For the uninitiated, the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) has seven members (and a student member). There are two At-large seats and five District seats. While candidates for the District seats must live in their districts, all County voters may vote in all the District races. Because the BOE positions are non-partisan, the top two vote-getters in the primary move on to the general election. In this cycle, one At-Large and three District seats are up for election. Because only two candidates each filed for the District 1 and 5 seats, the candidates for those seats will not be on the June 26 primary ballot. There are seven candidates for the At-Large Seat, and three candidates for the District 3 seat.
At the outset, I should note that for the last
several BOE election cycles, my principal concern was how
the candidates felt about LGBTQ issues in the Montgomery County Public Schools
(MCPS). In the last few years, the
principal policy battles have been definitively won. In recent cycles we have had candidates who
opposed the progress with have made in this area, but all have been defeated.
In 2010, there was a “stealth” candidate who initially tried
to hide her history of anti-LGBTQ advocacy; once her activities were made public, her star faded, and she was defeated. This year the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG sent
out short questionnaires to all the candidates to get them on record. All but two candidates responded, and all who
responded indicated support for the progress we have made. The questions and answers may be found here here
and here.
My
experience and concerns with respect to public education in Montgomery County
go beyond LGBTQ issues, dating 1984-86, when when I was co-president of the Rosemary Hills Magnet Integration Primary School PTA, and continuing with my
involvement as Advocacy Chair of the Montgomery County Gifted and Talented
Association (1991-94), and as a member the Richard Montgomery H.S. PTSA
Executive Committee (1994-97).
I do want to let readers know my perspective on
voting for what is essentially the Board of Directors of a large organization,
serving a very diverse community.
First, it is important that Board members be thoughtful, experienced people who have the knowledge and wisdom to make wise choices. While some people believe that the role of the Board is simply to hire a Superintendent and then be supportive of the choices made by the Superintendent, my view is that the running of the school system should be a collaborative effort between the Board and the Superintendent.
Also, it is important to understand that traditional ways of teaching are not necessarily the most effective. There are many innovative techniques that are being tried nation-wide, some of which I know that MCPS is trying. I think this should be a constant effort, since the world (and this County) is changing, and we cannot rest on our laurels. This does not mean we should follow the fad of the month, but it does mean we should be open to new ideas.
I also think that it is useful to have a BOE that is reflective of the diversity in MCPS. We have been fortunate in recent years to have very good Board members, including African Americans, three of whom currently sit on the Board. Current Board President Mike Durso is not running for reelection, and he will be succeeded as the member from District 5 by Brenda Wolff, who is African American (her primary opponent, Peter Pykosh, dropped out of the running after the filing deadline).
First, it is important that Board members be thoughtful, experienced people who have the knowledge and wisdom to make wise choices. While some people believe that the role of the Board is simply to hire a Superintendent and then be supportive of the choices made by the Superintendent, my view is that the running of the school system should be a collaborative effort between the Board and the Superintendent.
Also, it is important to understand that traditional ways of teaching are not necessarily the most effective. There are many innovative techniques that are being tried nation-wide, some of which I know that MCPS is trying. I think this should be a constant effort, since the world (and this County) is changing, and we cannot rest on our laurels. This does not mean we should follow the fad of the month, but it does mean we should be open to new ideas.
I also think that it is useful to have a BOE that is reflective of the diversity in MCPS. We have been fortunate in recent years to have very good Board members, including African Americans, three of whom currently sit on the Board. Current Board President Mike Durso is not running for reelection, and he will be succeeded as the member from District 5 by Brenda Wolff, who is African American (her primary opponent, Peter Pykosh, dropped out of the running after the filing deadline).
But we do not have any Hispanics or Asians on
the Board, and such inclusion would be useful. We need as many perspectives as possible to
have discussions that can lead to the wisest policies.
So, with these factors in mind, here are my
thoughts/recommendations.
I have sought to examine the records and
positions of the Board candidates, and had conversations with many of
them. I am glad to say that there are
many good, qualified people running. And
that has made my decisions more difficult than in the
past. This is a problem I welcome.
With Patricia O’Neill running for re-election, I thought this would be an easy call. Since 2002, she has been the preeminent BOE voice for policies supporting LGBTQ students. I know from personal experience that her answers to the PFLAG questionnaire were far too modest. She has been a tiger. With a lot of turnover on the BOE (neither Mike Durso nor Jill Ortman-Fouse are running for reelection, and Rebecca Smondrowski is running for a House of Delegates – if she wins, she, too, will be leaving the Board) and two other members only two years into their first terms, Pat’s institutional memory would be even more important than it has been in the past. It is noteworthy that Pat has been endorsed for reelection by Ike Leggett and current Board President Mike Durso and Vice President Shebra Evans, for whom I have enormous respect, as well as former Board member Shirley Brandman, another person for whom I have enormous respect. For more information on Pat, click here and here.
