The day took an abrupt turn when I received a collect call
from my former mentor, Slats MacCune. He
was at the Wicomico Regional Airport and he needed a lift. Apparently, his mobile phone battery was
juiceless and neither the car rental agency nor the pay phone would accept
Maltese lira banknotes as valid currency.
I could hear him in the background, complaining loudly about unfavorable
exchange rates, while the operator asked me if I would accept the charges.
Of course I would.
Three hours later and heading westbound on 50, Slats is
slouched in my passenger seat. He had
just finished extolling the virtues of Machala in the summer and Oslo in the
winter when the conversation drifted to politics.
“Listen,” I told him, “I need to head to the Columbia
Democratic Club forum tonight, but I can drop you off at the house or Victoria Gastro
Pub.”
“Bogota or Medellin?”
He suddenly seemed interested.
“Neither. Col-Umbia, not Col-Ombia,” I replied.
“Ah. Gotcha,” he paused.
“So is there an In-and-Out Burger we can stop at?”
“We are east of Texas so no.
Anyway, you might be bored. It is
for the Howard County Board of Education.
Important but perhaps not your speed.”
Now Slats had earned, or at least acquired, a decent sum of
money over the years. Sometimes, these
funds came from the coffers of political candidates whose ideologies or
personal morals could charitably be described as “sketchy.” Semi-retired these days, he nonetheless
continues to hover around the edges of the Game and, lacking the ready
availability of a more entertaining option, he stated emphatically and marginally
profanely that he was up for attending the gathering.
We arrived shortly before the event was set to begin. We were ten feet away from the main doors of
the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center when Slats said he forgot something in the
car, and could he borrow my keys.
Sure.
I went in solo and grabbed a seat in the back of the room,
which was best for observing the actions and reactions of the candidates as
well as the local folks who assembled to watch the event and perhaps ask a
question. I chatted with a couple of
people, waved at a few familiar faces, and took out my notepad. I sat next to Maureen Evans Arthurs, who I
wish was participating in the Forum as a candidate.
The following analysis is based on the notes I scrawled
hastily over the course of the evening:
One last item before I launch into this dissection: seven candidates participated, all but Mike
Smith. Dan Furman walked in right before
the session began and Dr. Zaneb Beams had to leave early due to an important
family obligation. A couple of the
current members of the Board of Education not up for re-election were also in
attendance, Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Flynn Giles, in addition to around 25
other concerned office-holders, candidates, activists, and citizens.
Introductory Statement Mini-Summaries:
Bess Altwerger: Bio.
Equity. Concerned about the
implementation of Common Core and PARCC.
Zaneb Beams.
Bio. “Wellness for the whole
child.”
Allen Dyer. Bio. The need for the education system to “produce
good citizens.” Openness (an oft-repeated Dyer theme). Closing the achievement
gap. Working with County government.
Sandra “Sandy” French.
Almost all biography.
Dan Furman. Bio. “Equality of opportunity.” Focusing on the specific needs of students.
Christine O’Connor.
Bio. Pledges to be a “full-time” Board Member.
Cynthia “Cindy” Vaillancourt. Bio. Equity gap.
Achievement gap. Getting people
to recognize that problems exist and talk about solutions. Start times.
Bad cereals/nutrition options.
Spartan Considerations thoughts:
Given two minutes apiece, most of the candidates handled their
introductions fairly well. Altwerger
deftly positioned herself as thoughtful academic and Common Core skeptic. Beams had a solid point of differentiation
given her background as a pediatrician.
Even Dyer, and this blog isn’t a fan of his, connected on some important
issues. O’Connor came across as
practical, roll-up-our-sleeves, sort of educator who would spend time in the
schools identifying, and helping find solutions, to challenges. Vaillancourt
was energetic, and her “Lucky Charms” anecdote drew some laughter while being
an effective means of talking about school nutrition.
Furman’s statement was fine but he is very low-key. Having a mild-mannered Board Member isn’t a
bad thing, in light of some of the personalities involved. That said, his speaking style is a bit less
than terribly engaging.
French’s opening remarks were mostly, and perhaps entirely
about her background. That was
disappointing. Everyone else took the
time to pivot to specific policy matters or other broader concerns but she
chose to focus on her history. A lost
opportunity for French.
The only formal question from the Columbia Democratic Club,
posed by Alan Brody, focused on the existence of inequality in Howard County schools. Did it exist or no? If yes, what examples could the candidates
cite? If no, how can the system remain free
from inequality?
Unsurprisingly, all of the candidates agreed that inequities
existed.
O’Connor focused on overcrowding, the need for a 13th
high school, and the importance of redistricting.
Vaillancourt talked about over-crowding, a more equitable
allocation of resources, helping all of the children in an effort to meet all
of their needs.
Altwerger discussed economic disparities and the need for
diverse student populations in the schools.
She believes that the neighborhood feeder system should be retained
while working out solutions to avoid overcapacity issues.
Beams said that the inequities spanned four areas: nutrition, size/over-crowding,
buildings/physical facilities, and musical education.
Dyer stated that there were connections between “pockets of
poverty” and problems in the classroom and mentioned a correlation between
FARMS numbers and the aforementioned poverty pockets. In a comment sure the raise the ire of
educators, but not pounced on by any of the other candidates, he stated his
belief that some teachers were “resistant” to “working harder” and that this
resistance is why great educators are unwilling to teach at schools that are
perceived to offer tougher environments for teachers.
French stated largely accurately, perhaps a bit too
fatalistically, that there are “always inequities somewhere.” She indicated that professionals were hired
to look at redistricting as well as to work on nutrition and the physical facilities. She stressed the need to collaborate with the State
and County governments for funding. She also
mentioned the developments occurring at Bryant Woods regarding free lunches as
an example of progress.
Furman spoke about Maintenance of Effort and the need to
look beyond per-pupil based funding and more at the needs of specific schools;
that while Clarksville and Oakland Mills, for example, may be similar in terms
of the sheer number of students enrolled, they have “different needs” and
solutions should be tailored accordingly.
Spartan Considerations thoughts:
Dyer stepped in it, but he knew what he was doing. The downside, for him, is that statements like that will remind voters of his issues when it comes to working well with others. French’s response was also a little underwhelming. She hit her stride as she kept talking but she started off her response sounding like an HR manager, and not a Board Member, when she was listing the hires made by the HCPSS. Furman made some good points, but damn he could use some media training.
Dyer stepped in it, but he knew what he was doing. The downside, for him, is that statements like that will remind voters of his issues when it comes to working well with others. French’s response was also a little underwhelming. She hit her stride as she kept talking but she started off her response sounding like an HR manager, and not a Board Member, when she was listing the hires made by the HCPSS. Furman made some good points, but damn he could use some media training.
As this is running long, I am going to stop here, before I
launch into the questions posed by the audience members.
This looks like a two or three part post.
Side note: has anyone seen a black Honda Civic HX?
Stay tuned, as more will follow.
