John Ward will run again for school board. Riverheads representative said his philosophy is kids first.

GREENVILLE — John Ward has his wife, Mary, to thank for his decision to run again. After two terms on the Augusta County School Board, Ward was considering not running again this November.

At 74 he was thinking maybe it was time to step aside, focus more on his church and his family. That’s when Mary stepped in.

“She said, ‘They’ve got to have people on there who know what they’re doing,’” Ward said. He couldn’t disagree with her so, this November, Ward’s name will be on the ballot for a third term as the Riverheads representative on the Augusta County School Board.

“This is my philosophy,” Ward said. “I’m there first of all for the kids. I want our kids to be able to get out of school and succeed wherever they go. I've got kids I've taught over the years that I run into everywhere. And I'm glad to see them. So the kids are our first concern and that we give them a good education.”

For his last few years teaching at Riverheads High School, Ward worked with students who were at risk of not graduating. He had a lot of success stories, but one in particular he remembers is a student who, at 16, inherited a truck from his grandfather and started his own lawn care business. One of the first lawns he began mowing regularly was Ward's.

He was also taking small engine repair classes at Valley Career and Technical Center and got an opportunity to work with James River Equipment. The student eventually graduated from high school, got a job with James River and received training in diesel engine repair. He worked with that company for several years until his own lawn care business go so big he decided to focus on that.

He still mows Ward's lawn.

"That was a kid who, in eighth grade, was told he wasn't going to graduate," Ward said. "That's why I'm on the school board, because of kids."

Ward has a varied background that includes time as a teacher, a preacher, a farmer and a loan officer. His first experience as a member of a school board, though, didn’t come until 2016.

In late 2015 Augusta County was building two elementary schools, including one at Riverheads. There was also an election for the Riverheads representative on school board and the incumbent had decided not to run.

Ward was taking things easy in his life at that point, at least for him, working just one job as pastor of the Raphine Christian Church. It was one of the few times in his adult life he didn’t have multiple jobs.

By June of that year, no one had filed to run for the open seat. With some time on his hands, Ward didn’t want to see a new elementary school being built without a representative from the district.

Again, it was his wife who urged him to run.

“Nobody had stepped up to the plate and Mary said, ‘Well, you know who should?’” Ward remembered. “And I said, ‘OK, you’re right.”

He ran a write-in campaign, winning his first elected seat. He had no idea what he was about to encounter.

His very first meeting, Jan. 7, 2016, ended up being held at Wilson Memorial High School with the main topic of conversation concerning the outrage from a vocal minority opposed to a lesson taught by a Riverheads High School teacher. The lesson involved students practicing Arabesque calligraphy by copying an Islamic statement of faith as part of a class on world religions.

It was a story that was reported on by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, CBS News and more.

Some threats to Augusta County Schools as a result of the lesson forced the division to close early for winter break in December. The fallout was still being felt in January when Ward took his seat.

“These are people I taught with,” Ward said. “This is the principal I worked with. These are my friends and the whole world is out to burn them up and I’m on the school board.”

He was getting phone calls in December when it happened even though he hadn’t officially taken his seat yet. He begged those complaining to calm down. He ended up getting some notes of thanks from people because of his peaceful approach to those who were upset.

“That was my first meeting,” Ward said. “Welcome to school board.”

Eventually that settled down. By February it was time for groundbreaking on the new elementary school. Then it was budget season. Ward was wondering what he had gotten involved with.

Since then it’s only gotten more interesting. In his two terms — he ran again for the November 2019 election, winning against a write-in candidate — he’s dealt with a pandemic, policies on treatment of transgender students and new middle school wings at both Riverheads and Buffalo Gap just to name a few big items.

He also feels like he's on the school board to address concerns that school staff has. He was part of that staff for years so he knows the issues teachers face.

"I try to keep up with our staff and let them know that we're visible," Ward said. "We're concerned about what is going on in their rooms. That's why I volunteer to substitute. I've done everything from preschool to seniors."

More: "Meant to be": Scarlet Moon Tattoos aims to offer inclusive space for tattoos

More: How one skirt became a way for women to celebrate and support one another

— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: From lawn mowers to the New York Times: John Ward runs again for county School Board