What gave me pause was the quality of one of Pat’s challengers, Lynn Amano. I was extremely impressed with her answers at the April candidates forum, and with the conversation I had with her afterwards. Her background in social activism, including her PTA activism, is impressive. And, on a more personal note, her decision to move to the Rosemary Hills neighborhood because of the diversity of the school, touches me, since, as noted above, I was Rosemary Hills PTA co-president in the mid-1980s, when we had to work particularly hard to establish it as a success in racial and economic diversity. I very much enjoyed talking with her about how Rosemary Hills is doing today, more than three decades later. We need institutional knowledge, but fresh blood is also useful. For more information on Lynn, click
At the end of the day, however, I have decided to vote for Pat. She has demonstrated the strength to stand up to bullies and to do the right thing on what once were extremely controversial issues. Due in part to that work, these issues are no longer controversial in our community. As a PFLAG dad, I am very grateful. And institutional memory in a time of rapid change is very important. I do hope that Lynn stays involved and considers running again in the future. A number of people have run for the Board, lost the first time, but won the second time.
DISTRICT 3: PATRICIA O’NEILL
With Patricia O’Neill running for re-election, I thought this would be an easy call. Since 2002, she has been the preeminent BOE voice for policies supporting LGBTQ students. I know from personal experience that her answers to the PFLAG questionnaire were far too modest. She has been a tiger. With a lot of turnover on the BOE (neither Mike Durso nor Jill Ortman-Fouse are running for reelection, and Rebecca Smondrowski is running for a House of Delegates – if she wins, she, too, will be leaving the Board) and two other members only two years into their first terms, Pat’s institutional memory would be even more important than it has been in the past. It is noteworthy that Pat has been endorsed for reelection by Ike Leggett and current Board President Mike Durso and Vice President Shebra Evans, for whom I have enormous respect, as well as former Board member Shirley Brandman, another person for whom I have enormous respect. For more information on Pat, click here and here.
What gave me pause was the quality of one of Pat’s challengers, Lynn Amano. I was extremely impressed with her answers at the April candidates forum, and with the conversation I had with her afterwards. Her background in social activism, including her PTA activism, is impressive. And, on a more personal note, her decision to move to the Rosemary Hills neighborhood because of the diversity of the school, touches me, since, as noted above, I was Rosemary Hills PTA co-president in the mid-1980s, when we had to work particularly hard to establish it as a success in racial and economic diversity. I very much enjoyed talking with her about how Rosemary Hills is doing today, more than three decades later. We need institutional knowledge, but fresh blood is also useful. For more information on Lynn, click
AT-LARGE: I AM UNDECIDED AMONG THREE EXCELLENT
CANDIDATES
Of the seven At-Large candidates, there are
three who impressed me the most. In alphabetical order, they are Julie Reiley, John Robertson, and Karla Silvestre.
These candidates truly present for us an
embarrassment of riches. I heard them at
an April candidates forum, and had good conversations with all three. All have children in MCPS. The problem is that only one of them can win
this seat.
Julie Reiley is of Hispanic background, and is the first member of her family to graduate college. She became a lawyer and law professor, has been an effective special education citizen activist, and has been recognized by the Montgomery County PTA has an outstanding advocate. I suggest reading her website. See also here. (I have had a number of Facebook conversations with her, and find her to be knowledgeable and progressive on a wide number of issues). 
John Robertson is a Vice Principal at Roberto
Clemente Middle School. His life story
is inspiring, his commitment to children is apparent, and his innovative
educational ideas are intriguing. That
incumbent Board Member Jill Ortman-Fouse – who I think has been a really strong
member of the Board – decided to forego reelection upon chatting with Mr.
Robertson about his candidacy, is certainly worth taking into account. See here. On the other hand, I have not heard much from
him on the campaign trail, and he does not appear to have a website. (Are websites now passé? Maybe I am getting too old.) Here is a link to some basic information, including his impressive biography. See also here. 
Karla Silvestre's Hispanic background and
her work in the Hispanic community would add an important element to Board
discussions. Her experience in education and Hispanic community outreach is considerable, and she has been endorsed by Ike Leggett, in whose administration she worked before becoming Director of Community Outreach at Montgomery College. I suggest reading her
It is rare that I have not decided for whom to
vote this close to Election Day. Each of
these three would be a strong addition to the Board of Education. The Mymcmedia links (provided above as "See also here") for each candidate contain a number of clips from campaign events which should be useful. I am going to review those links and the websites again before voting. I welcome thoughts from fellow Montgomery County voters on this race.
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