Anne Arundel County Board of Education

BACKGROUND: Legislation enacted in 2017 changed the Anne Arundel County Board of Education from an appointed to an elected body and eliminated one adult Board position. Implementation of the new structure began in 2018 with the election of four Board members to a six-year term. In 2020, three Board members were elected to a four-year term, and in 2024, all seven adult Board positions are on the ballot.

DUTIES: The duties of the Board include, but are not limited to, the following: selecting and appointing the Superintendent of Schools; appointing personnel; continuous appraisal of the educational and administrative management of the school system; communicating and meeting with community members, staff and students; ratifying collective bargaining agreements; adopting policies, budgets, and courses of study; establishing school boundaries; making decisions on facility, procurement and financial matters; and deciding appeals.

TERM: Four years; limited to two consecutive terms.

SALARY: $8,000 per year.

HOW ELECTED: Elected by voters in each councilmanic district.

QUALIFICATIONS: The Board is comprised of seven adult members, and one student member who serves a one-year term. Members must be residents of Anne Arundel County; elected members must reside in the councilmanic district they represent. The student member is selected by the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils (CRASC) and is a regularly enrolled senior-year student of good character and in good standing in a public county high school.

QUESTIONS

BACKGROUND AND GOALS: How do your educational background and experience prepare you for the duties of this office and what do you hope to accomplish if elected?

AREA OF NEED: What do you consider the area of greatest need in our county's public education system and how would you propose to address it?

SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: How would you prioritize initiatives to ensure school environments that are safe, supportive and conducive to learning and teaching?

MENTAL HEALTH: Do you believe the district should provide mental health resources for students and staff? Please explain why or why not.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: In addition to fair pay and benefits, what initiatives would you support to attract and retain high-caliber teachers and staff in all district schools?

FISCAL OVERSIGHT: What are your budgetary priorities and how will you balance them with implementation of the Blueprint for Education mandates?

CANDIDATES

Vote for 1

Dawn Pulliam

Campaign Facebook: facebook.com/dawnpulliam4BOE

Campaign Email: [email protected]

Campaign Website: dawnpulliam4boe.com

Campaign Instagram: @dawnpulliam4boe

BACKGROUND AND GOALS: With over 27 years in education across business, government, and academia, I specialize in policy, program management, and multi-million dollar budgets. I've collaborated with stakeholders (elected officials, business, and academia) to address complex issues and created programs addressing critical skill needs. I aim to refocus funding on academic success, ensure safe, distraction-free environments, and strengthen ties with parents and teachers.

AREA OF NEED: AACPS must restore academic excellence, addressing the fact that two-thirds of students lack proficiency in reading and math. I propose returning to a traditional education model that prioritizes reading, writing, arithmetic, problem-solving, and critical thinking over technology. Teachers need the right tools and environment, and parents/caregivers must be key stakeholders in the process.

SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: Safety must be a priority from when the student is waiting at the bus stop to when they return home. To enhance it, we need policies for improved cybersecurity, updated transportation protocols, vape detectors, and stronger law enforcement partnerships. We should also evaluate School Resource Officers (SROs), address cell phone use in schools, and continually upgrade security measures when needed.

MENTAL HEALTH: Yes, AACPS should enhance mental health resources for students and staff, which are crucial for well-being and performance. While schools currently have psychologists, social workers, and crisis counselors who address emergencies, additional support is needed. I recommend adding behavioral interventionists and expanding mental health counseling services to better meet these needs.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: Attracting and retaining top educators is crucial for our future. I will work closely with incoming and current educators to address their needs. I support key initiatives such as ensuring a safe, distraction-free environment, onboarding behavior interventionists, offering housing incentives and advance pay, and ensuring fair, competitive career ladder plans. Additionally, I support reducing the number of conditionally certified educators.

FISCAL OVERSIGHT: The board's role is to allocate resources wisely, prioritize academic achievements, support educators with strong infrastructure, and approve curriculum. I will work hard to stay within our budget by collaborating with the County Executive and County Council to make smart decisions, avoiding the approach of simply throwing money at problems as seen in Baltimore City.

