he turned out to be—a thoughtful, intelligent and positive person.  This man who lost his only child and whose wife has suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease for 18 years carries a burden of personal tragedy most of us can barely imagine. 

While Steve feels the FCPS disciplinary action—10 days growing into six weeks’ suspension followed by expulsion/transfer for a first offense possession of one pill (a chemical imitator of marijuana according to Steve) contributed to Nick’s taking his own life, he acknowledged to me that it was not likely the sole factor. 

Somehow Mr. Stuban does not seem to be carrying grudges — something I was concerned about in a candidate and wondered if I might not have carried such grudges had I been in his shoes.  He carries instead a sense of mission to contribute to making our schools better places for educating our youth and preparing them for a tough, challenging world.

Yes, he does plan to seek additional reforms to a disciplinary regimen which he feels does not let our educators exercise their best professional judgment in dealing with teens and overemphasizes punishment, ignoring the nurturing and correcting dimensions of education.

He is also deeply concerned about the minority achievement gap which the schools are only beginning to get a handle on.  Expanding kindergarten preparation and assuring the schools have the resources to stop the upward creep of class sizes are also in his sights.  For these and other reasons, Steve Stuban has been endorsed by both of the teachers unions. 

 He is a professional Ph.D. Engineer who has served 24 years in the U.S. Army, several years as a senior manager of a government procurement agency, and has had an intensive course in the operation of our schools which I believe will serve him and all of us well if he is elected to an At-Large position on Nov. 8.  With he and Reston’s own Pat Hynes serving together on the Fairfax County School Board, I am more optimistic about the future of Fairfax County Public Schools than other components of our government today.