Karen "Kari" LaBell

Non-Partisan | Virginia

Candidate Profile

Conservative

BIOGRAPHY

Name

Karen "Kari" LaBell


Party

Non-Partisan


Election Year

2023


Election

General and Fairfax County and Loudoun County School Boards


Race

Loudoun County School Board, Catoctin District


Incumbent

No


Links

Karen "Kari" LaBell websites
FacebookXLinkedIn

EDUCATION

The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., Ed.S., 2009

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, Master's, 1980

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, Bachelor's, 1973Co

WORK & MILITARY

Candidate did not provide

AFFILIATIONS

Cornerstone Chapel, Leesburg, VA, volunteer - Special Needs Ministry

Loudoun County Republican Committee, member

Loudoun County Republican Women's Club, member

Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA, volunteer - Spinning demonstrator and heritage animals tour

Special Olympics, teacher/greeter, sponsor

North American Handicapped Riding Association ( now called PATH), sponsor

Virginia Association for Career and Technical Education- Special Needs Division, President - 8 years

Loudoun County Board. of Elections, Poll Watcher, Election Officer, A

Libre! Iglesia Mana de Cielo, Sterling VA, ESL teacher

Sprout Therapeutic Riding Center, Aldie, VA, donated horse, support events

POLITICAL OFFICES HELD

Candidate did not provide

POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT

Candidate did not provide

ENDORSEMENTS

CONSERVATIVE (2)

Loudoun County Republican Committee; Loudoun County Republican Women's Club

REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)

Loudoun County Republican Committee

QUESTIONNAIRE

RIGHT TO LIFE

Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should be a resource for instruction or services in the school.

Strongly Disagree

As this does not support the academic curriculum, it should not be in the schools. Schools are not an advertising location for private businesses!

Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.

Strongly Agree

While I agree with the statement, this is a personal and legislative issue and should be dealt with outside the school environment.


RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

At school, students should be able to speak freely and civilly about matters of conscience and faith, including Christianity.

Strongly Agree

School districts should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.

Strongly Agree

Religioius freedom is still protected in this country.


ECONOMY

Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.

Strongly Agree

School districts should be able to use taxpayer money for lobbying the state legislature.

Strongly Disagree

Lobbying represents private interests, while school boards should represent the community interests and reserve funds to meet school needs.

What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?

Government funding for education should not be limited to public schools. Money should follow the students and be available to whatever school the parents choose for their children. Educational institutions should be competitive in providing top-notch education if they want to serve students.


EDUCATION

What is the function of the local school board?

The elected school board is to act as the governing body of the school district, whose duties include setting the goals and vision for the school district, overseeing the budget, setting priorities that support the vision and goals, hiring and evaluating the superintendent, and making decisions regarding personnel, buildings and building maintenance, The most important function of the school board is to improve student performance and to represent the interests of the community.

Who should have the authority to set curriculum and determine resources used in those curricula?

While department heads may suggest or recommend curriculum and resource materials, and the parents' privilege to review it and offer comments, it is the school board's responsibility to make the final determination what is actually considered acceptable and used.

When should parents be restricted from speaking in school board meetings?

They shouldn't. However, an orderly, peaceful process needs to be in place so that all can speak freely, without disruption. If a large number of speakers registered to speak, all should be accommodated, even if it means that the board meeting has to be extended over one or more evenings.

Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): Mathematics, Information Technology, Science, Political Activism, Personal Finances, Gender Identity, Physical Fitness, American History, Critical Race Theory, Language Arts, Art & Music, Vocational Learning, Sexuality, Foreign Language, Social Emotional Learning

Language arts, mathematics, science, American History, personal finances, vocational learning, foreign language, art, music, and physical fitness.

Which more closely matches your view of America's founding principles? A) Liberty and equality. B) Slavery and racism.

A) Liberty and equality

What does "equity in education" mean to you?

Holding all students back to match the learning pace of the slowest learners.

Written parental consent (opt-in) must be obtained before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) or Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

Strongly Disagree

NEITHER of these subjects belong in schools! They are the family and student to discuss.

The loss of local control in education is too high a price to pay in exchange for federal dollars.

Strongly Agree

Parents are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and should be able to freely pursue whatever educational options they deem best for their child.

Strongly Agree

School boards are accountable to parents and taxpayers.

Strongly Agree

Do you believe students should have access to materials that graphically depict and describe sexual acts?

No

All print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review.

Strongly Agree

Do you believe print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review, including those without children enrolled in school.

Did not answer


2ND AMENDMENT

Teachers who are licensed to carry should be allowed to carry guns at school.

Neutral

This is something that needs both community and law enforcement consideration before any implementation, No school board should consider this without extensive discussion and inter-departmental planning.


OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES

Under what circumstances (if any) should schools be allowed to require vaccinations?

Only fully tested and proven vaccines prior to the student entering school for the first time (pre-school or kindergarten).

I support mask mandates.

Strongly Disagree

Should be a personal choice.

All official open meetings should be live streamed, recorded, and have transcripts available online for public access.

Strongly Agree

All votes should be roll call votes and recorded in meeting minutes.

Agree


ABOUT YOU

Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.

No

A candidate's personal moral values are relevant when considering a candidacy for elective office.

Strongly Agree

When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?

Conservative

Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).

Actions speak louder than words Evidence of my character can be found in the list of organizations where I've volunteered. The number and variety of those organizations demonstrates my preference for working with children, and supporting conservative values.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?

I have fifty years' experience in public school education and am the only candidate in our local school board races who has actually been employed full-time in Loudoun County school classrooms.

I voted in these primaries and general elections:

2014 General Election 2016 General Election 2018 General Election 2020 General Election 2022 General Election


VALUES

Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.

As mentioned in another part of this questionnaire, I am a Christian and patriot.

I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.

Strongly Disagree

No school official should be involved in the sexual transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.

Strongly Agree

No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent.

Strongly Agree

School counselors should limit their participation to contacting the parents when they have concerns regarding student health.

Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?

Parents. Health curriculum taught at school should be limited to personal health materials such as nutrition, first aid, contagious diseases, and physical fitness.

If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- Physical and emotional health outcomes; contraceptive methods; consent; abstinence; sexual orientation and gender identity; human anatomy/the reproductive system; abortion methods and side effects; stages of pregnancy and fetal development; sex acts and pleasures of sex

I do not support this.

Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.

Agree

Personal integrity, honesty, fairness trustworthiness, respect and responsibility are important values in any culture and should be modeled by parents and educators alike.

I support allowing public middle and high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.

Did not answer

Biological males should be allowed in female locker rooms and bathrooms.

Did not answer

No school official should be involved in the social or medical transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.

Did not answer


ELECTIONS AND VOTING

People should be able to vote without photo identification.

Strongly Disagree

Photo ID's are available at any DMV location and are required for many community services. There is no reason they can't be obtained for voting.

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