Jeremy York

Campaign Email: [email protected]

Campaign Facebook: facebook.com/FriendsOfJeremyYork

Campaign Website: voteyork.org

Campaign Instagram: instagram.com/friendsofjeremyyork/

BACKGROUND AND GOALS: I am blessed with a diverse and relevant background, having developed leadership skills in the Marine Corps, community and relationship building skills as chief of staff to an ambassador, financial and business skills through my MBA, strategic thinking and problem solving as a consultant with IBM, and an in-depth understanding of skills development and career readiness as a senior strategist at Coursera. I hope to affect real progress in student outcomes, which we must prioritize above all else.

AREA OF NEED: The #1 thing we can do to improve student outcomes is attract, train, and retain the very best educators. We’re facing a national crisis on this front, as so many people are deciding that pay and benefits just aren’t high enough. The hard truth is that the BOE can’t solve this alone; we need state and county lawmakers to step up and find a way to increase funding levels. I will work tirelessly to address this daunting challenge at every level necessary.

SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: At a fundamental level, there are two requirements: 1) physical safety and 2) emotional security. These are complex challenges that require a multi-faceted approach, including: clean, well maintained facilities; strong (and numerous) adult presences throughout our campuses; well trained staff; thoughtful prevention and response policies; mental health support; student education; and community engagement. AACPS has made progress on some of these, but there is a lot of work to be done.

MENTAL HEALTH: Yes. We can’t afford not to. Suicide rates among teens and pre-teens have grown at a shocking and heartbreaking rate over the last decade. Being an educator is becoming progressively more challenging and stressful. We cannot expect positive student outcomes without positively influencing the mental health within their environment. I will be a staunch advocate for increased mental health resources in our schools to ensure that students and educators have access to the care and support they need.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: Besides pay and benefits, there are several initiatives that I would support, including (but not limited to): professional development opportunities, mentorship networks/programs, recognition and career advancement opportunities, work-life balance improvements, priority access to the county’s School Age Child Care (SACC) program, and equity and diversity programs.

FISCAL OVERSIGHT: Everything starts and ends with student outcomes; we must prioritize investments with the greatest impact on our students. For me, that starts with attracting and retaining quality educators, investing in early childhood education, enhancing college and career readiness programs, increasing mental health support, addressing critical infrastructure needs, and supporting vulnerable student populations. There is always a balancing act, but at a high level those are my highest priorities.

Maisie T. Howard (write-in)

Campaign Email: [email protected]

Campaign Website: uniteforyouth.com

BACKGROUND AND GOALS: With over 28 years of experience in Federal, state, local, and commercial executive business, my background has equipped me with the strategic thinking, leadership, and operational expertise required serving on the Board of Education. I have been actively involved in our local education system, advocating for our children as a parent and as a representative on the Superintendent’s Parents Advisory Council and the Board of Education Citizen Advisory Council. My goal is to promote policies.

AREA OF NEED: The diminishing voice of our rural communities. The targeted efforts to remove parents and students from policy and regulation making. I propose a candidate who lives in, and is vested in, preserving the rural culture. Evaluate the frameworks for innovating parent and student partnerships in operational frameworks.

SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: The school environment is challenged by not being able to provide basic necessities out of concern for misuse. The absence of soap in bathrooms may create other issues in the school environment that aren’t related to the purpose it was removed. Balancing health needs with access, I would explore staffing student health rooms as clinics with advanced health practitioners. Allow teachers, staff and students to receive primary health care interventions.

MENTAL HEALTH: Local needs assessments and resource availability will determine how to best match resources with needs. But we should no longer be bound by location. Telehealth is a viable and excellent option for meeting resource needs. As local communities create structured frameworks for mental health services, I will align with the Maryland Children’s Behavioral Roadmap. Supporting a concerted effort to meet the mental health needs of our children at the local, county, and State levels.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: A forward thinking school district understands to achieve our goals, we have to attract and retain professionals that are passionate about teaching. My entire life, my mother, a public school teacher, fought for higher and equitable compensation for women and teachers. It’s going to be an under compensated, potentially difficult career. If we want the best Geometry teachers to come teach in AACPS—knowing it’s an under compensated and difficult career—we have to make it attractive to come.

FISCAL OVERSIGHT: My priority is to spend as little as possible but as much as necessary. I don’t want to create new programs to fund while the parking lot at our schools have potholes; there is a maintenance backlog, and our students don’t have workable water fountains. We have special education students who have to fight for their accommodations.