Five newcomers are poised to reshape Richmond Public Schools’ leadership as they hold commanding leads in Tuesday’s School Board election, though final results await mail-in and provisional ballot counts.

Matthew Percival, 1st District, won with 97.5% of the vote and ran unopposed since incumbent Elizabeth Doerr did not seek re-election. Percival said he is looking forward to “digging in and getting to the hard work.”

“I’m really focused on what we can do to bring about positive student outcomes,” Percival said Wednesday morning. “I was very excited to be watching some other School Board races so that I know who I’m going to be working with.”

Katie Ricard, 2nd District, is leading with almost 60% of the vote against incumbent Mariah White, with 40.2%. “I am just really excited,” Ricard said. “I think Richmond Public Schools began the school year with a bunch of positive news and I just want to be a part of continuing that upward momentum.”

Ricard expressed her gratitude to White for serving the RPS community since 2021. 

“She was on the board during … one of the most difficult times that education has faced in a very long time with COVID and coming out of the pandemic,” she said. “I appreciate how she’s always been in the community, shown up at her events across all the schools and I know she has a real heart for our families and students.”

With incumbent Kenya Gibson, representing the 3rd district, not seeking re-election and projected to win a City Council seat with 39.2% of the vote, the 3rd District race saw a highly contested competition between newcomers. Based on the current vote tallies, Ali Faruk is leading in the 3rd District with 58% of the votes, followed by Kevin Starlings with 21.7% and Charlene Riley with 19.2%.

Faruk released a public statement Wednesday evening thanking his supporters.

“I am honored and humbled by the trust you have placed in me to serve as your next School Board member from the 3rd District,” he said. “I’d like to thank both Charlene Riley and Kevin Starlings for running robust campaigns and for their ongoing commitment to our students.”

The 4th District race also featured newcomers vying for the seat. According to the latest vote counts, Wesley Hedgepeth is currently leading in the 4th District race with 44.3% of the vote. Incumbent Garrett Sawyer is following closely with 37.4%, while Angela Fontaine has 17.3% of the votes.

“I was elated to see the results,” Hedgepeth said of his projected win Wednesday morning. “My campaign team did a lot of boots-on-the-ground canvassing, meeting people and learning from the community.”

The last round of newcomers had two candidates in the 8th District, E.J. “Emmett Jay” Jafari, who is leading by 52.4%, against Patrick “Cruz” Sherman, who has 47% of the vote.

Alongside the newcomers, four current School Board members are keeping their seats.

The only contested School Board race that projected an incumbent win was the 5th district. Incumbent board member, Stephanie Rizzi and former 5th District School Board member Mamie Taylor. Rizzi is leading with 51.4% of the vote, and Taylor has 47.4%.

The three incumbents board members who ran unopposed were Shonda Harris-Muhammed, 6th District, Cheryl Burke, 7th District, and Shovonda Dixon-Fernandez, 9th District. They all had a 98% majority vote.

With the newcomers starting their term in January, most said they are looking forward to working with the new board.

“I’m just hoping that we can come together and really establish a great collaborative relationship,” Ricard said. “We are all in it for the students of Richmond Public Schools and we all want what’s best with them.”