School board

City of Newport News School Board

Central District

Vote for: 1
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 2
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The school board runs City of Newport News's public schools, hires the superintendent and adopts the school budget.

Candidates Compare by issue

Adina R. Rivera

No party listed

Retired Army veteran

The gist

Proposes reversing policy JB-P on student gender identity.
Pledges public notice of board decisions for parents.
Supports turning off cell phones during class.

More about Adina

View sources (1)

Proposes reversing policy JB-P on student gender identity.
Meet the candidates: Newport News School Board
Candidate questionnaire · The Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot (via Yahoo News) · yahoo.com
“The most pressing issue the board will confront during my term will be my goal to reverse the JB-P policy.”
Pledges public notice of board decisions for parents.
Meet the candidates: Newport News School Board
Candidate questionnaire · The Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot (via Yahoo News) · yahoo.com
“I plan to make the public aware of every behind the scenes decision so parents have an ample amount of time to voice”
Supports turning off cell phones during class.
Meet the candidates: Newport News School Board
Candidate questionnaire · The Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot (via Yahoo News) · yahoo.com
“I support turning cell phones off during class time, but allowing the child to keep the phone near them”

Lisa R. Surles-Law

No party listedIncumbent

Newport News School Board member; STEM workforce development manager, Jefferson Lab

The gist

Supports limiting personal cell phone use in class.
Supports competitive teacher salaries.
Proposes working with the city on aging school buildings.

More about Lisa

View sources (2)

Supports limiting personal cell phone use in class.
Meet the candidates: Newport News School Board
Candidate questionnaire · The Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot (via Yahoo News) · yahoo.com
“I support clear, consistent expectations that limit personal cell phone use during instructional time”
Supports competitive teacher salaries.
Meet the candidates: Newport News School Board
Candidate questionnaire · The Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot (via Yahoo News) · yahoo.com
“maintaining competitive salaries to attract and retain excellent teachers”
Proposes working with the city on aging school buildings.
Candidate Profile: Lisa R. Surles-Law (Newport News School Board, Central District)
Candidate questionnaire · WAVY-TV 10 (via Yahoo News) · yahoo.com
“working collaboratively with the City to develop responsible, long-term solutions for our aging facilities”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 3 issues covered in this race.