Col. Joseph Stahl for School Board
As a veteran combat pilot, Colonel Stahl, USAF (Ret.), has the integrity, experience, determination, and innovative ideas that the Warren County School Board needs.
Meet Col. Stahl, USAF (Ret.), & His Family – the Republican Endorsed Candidate for Happy Creek District’s School Board Seat
Military Veteran. Proven Leader. Devoted Father. Champion for Our Children.
Married to his beloved wife for over 30 years, Col. Stahl, USAF (Ret.), is a proud father of 12, foster father to 10, and adoptive father of 2. He’s also coached countless youth sports teams—because to Col. Stahl, every child matters.
From the home to the field, and from the classroom to the front lines, Col. Stahl has always answered the call to serve. As a U.S. Air Force veteran who flew life-saving combat support missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, he knows what it means to lead with courage and commitment.
Now, Col. Stahl (ret.) is ready to bring that same determination to our schools—fighting to give every Warren County student, especially the most vulnerable, the tools they need for academic success, personal growth, and unshakable confidence in their future.
HELP COL. STAHL (ret.) BY DONATING TO HIS CAMPAIGN TODAY!
We Love Samuels Library
“We love Samuels library! I have held meetings and seminars in their state of the art conference rooms. My children love to read books and roam around the children’s area. Samuels is an award-winning library for everybody in Warren County!” – Col. Stahl (ret.)
Col. Stahl’s Top Priorities
As a 20-year U.S. Air Force Colonel, I led entire units through complex missions, ensuring the safety, discipline, logistics, and performance of our airmen—even in high-pressure combat environments. I was trusted with lives, resources, and outcomes, and I delivered results. Now, I’m ready to bring that same mission-focused leadership to Warren County Public Schools—to strengthen our schools, support our teachers, and help every student succeed.
Our teachers are the backbone of Warren County’s schools—and we must do more to keep them. While fair pay matters, exit surveys from departing educators point to another urgent issue: student behavior and inconsistent discipline. Too often, teachers feel unsupported. As a leader who values accountability and follow-through, I’m committed to strengthening discipline policies and building a culture of respect—so great teachers choose to stay and thrive in our classrooms.
School safety is another top priority for me. After a long career in the U.S. military, I bring with me a deep understanding of safety procedures, standards, and best practices. I believe this experience can help strengthen and improve the safety measures already in place, ensuring that our schools remain secure environments where students and staff can thrive.
In recent years, managing the school division’s budget efficiently and effectively has been a real challenge. While county, state, and federal funding is limited, I believe we can do better. I want to work closely with the Board of Supervisors and my fellow School Board members to identify real savings and new funding opportunities—because our teachers deserve more than just a cost-of-living adjustment. They deserve raises that truly reflect their dedication, professionalism, and the impact they make on our children’s lives every single day.
Jesus Christ is my life and my salvation. He has blessed me abundantly with my wife, my children and my career. I believe I am being called to serve Him through the school board by keeping Warren County children safe and well taken care of — which I will do to the best of my ability.
Contact Col. Stahl (Ret.) today!
Col. Stahl, USAF (Ret.), Knows the Issues
Every Child Deserves the Opportunity to Succeed
In Warren County, our children’s academic success must be our highest priority. That means focusing on strong reading, writing, and math skills—foundations that unlock opportunity for every student. It requires a curriculum that is not only rigorous, but clear and purposeful. It calls for teaching goals that are meaningful and understood, and for classrooms where students are supported by both dedicated educators and engaged parents.
Parent Information & Transparency: I believe in an easy to read, online Dashboard that would have the most current information on children’s progress in school, including test scores and any messages from the teacher or staff regarding their child’s well-being, homework assignments, and even policies, guidelines and regulations. A proverbial one stop shop. Parents need easy access to information about and for their children. Parents have a right to know what’s going on and getting to the information should be easy. Although we already have some of these technology systems in place, I believe we need to make it more informative, efficient, and user friendly.
