Red Maryland Endorsements: Anne Arundel County Board of Education

One of the reasons that this is so important is because of the never-ending struggle between the Board of Education and County Government. The School Board relies on county government to fund county schools, meaning that the Board Members are totally dependent on the County Executive and the County Council to provide funding.

Unfortunately, all too often Board of Education members take positions that are adversarial to county government and more important adversarial to county taxpayers. Board members have prioritized spending growth over meaningful change to the administrative structure of the system, the curriculum being taught in schools, or the physical plant of the schools themselves. Far too often, the Boards rely on Democratic talking points and succumb to pressure from union activists.

For example, School Board member Julie Hummer recently proposed over $100 million in tax increases to “fully fund” schools. However, unlike Board Members in the past, Hummer will have to face the voters and defend her tax hike proposals this fall.

It is imperative that Anne Arundel County voters elect Board of Education members who are dedicated to both improving schools and spending responsibly. It’s important to put children first and to pay teachers a respectable wage, but not to follow the Democratic and Union playbook of spending to excess and demand more and more taxpayer dollars.

To that end, Red Maryland endorses the following candidates for the Anne Arundel County Board of Education:

• District 1: David Starr
• District 5: Terry Gilleland
• District 7: Michelle Corkadel