Five candidates have applied to fill a vacant Richmond School Board seat formerly held by Shonda Harris- Muhammed. The 6th District representative resigned in December to accept an interim superintendent position at Southampton County Public Schools. 

The board is expected to interview applicants for the position on Tuesday before selecting someone to serve the remainder of Harris-Muhammed’s term. 

The pool includes several professional educators and community advocates: Katina Harris, Jacqueline McDonough, Victor McKenzie Jr. and Richard Walker. There’s also one high-profile figure: Anne Holton, former secretary of education and former first lady of Virginia. 

Harris is a literacy expert and former president of the Richmond Education Association. McDonough is director of training at VCU’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. McKenzie is CEO of Virginia Health Catalyst, a statewide public health nonprofit. 

Walker, a community advocate and mental health professional, previously ran for the House of Delegates in 2023. 

Holton’s application has drawn attention because of her extensive background in education policy and public service. She said her decision to apply for the 6th District seat was not originally on her agenda, but she saw it as a way to support Richmond Public Schools. 

“It’s funny, because it absolutely was not something I expected I would be doing right now,” she said. “But when this opportunity arose, it just called to my heart. I love the schools.” 

Holton has deep personal ties to the district, which she attended as a child. She said her RPS experience during segregation was transformative. At the time, her father, then-Gov. Linwood Holton, made headlines for sending his children to majority-Black schools as part of his efforts to support integration. 

“It opened my eyes on so many things when I was a 12-year-old and I got a great education,” Holton said. As an adult, she and her husband, Tim Kaine, also enrolled their children in public schools during his administration. “My kids all went all the way through the Richmond Public Schools, and I’ve had a love affair with the school system ever since.” 

Holton said she believes the city has done a good job of investing in infrastructure and teachers, but there’s a need for more state investment. 

Aside from her expertise, Holton said her state-level perspective would be essential in the role. “I think that I could help an already strong effort from the city in their interactions with this state level leadership,” she said. “That’s the thing that I really feel like I could contribute.” 

The RPS board has laid out a timeline for the interim appointment for the 6th District seat. After Tuesday’s public interviews, the board is scheduled to select a candidate Feb. 2. 

The selected candidate will serve until city voters fill the vacancy in a special election.