Candidate Profile: Max Blalock (James City County Williamsburg School Board, Roberts District)

Max Blalock, Jr. is a candidate for the James City County Williamsburg School Board, Roberts District. His name will appear on the ballot on November 7, 2023.

Blalock is running against Daniel Cavazos.

10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race with specific questions. The responses below came directly from the candidate and are unedited. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.

Candidate Name:  Max Blalock

Age: 58

Candidate Website: max4wjccschools.com

Biography: My family and I have called Williamsburg and James City County home for more than 13 years. I’m married to Becky Blalock, and we have two sons, 12 and 16. Originally from Oneonta, Alabama, I graduated from Birmingham Southern College with a Bachelor of Science in Religion and History.  I have a Master of Divinity from the Claremont School of Theology. Before working full time as a United Methodist pastor, I taught Life Science and Earth Science for two years in the Jefferson County (Alabama) School System, and Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Life Science for one year at a private school in Atlanta. I’m the campus minister at the William and Mary Wesley Foundation, the campus ministry sponsored by the United Methodist Church. As the campus minister, I have a really simple job, to ensure that students are safe and well cared for. To that end, I not only care for the spiritual and emotional needs of students, but also work to ensure that they have safe housing and food. Oftentimes, our community becomes a stable home for students who don’t have one. 

Why are you running for this office? 

As a parent, a pastor and a problem-solver, I have the skills to listen, to work together to build a consensus, and to help formulate solutions that make our schools better. 

Excellent public schools are key to maintaining and improving the quality of life here for every resident, and I want to be a part of keeping our schools excellent and making them better. Great public schools not only empower our children to learn and grow, but they also ensure that our workforce is strong, our property values are stable, and our community continues to thrive. Building support for our schools and improving them is perhaps the best investment we can make in our community. 

For the past 11 years, I’ve had sons in the WJCC schools, and I want all of our children to have the same excellent school experience they have had. As campus minister at William & Mary’s Wesley Foundation, I have focused on building coalitions and programs to improve the lives of students there. I brought together a team to create a Food Exchange now serving over 2500 meals a year to food-insecure students and staff, and I worked with students, staff and faith leaders to ensure better working conditions for campus food service staff. I have the experience, skills, passion, and values to be an excellent member of the school board and continue to improve our schools for everyone.

What is the most important issue facing the school system and what is your position on it?  

Our school system right now is coping with the challenges the pandemic created, revealed and exacerbated. We must help our students catch up on the academic and social development they missed out on. We need to ensure that our teachers are fully supported and comparably paid, so that they will feel respected and appreciated and will continue to teach in our system. We must help our students’ families understand how best they can support their children’s learning while recognizing that so many parents and caregivers are themselves facing acute shortages of time and resources.

We need to do a better job of coping with workforce shortfalls like the current shortage of bus drivers, which has required some of our students to walk to school or be driven to school by parents. The school board needs to work more closely with the Board of Supervisors and the City Council to create the infrastructure to make it safe for students to travel on foot and for parents to wait in car lines on busy highways. A good first step to keep our students safer is to have crossing guards actively controlling traffic flow when students are arriving and leaving school. 

The primary role of the administration of WJCC Schools and the school board is to put the welfare of students and their families first, as well as the teachers and staff.  The administration and the school board need to be more creative, courageous, and collaborative in making decisions.  We need to actively seek out students and their families, as well as teachers and staff, for their input. Then we can make decisions that have integrity and compassion and are in the best interests of all students and families, especially our most vulnerable. We need to do a better job of listening to the families of the students who will be most affected by these decisions.

What is your stance on the possible separation of the Williamsburg James City County Public Schools partnership?

We need to give careful thought to all the costs – social and economic alike – that are associated with operating separate systems. Our goal must be to give all our students the best and most equitable education possible. 

How do you feel about the politicization of public education?

We must without question support the rights of parents and caregivers to have input on their own children’s education while at the same time protecting our schools from the tyranny of a minority who want to ban books and legislate what is taught to all students. We must also ensure that all students and their families know that they are safe and supported by the school board and the school system. Thus, we must be clear that we stand together with all students, families, teachers, and staff against bullying and targeting of students, no matter where it originates. 

How will you still value constituents and politicians with whom you disagree?

I will actively seek out conversations and dialogue with all constituents and politicians in order for us to better understand one another, and better serve the students, families, teachers, and staff in WJCC Schools.