Annette Scharpenberg

Endorsed Candidate for Aquia District School Board. Please visit https://annette4aquia.com/ for more information.

I am announcing my candidacy for the Stafford County School Board from the Aquia District.  I have been a Stafford Resident for the past 28 years.  In that time, I have:

• Worked at Antioch Methodist Church and St. Peter’s Food Pantries, including Administrator of the USDA Food Program from 2007-2025.
• Volunteered for Summer Feeding Programs.
• Served on the Thurman Brisben Advisory Board.
• Served as Vice-President of Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, Fredericksburg Area Corps from 2024-2025.
• Served as a Virginia Master Food Volunteer.
• Served as an Active Virginia Master Gardener including service as a Master Gardener Volunteer from 2019 to the present.
• Served as President of the Quantico Garden Club from 2020-2021.
• Served as a Member of Salvation Army Advisory Board, Fredericksburg Area Corps from 2023 to the present.

My experience in the field of public education includes:

• Five years of public school and college-level teaching.
• Twelve years teaching for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools, Mannheim, Germany.
• Ten years as Social Studies Dept. Chairperson & Director of the School Improvement Program.
• One year as the Ft. Leavenworth Day Care Center Director.

My education includes a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Texas A & M University with accreditation for K-12 Education and a Master of Education degree from Boston University.

As a member of the Board of Education, I will emphasize that:

• Parents are the primary decision-makers for their children’s education.
• Parents should have full transparency concerning curriculum, reading lists, and any online resources.
• Our schools should focus on fundamentals and success should be based on merit.
• Programs that will expand vocational training and trade apprenticeships must be supported.
• The Stafford County Public Schools Career Awareness – Exploration – Immersion Program, which prepares graduating Seniors to be productive, contributing members of the community need support.
• Good teachers need competitive salaries and retention bonuses.
• The school budgeting process must be transparent to ensure tax-payer dollars are carefully spent for maximum return on our education dollars.