The Importance of Elections for MoCo Board of Education

One of the most importance elections in MoCo in November 2014 is also one of the least publicized.

The MoCo Board of Education controls more than half the budget (almost $2.3 billion) -- and thus our taxes -- in Montgomery County, and there is little control over how they spend it. So everyone in the county should take a great interest in who gets elected to the Board of Education.

The process may appear a little confusing. Two candidates are running for "at large" seats, and 2 candidates are running for each of the "district" seats on the Bd of Ed. However, everyone in the County gets to vote for all these races, the "at large one" and the 3 district ones. (The districts exist just to prevent all the members from being in the same part of the county.) Elections for the Bd of Ed seats are staggered, and that is why this year we are voting for only one of the at large seats, and only the district 1, 3, and 5 seats.

Here are the candidates:

At Large: Shebra Evans vs. Jill Ortman-Fouse
District 1: Judy Docca vs. Kristin Trible
District 3: Laurie Halverson vs. Patricia O'Neill
District 5: Mike Durso vs. Larry Edmonds

Most of the candidates have websites which you find by "googling" their names, and it is likely that all of them will appear at candidate forums and other places before November. 

All of us should ask them questions such as, "If you are elected, how will you spend the $2.3 billion in taxpayers' money that will be under your control?" and "Will you support meetings and budgets that are completely open to the public and easily accesible?" and "Exactly what policies do you support and oppose for education in our county?"