On Thursday, board member Andy Rotherham, a Youngkin appointee who also served on the board from 2005 to 2009 as an appointee of Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, pushed back on Holton’s criticisms of the adopted system.
He said the grade does not have to be an A to F system, and that talking about it as such is a way to “get everybody spun out and create a … big political storm.”
“You can call it a blow, but Ms. Holton, respectfully, telling the truth is not a blow. It is our obligation, and it’s an obligation we have failed for far, far too long,” said Rotherham, who is a co-founder of the national nonprofit Bellwether.
The A-F school rating system is used in at least 10 other states including Florida and North Carolina, but is generally not viewed favorably in Virginia and has been voted down by the state legislature.