Corbett Sanders re-elected school board chair

Mount Vernon district school board representative Karen Corbett Sanders was elected Chair of the Fairfax County School Board on Thursday.

Corbett Sanders has been a board member since 2016. She served as vice chair in 2017-2018 and chair last year.

Lee District school board representitve Tamara Derenak Kaufax was elected vice chair at Thursday’s meeting. A member of the board since 2012, Derenak Kaufax served as vice chair in 2013 and chair in 2014.

The chair and vice chair are elected annually by their fellow school board members. They begin their terms immediately upon being elected.

Corbett Sanders is a Fairfax County native and a graduate of Groveton High School, which is now West Potomac High School. She is a resident of the Belle Haven area, and her two children are West Potomac graduates. Corbett Sanders’ past work includes senior positions at Verizon and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Derenak Kaufax is the owner of a marketing company, and she is a past member of the Springfield Estates Elementary PTA and the Bush Hill Elementary PTA. She has lived in Lee District since 1989, and both of her children are graduates of Edison High School.

Both Corbett Sanders and Derenak Kaufax are up for re-election this November. Although all school board members technically run as independents, each has secured the endorsement of the county’s Democratic Party. Corbett Sanders faces a challenge from Republican-endorsed Steven Mosley and independent candidate Pamela Ononiwu, while Derenak Kaufax is unopposed so far in the Lee District race.