Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Election Voters Guide
June 2, 2020
Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Election voters guide includes campaign emails, social media, and websites of each Board of Education primary candidate for Montgomery County’s At-Large and 4th District.
Should voters need additional information about their preferred candidate’s profile. An active social media is a good representation of how connected the candidate would be if elected. Vote in Maryland’s Primary election with ease with kBoulevard’s candidate guide for the 2020 Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Election for At-Large and 4th District.
The primary election for Montgomery County’s Board of Education will be on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Top issues for this election include accountability, facility rehabs, and teacher salaries. Check out kBoulevard’s Montgomery County’s Board of Education for the At-Large and 4th district candidates’ guide.
Learn more about the Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Elections, visit Maryland Board of Elections.
What does a member of the Board of Education do?
A school board, often referred to as a Board of Education, is a corporate body that oversees and manages a public-school district’s affairs, personnel, and properties. School board members are elected by the residents of the school district that the board oversees. Check out nonprofit GreatSchools’ “What Makes A Great School Board Member” and learn more about successful school boards.
Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Candidates
Montgomery County Board of Education Primary At-Large
Anil Chaudhry
- Served as a Commissioned Officer for the United States Army Transportation Corps (10 years)
- B.A. in Information System from City College of New York
- Seeks to ensure that parents in the county have a meaningful and equitable voice in the educational choices for their children
- Improve educational outcomes for all children in the country using meaningful data-driven input from all local families
- Seeks to provide an inclusive agenda including parents, community members, and educators
Dalbin Osorio
- Endorsed by Naral Pro-Choice Maryland PAC
- Endorsed by CASA in Action
- Advocates the need to invest in retaining and promoting the teachers that have worked diligently to develop themselves professionally so our students can receive a quality education from quality teachers
- Advocates taking some of the land available in the county and build new schools in those areas, with an emphasis on building new community schools so students can learn where they live
- Seeks partnership with our teachers to ensure that we are innovating regarding curriculum development and that we are using a culturally relevant curriculum
Darwin Romero
- Senior loan officer
- Advocates partnership with them to better prepare the future workforce of Montgomery County in the areas of science, technology, marketing, and entrepreneurship providing real work experience that will give students a competitive advantage
- Promotes the need for more teachers who look like the students they serve; we need more administrators who truly understand the cultural differences and are sensitive to the needs of our diverse student body
- Advocates to provide access to thought leaders that will inspire and lead our youth to start their own companies
Jay Guan
- Served on the Montgomery County Public School advisory committee
- Endorsed by Former Board of Education President Mike Durso
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Johns Hopkins University
- Advocates for tailored business classes (such as those at Sherwood High School) for immigrant communities, particularly students whose family is considered low income and are immigrants
- Seeks to explore innovative infrastructure utilization such as shared use of facilities (i.e., classrooms) with Montgomery College and other public facilities
- Supports emphasizing science and data literacy
Lynne Harris
(Winner)
- Served as PTA President of Highland View Elementary School (2017-2020)
- Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA) Board of Directors (2011-2020)
- J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
- Supports providing central office oversight for courses to ensure students receive the same content, and that content prepares them for exams
- Seeks to review field trips for all schools, to provide equitable opportunities and funding, especially in the middle and high schools
- Supports providing an experienced peer mentor for every new teacher
Mitra Ahadpour
- Serves as Principal Deputy Director at the Office of Translational Sciences at FDA
- Launched a successful tobacco awareness education program in middle schools
- M.D. from the University of Maryland
- Supports the End the drug use in MCPS that is impacting students’ physical, mental, social, and intellectual well-being
- Supports to transform our educational norms for all students to be successful through evidence-based best practices
- Supports better resources and training for teachers in special education programs
Paul Geller
- As a leader of Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), organized members to offer comprehensive testimony for the Recordation Tax in 2016
- Served as Montgomery County’s Science Fair Co-Chair (2012-18)
- Seeks to make sure solar panels are placed atop every school that would benefit from them, saving MCPS millions of dollars annually in Operating Budget costs
- Advocates to give each Principal the latitude to make needed changes to tailor the curriculum and learning process for their school
- Advocates signals along major routes would remain green for a set length of time
Pavel Sukhobok
- Founder of Makuyu Education Initiative, to help underprivileged children in Makuyu, Kenya escape the cycle of poverty
- Co-founded tutoring center Potomac Oak Tutoring, specializing in debates, academic tutoring, and test-prep
- J.D. from George Washington University
- Advocates that MCPS should start holding parental workshops to educate the parents on the ins and outs of our education system, including what it takes to get into college. College planning should start in middle school
- Cites that the board should make it clear that improper classroom behavior will not be tolerated, and teachers should be encouraged to act when someone disrupting a class
- Opposes the current Board of Education redistricting plan
Stephen Austin
- Founder of Facebook group Montgomery County MD Neighbors for Local Schools
- FARM school alumni
- B.A. in Studio Arts from University of Texas
- Advocates optimizing real estate holdings more effectively, innovative partnerships on underused holdings, along with the improved operational efficiency
- Seeks to improve budget efficiency, to free up more funds for teacher and staff hiring
- Seeks return accountability to parents and the community
Sunil Dasgupta
(Winner)
- Serves on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA)
- Serves as a member of the Montgomery Planning Board’s Schools Technical Advisory Team
- Teaches political science
Seeks to develop a fair and transparent method for a systemwide review and adjustment to school boundaries, due to “stay abreast of population and demographic shifts” to address rebalancing efforts
Cameron Rhode
Collins Odongo
Lumpoange Thomas
Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Election for District 4
Ehren Park Reynolds
Bio is not available.
