Candidate Profile: Michael T. Hosang (James City County Williamsburg School Board)

Michael T. Hosang is a candidate for the James City County Williamsburg School Board, Berkeley District. His name will appear on the ballot on November 7, 2023.

There are six candidates running for seats on the James City County Williamsburg School Board.

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: Michael Hosang

Race: James City County Williamsburg School Board, Berkeley District

Campaign website: https://www.hosang4schoolboard.com/

Biography: I am Mike Hosang and I am running for the School Board, Stonehouse District.

I am married with two daughters, both of whom have or are still attending Williamsburg/James City County schools.

I am a retired military officer, spending 27 years in the Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. I served a year in Afghanistan as the Officer in Charge of the Detainee Review Boards/Deputy Commander, Legal Command; and three years with the Military Commissions prosecuting detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

I am currently a federal employee working for the Department of Justice.

I am running for School Board to ensure our students receive the best education to prepare them to be our future leaders. I became involved in our local issues two years ago when our school board voted to not follow state law and masked our children based on the recommendation of the governor, health commissioner, and CDC. Since then, I have spoken out against pornography in our school libraries, Social Emotional Learning in our schools (after the Superintendent stated that it wasn’t being taught in classrooms), and the School Board suspending their policy regarding text book approval since they were called out for not following it.

I want to give Power to the Parents, a Voice to the Voters, and ensure Accountability of the School Board.

Power to the Parents: According to Virginia law, parents have the ultimate authority over their children; not the school system. Parents should have to opt their children into certain classes, to check out books, and to have a say over what their children are being taught.

Voice to Voters: Voters should have a say in how and what tomorrow’s leaders are being taught. The School Board has made decisions that negate the voice of voters. I will ensure that voters have a right to speak out/up on issues facing the school system.

Accountability of School Board: The current School Board does not like to make decisions, and prefers to pass the buck to the governor, superintendent, principals, and librarians. The School Board are the elected officials, they answer to the voters, and they are in charge of the entire school system. The buck stops with the School Board and they need to take responsibility for their actions/inactions.

Why are you running for this office?

I am running for the James City County, Stonehouse District School Board position because I want to make a difference in our students’ lives, ensuring that today’s students have the right educational experience to be tomorrow’s citizens and leaders. We accomplish this goal by ensuring our students receive the best education the taxpayers of our board district can provide. That means a safe learning environment, employing the best administrators, staff, and teachers who are conversant in their subject areas of study, thus providing the opportunity for all students to excel in their preferred areas, whether college preparatory classes, hands-on training at New Horizons, or the military. We must do all we can to ensure that upon graduation, we have prepared our students to face and overcome the challenges of this world.

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

Teachers have advised me that lack of discipline and lack of support from school administrators are the two biggest problems in our schools today. Students need to respect the authority of teachers and when teachers discipline students and administrators do not support the teachers, teachers are left “in limbo” and students know they can do pretty much whatever they want, without fear of consequences. Teachers have the right to expect respect and courtesy from students, and support from the administration when they discipline students. Without this, we are seeing chaos in some of our schools.

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

This is an issue currently before the Board of Supervisors and City of Williamsburg and not the School Board. Therefore, it is not an issue that the School Board would need to take a position on.

How do you feel about the politicization of public education?

The politicization of public education is harming our children. It will have a lasting and detrimental effect on our students. The teachers I have spoken with want to get back to instructing their students in the subject areas they have been trained in, not political topics that politicians deem are important. Test scores are falling because teachers must spend an inordinate amount of time away from the core subjects. We must listen to the concerns of our academic teachers and allow them to teach the subject matter they were trained to instruct.

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

As an attorney for over 30 years, all of my cases have an attorney/opponent on the other side which I must work with to resolve cases. I must advise them, judges, and clients of the potential outcomes of different phases each course may take as the case moves forward. Simple disagreements in these situations, and life in general, happen all the time and one cannot let these disagreements affect them or else cases come to a standstill. I have overcome these issues and reached out to my opponents to always get the best outcome for each situation and will do so on the School Boards with constituents, teachers, administrators, and politicians.