School Races About Change -- and Continuity

Candidates for Four Board Seats Generally Agree With Direction of District

There will be some changes on the Montgomery County school board after this year's elections.

At least two new people will join the board, filling the seats left by incumbents Charles Haughey (At Large) and Gabe Romero (Gaithersburg), who are not seeking reelection.

Two other incumbents are hoping to keep their jobs. Patricia O'Neill, who is seeking a third term in the District 3 seat representing the Bethesda and Potomac area, has no opponent. In District 5, which includes the northeastern portion of the county, incumbent Nancy Navarro is being challenged by Philip Kauffman, a longtime PTA activist, and Susie Werner Scofield, a lawyer.

Valerie Ervin's decision to run for a seat on the County Council could mean that a new person may take the District 4 (Silver Spring) seat. If Ervin wins, the school board would appoint someone to complete her term.

Three of the seven seats on the board are not up for election this year.

Five people are competing for the at-large seat being vacated by Haughey. They are Shirley Brandman, Dana Gassaway, John Horan Latham, Tommy Le and Arquilla Ridgell. Brandman is a longtime PTA activist, and Le, an engineer, ran for school board in 2004.

In District 1 -- the seat held by Romero -- Judy Docca, a retired school system principal, is running against Michael Ibañez, a Catholic-school teacher.

So what will this election mean for the state's largest school system, one that is known for academic excellence but is, like many throughout the country, struggling to address the needs of a growing immigrant population and to close the achievement gap between Hispanic and black students and their white and Asian counterparts?

It's unlikely that newly elected board members will radically alter the direction of the school system.

Reform efforts at the elementary grades appear to be paying off: Test scores are up, and the achievement gap is slowly narrowing.

The real test may come this fall, when students who were the beneficiaries of multimillion-dollar reform efforts enter middle school. Will their academic gains continue during these tumultuous years? System officials are hoping to build on elementary-level progress by focusing new money and reform efforts on the middle grades.

Candidates say they are generally happy with the direction the school system is moving but do see areas that can be improved.

Many say they'd like to see the system do a better job explaining to parents and community members -- in clear English, not bureaucratic jargon -- how the budget process works and how curriculum decisions are made.

Contracts for the system's teachers and administrators are up for negotiation in 2007. The contract for schools chief Jerry D. Weast -- hired in 1999 -- is set to expire in March. Weast, who at an annual salary of $237,794 is the highest paid public official in Montgomery County, has reportedly asked the board for a statement of support for his work -- a sign perhaps that the superintendent intends to spend a little more time in Montgomery.

This fall, the school system will open its 25th high school, Clarksburg High. Weast has focused efforts on boosting the number of students taking SAT and Advanced Placement tests. Even though more students are taking the AP exams, at some schools the percentage who are passing is declining, indicating that more work is needed.

The top two vote-getters in several Sept. 12 primary races will face off in the general election.

School board members in Montgomery receive a stipend of $18,500. The board president is paid $22,500.