In less than three weeks, Bristol residents will decide which new faces will sit on the city’s school board.
There are three seats up for grabs in the Nov. 3 election. Five independent candidates are vying for those slots: Vanessa Guffey, Rhoda Blackwell, Bryan Kimberlin, Shannon Love and Ric Watts. With only one incumbent, Guffey, who is running again, that leaves at least two seats that will ultimately be filled by newcomers.
Early voting will wrap up Oct. 31.
Several candidates have said in interviews that what’s most important to them is a well-rounded curriculum for students, whether they want to go to college or specialize in a trade once they graduate. Other common issues include better support for teachers, school building upgrades and nutrition in school lunches, candidates have said.
The issue the candidates disagree on the most this election cycle comes down to a tax.
Earlier this year, Virginia legislators approved a new optional revenue stream for localities: an additional 1% sales tax if all the money from the extra revenue goes toward school construction projects. Ultimately, the tax is decided by voters in a referendum, which must be initiated by a board of supervisors or a city council and then approved for the ballot by a circuit court judge.
Several dozen cities and counties across the state will vote on Election Day whether to add the extra tax to their revenue, including nearby Smyth, Wythe and Grayson counties. In September, the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved an April special election for the tax at the urging of its school board, after a couple of hours of public comment and debate.
But the discussion hasn’t come to Bristol’s city council or school board agendas yet. Among the five school board candidates, opinions are split on whether there’s a need for the extra revenue.
Guffey, a 66-year-old retired teacher and the sole incumbent candidate, favors putting the issue on the ballot, she said by phone. She’s running for a second four-year term.
In her view, there are very few ways to get increased funding for major repairs or new building projects, she said. She’d like voters to have a chance to decide whether this would be the right way to do so. HVAC upgrades are the most pressing need to her, she said, with some school buildings facing problems with faulty cooling during hot days at the beginning and end of the school year.
Similarly, Blackwell said by phone that she doesn’t know why the city wouldn’t hold a referendum at the least.
“I can understand voting against the referendum if you don’t agree with it, but I don’t understand stopping us from having it altogether,” Blackwell said. “If it indeed would pass, we’ve got plenty of things we could do.”
Virginia Middle School is in need of several improvements, based on her understanding, she said. Built in 1915, the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was last renovated in 1996. In 2024, the city opened its first new school in 50 years — Virginia Intermediate School, consolidating three elementary schools in the process.
Blackwell is a 70-year-old retired sales manager with grandchildren at Bristol schools.
She wants to be sure that the facilities are safe and updated for them, she said — and that the school board has the money to make that happen.
But for Kimberlin, a tax increase should not be on the table right now, he said by phone. The 54-year-old currently serves as the executive director of the Southwest Virginia EMS Council.
From his point of view, there isn’t a major need for new construction, Kimberlin said.
If the sales tax idea were to make it to a ballot, he would want to see a thorough needs assessment done so residents would know exactly where additional revenue would be spent if it passed, he said.
Love also does not want Bristol residents to take on more tax burden than they already do, she said by phone. She also noted that the school board does not have the ability to put the issue on the ballot in the first place.
Love, a 54-year-old retired teacher, would like to focus on creating an efficient enough budget with the money the school system already has, she said.
“We’ve gotten taxed to death here lately, so no, I’m not going to encourage more taxes from Bristol, Virginia,” Love said.
The last time the city of Bristol raised property taxes was in 2023, but increased property values in 2025 during the reassessment cycle resulted in higher tax bills for many residents. The city has also raised taxes on entertainment event admission, hotel rooms, restaurant meals and cigarettes since 2023.
Across city government, different departments are trying to stay efficient and tighten their belts, Watts said by phone. Most residents in Bristol will say that police officers, firefighters and teachers deserve more pay, but they won’t support an increase in taxes to get there, said Watts, a 57-year-old tech industry manager.
He doesn’t think the school system should rely on a referendum for extra funding, even if it passes a city council vote to put it on the ballot, he said.
“I don’t think a referendum like that would have a chance of passing in Bristol, just to be honest,” he said. “I think we need to be realistic about what we can look at for funding and where we can save money.”
The deadline to register to vote in time for this election cycle is Oct. 23, without having to cast a provisional ballot. Bristol residents can vote early at City Hall, 300 Lee St. downtown. On Election Day, you must vote in your specific precinct, which can be found by entering an address here.