Bio is not available.
Shebra Evans
(Winner)
- Serves as President of the Board of Education since 2018
- Chair of the Maryland Association Board of Education (MABE) Equity Ad Hoc Committee
- Financial Analyst in the Cable and Energy industry
- Advocates continued expanding public and private partnerships in support of our schools and students, in the early learning care and education of preschoolers
- Support increasing outreach for family engagement and involvement with a concentrated focus on engaging our hard to reach communities
- Seeks to address disparities in student outcomes by closing gaps in opportunity and achievement
Steve Solomon
(Winner)
- Radio Host
B.A. in Economics from University of Maryland
- Advocates teaching kids in high school that there are many opportunities out there in the world, and expand programs like Thomas Edison High School of Technology
- Advocates that no school should be without heat, working equipment, or be deteriorating from old age. All schools should be safe and modern
- Advocates hiring the best teachers and service workers and keeping them here with competitive salaries and benefits
For the official 2020 Primary Election results for Montgomery County, check out Maryland Board of Elections.
Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Candidates by Topic
Candidates on Accountability
Seeks to ensure that parents in the county have a meaningful and equitable voice in the educational choices for their children
Improve educational outcomes for all children in the country using meaningful data-driven input from all local families
Seeks to provide an inclusive agenda including parents, community members, and educators
- Advocates clear communication of the Board of Education’s intent and decision-making rationale
- Supports rigorous audits to ensure resources are utilized effectively and judiciously
- Advocates to explore other methods and tools, such as social media
- Supports providing easy access to comprehensive Open Data that is current, detailed, and user-friendly, allowing comparisons between schools and clusters
- Supports providing central office oversight for courses to ensure students receive the same content, and that content prepares them for exams
- Advocates that the MCPS should partner in that review, and use it as a tool to assess how current school boundaries are serving our students
Seeks to develop a fair and transparent method for a system-wide review and adjustment to school boundaries, due to “stay abreast of population and demographic shifts” to address re-balancing efforts
Candidates on Budget and Operations
- Seeks to ensure new schools are Net Zero Energy – buildings that generate their electricity: cooling, heating, and illumination through solar panels, geothermal fields, and solar tube lighting
- Seeks to make sure solar panels are placed atop every school that would benefit from them, saving MCPS millions of dollars annually in Operating Budget costs
- Seeks to pursue a resolution to the endless backlog of projects MCPS has been struggling with for decades, through renovating existing buildings
- Advocates optimizing real estate holdings more effectively, innovative partnerships on underused holdings, along with the improved operational efficiency
- Supports BOE needs innovative budget solutions
- Seeks to ensure students, teachers, and staff have safe and modern facilities to meet the needs of an expanding student population
- Supports continuing to provide fiscally responsible budgets that promote equity in the distribution and allocation of resources
- Advocates that no school should be without heat, working equipment, or be deteriorating from old age. All schools should be safe and modern
- Seeks to expand community use of school facilities
Candidates on Curriculum
- Seeks partnership with our teachers to ensure that we are innovating regarding curriculum development and that we are using a culturally relevant curriculum
- Seeks to push policy to reduce the number of standardized tests that MCPS offers
Supports to transform our educational norms for all students to be successful through evidence-based best practices
- Seeks to reduce standardized testing requirements across the board
- Advocates that all children in MCPS should be tested for learning differences at a young age by neutral psychoeducational testing professionals and students’ eligibility should hinge upon need, not affluence
- Advocates to bring academic rigor back to MCPS
- Seeks new grading policy
Candidates on Community Relations
- Advocates to create incentives for teacher home visits and door-knocking campaigns to reach families in high-needs schools with low engagement, and schools being considered for major program changes, construction projects or boundary reviews
- Seeks to require that schools offer at least one morning and one evening parent-teacher conference session at a location in the community that is transit-accessible
- Proposes a required teacher, family and student input for Key Facility Indicators that determine which schools receive additions and new buildings
- Cites that MCPS should start holding parental workshops to educate the parents on the ins and outs of our education system, including what it takes to get into college. College planning should start in middle school
- Advocates the BOE should work closely with county and state legislators to address the effects of outsourcing that has depressed the incomes of many areas of Montgomery County
