Tim Singstock running for Prince William school board chairman

Tim Singstock, a lifelong Prince William County resident and former officer in the Army, is running to be the next Prince William County Public School Board Chairman.

His announcement comes the same week current School Board Chairman Milton C. Johns decided not to seek reelection.

Singstock lives in Montclair with his family and currently works as a self-employed tax accountant. He attended the county’s public schools while growing up.

“I grew up right here in Prince William County, and I went to Prince William County public schools. I went to Virginia Tech on an Army ROTC scholarship and then served as an officer in the United States Army for five years,” Singstock said.

In addition to his work in the military and tax accounting, Singstock also worked as a defense contractor and project manager assisting the Marine Corps.

For Singstock, the position was one he has been considering for a long time.

“School board chairman specifically is something that I’ve been interested in for quite a while and I was contemplating, down the road – maybe in 2019 – perhaps running for the position. So, I was delighted to learn that the opportunity would come sooner in 2015,” he said.

“I feel that my generation has an obligation to ensure that today, these kids are prepared to run America in the twenty-first century,” he said of his motivation to run for the seat, continuing, “I want to serve the community I grew up in.”

He has already received endorsement for his candidacy from Johns, who will complete his term next year.

Potomac Supervisor Maureen Caddigan will also endorse Singstock.

For Singstock, there are two major concerns that need to be addressed by the school board – school safety and classroom size.

“The [first] issue I’m concerned about, is that I want to make sure that we continue to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for our kids. And so the work that I do as a parent and volunteer on the Safe School Advisory Council has kind of given me a passion for school safety,” Singstock said.

One important issue he seeks to address during his campaign is growing classroom sizes, which have been talked about as a major issue in the Prince William County Public School system for several years.

“Another issue that I hear, as I talk to teachers and I talk to parents, [is] that everyone is concerned about crowding, and we have schools above 100 percent capacity. Part of that needs to be addressed by the Board of County Supervisors because the development decisions that they make have an impact on classroom size. But on the School Board side, I think it’s a budget issue,” he said.

For him, these issues can both be addressed with good management and living within the allotted county and state education budgets.

“I would like to try and take the resources that the tax payers of Prince William County and Virginia give us, live within the parameters of those resources, and then focus those resources to the greatest extent on the classroom. And I think that’s how we as a school board can begin to address the issue of crowded classrooms,” Singstock said.

The official launch for Singstock’s campaign will kick off in January. Voters will head to the polls on Nov. 3, 2015.