Technical Skills Training: Through all my years of service in the Air Force, I know how important technical training in order to learn trade skills can be. These learned skills (via hands-on training) are invaluable to careers for our Warren County students. The best way for the students to learn these skills is not by building multimillion dollar buildings and producing pretend business environments, but rather by giving our students the basic skills through classes, and then imbed them in vetted, background-checked, and supervised businesses who can teach them how to run a successful business that will survive while avoiding pitfalls. These local businesses would be invaluable mentors with real world experiences that would benefit all our children of Warren County. This will be an exponentially larger apprenticeship program than we have currently and will positively affect anybody called to the trade skills without busting our school budget with new building costs.
Intentional Learning: A misunderstood inhibitor to learning is not large class sizes, but rather that we don’t match learning styles to individuals who have preferred learning styles. Since so many of us learn differently, children deserve to learn in their best possible learning style. Unfortunately, our children are often one to two grade levels behind where they should be in school so we should bear all burdens to find different methods to help classroom instruction be the most effective for each student. Auditory, visual, demonstrated, reading, lectures, hands-on, computer-based and other ways of learning can all be explored to see the best and most effective way for each student. Eager students can also be encouraged to work at their own pace with daily reviews from staff. Time invested in ways to help children learn will go a long way to increase the education of our children in Warren County.
Teacher Morale & Support: Our teachers are the heart of the classroom. They deserve to be respected, supported, and fairly compensated, while still being fiscally responsible to the Warren County taxpayer. A competitive wage is not a reward—it’s a recognition of their invaluable role in shaping future generations. Restoring their authority and dignity in the classroom is essential to creating an environment where both teachers and students can flourish. Teacher morale is extremely important and can be increased through a more focused mentor program where senior teachers are paired with the newer teachers to help them thrive. Our experienced teachers have the best ideas when it comes to teaching styles and experiences, and the advice that they will give is invaluable in the retention of our newer teachers. Mentorship can also help in the accomplishment of lesson planning, additional work duties and administrative burdens.
Military images and information do no imply endorsement by DOW (Department of War) or any service branch.
Effective Budgeting: School Board members need to be fully involved with the budget to include familiarity with each line of the budget in order to ensure the best outcome of education for our students and fiscal responsibility for the residents of Warren County. There is no exception that every dollar must make a positive difference in student success in the classroom. The budget process needs to start early in the year, in union with the superintendent and with full transparency to Warren County residents.
Building Bridges: There has been quite a bit of strife lately in our wonderful Shenandoah Valley, which certainly can get in the way of educating children. People feel slighted when their opinions aren’t respected, and it is easy to get angry. I developed skills as a bridge-builder in the Air Force during times of having to lead my unit through tough missions. I was successful in helping diverse teams accomplish higher commands goals through effective listening, critical thinking, and patient reasoning. I believe respect and collaboration in the community will lead to outstanding accomplishments in the classroom.
Child’s Safety & Well-Being: Most importantly, our schools must be a place where every child feels safe, protected, and encouraged. Discipline must be fair, consistent, and focused on creating a culture of respect. In such an environment, children are free to discover their unique strengths and to reach for their highest potential. But nutrition is only one piece of the puzzle. Our children also need movement, inspiration, and connection. By increasing access to sports and extracurricular programs in our lower schools, we can help energetic students channel their energy in positive ways, build confidence, and develop healthier behaviors. These programs also provide access to incredible mentors—coaches, leaders, and role models—who can guide our kids and help them make wise, values-driven choices. Joseph is committed to creating an environment where every child is supported, uplifted, and given the tools to grow into their fullest potential.
It starts here. It starts with us. And it starts now.
Happy Creek District School Board Seat
Vote for Col. Joseph Stahl, USAF (Ret.) on Nov. 4
Col. Stahl has the background and experience to help Warren County Public Schools excel.
Military images and information do no imply endorsement by DOW (Department of War) or any service branch.