- Proposes that MCPS can do more to educate the parents, particularly immigrant parents, who may have come from very different educational systems abroad
Support increasing outreach for family engagement and involvement with a concentrated focus on engaging our hard to reach communities
Candidates on Extracurricular Programs
- Advocates partnership with them to better prepare the future workforce of Montgomery County in the areas of science, technology, marketing, and entrepreneurship providing real work experience that will give students a competitive advantage
- Seeks to provide access to thought leaders that will inspire and lead our youth to start their own companies
- Seeks to expand the reach of certain in-demand programs and courses to alleviates program capacity issues in the programs
- Supports the Market and Expand future-ready programs like the Aviation and Aerospace Programs
- Seeks to encourage and equip our kids to be entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow
- Supports providing LEARNING RECOVERY OPTIONS that are effective and student-centered. Identify students who need summer courses and additional support next fall to catch up
- Supports providing LEARNING RECOVERY OPTIONS that are effective and student-centered. Identify students who need summer courses and additional support next fall to catch up
- Advocates following the science. School should look different when we return: daily temperature checks. hand washing breaks, continuous cleaning, and social distancing
- Seeks to ensure students, teachers, and staff have safe and modern facilities to meet the needs of an expanding student population
- Advocate for additional enrichment opportunities for students that extend beyond the classroom
Candidates on Inclusion, Special Needs, and Cultural Issues
- Promotes the need for more teachers who look like the students they serve; we need more administrators who understand the cultural differences and are sensitive to the needs of our diverse student body
- Advocates to focus on increasing diversity, building alliances and partnerships, and creating opportunities
- Supports protecting the rights of undocumented and newly arriving immigrant students. Train teachers, staff, and administrators to ensure that their unique needs are met, inside and outside the classroom
- Seeks to expand AP courses and regional IB programs – especially to students of color and special education students automatically enroll students who meet objective criteria
- Seeks to ensure office staff in every school can communicate with non-English speakers
- Supports local schools and develop innovative strategies to foster inclusion, diversity, equity, and civility
- Supports better resources and training for teachers in special education programs
Cites students should go to school primarily based on geography
Candidates on Health Services and Public Safety
- Advocates parent Community Coordinator that can serve as an interface between families, service providers, and the school
- Proposes schools doubling as both the meeting place and service center with wrap-around services for vulnerable families
- Seeks to develop an operational contingency plan in the event of major social events (e.g., pandemic)
- Seeks to expand mental health programs, including trauma-informed practices and restorative justice, in all schools to better serve all students and end disproportional discipline for students of color
- Advocates to train centralized crisis response teams to ensure prompt, accurate, effective communication, and support in emergencies – a standard approach across all schools
- Supports the use of social media and student groups to promote the Safe Schools MD Hotline to report violence anonymously, bullying, drug use, and mental health crises
- Supports the End the drug use in MCPS that is impacting students’ physical, mental, social, and intellectual well-being
- Supports ensuring safe and supportive school environments
- Advocates for the need to revise our policy on snow days. Too many times, Montgomery County has changed its mind on a snow day, from a 2-hour delay to closed
Candidates on Pre and Post Education
- Supports a central placement and consolidation of certain training courses to regional hubs
- Supports expanding early childhood education for high-need communities
Seeks to ensure that every child has an engaged primary educational contact
Advocates that focus needs to be allocated to both preschool and after school programs to prepare children to learn, before they enter schools and to continue learning after school
- Advocates continued expanding public and private partnerships in support of our schools and students, in the early learning care and education of preschoolers
Candidates on Teach and Staff Support
Advocates the need to invest in retaining and promoting the teachers that have worked diligently to develop themselves professionally so our students can receive a quality education from quality teachers
Seeks to improve budget efficiency, to free up more funds for teacher and staff hiring
- Supports continued efforts to diversify our workforce with an emphasis on recruitment and retention with emphasis to increase our pipeline of talent
- Supports continuing to invest in on time professional development for teachers and supporting staff
- Advocates hiring the best teachers and service workers and keeping them here with competitive salaries and benefits
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