School Board Candidates Down to 13

Nominees for Two Seats To Be Chosen May 12

The field of candidates for two seats on the Anne Arundel County school board has been winnowed from 20 to 13. Several candidates have withdrawn as the vetting process continues with public hearings before a newly created nominating commission.

The candidates are vying to fill two seats: an at-large position and a newly created seat in District 32, which covers the northwest portion of the county.

A week before the filing deadline, the commission had received few applications. After local news stories noted the lack of interest, applications began pouring in.

"Initially, I think when people saw so few applying, they decided to get in," said candidate Marc F. Boensel, 44, a music educator and substitute teacher in county schools.

The 13 remaining candidates come from a range of backgrounds. They include educators, entrepreneurs, government workers, former political aides and retirees.

Teresa Milio Birge, 36, a candidate for District 32, is a former staffer for the Maryland House Appropriations Committee. She said her lobbying skills would be an asset to the board. "Right now, the board has an argument to win with people who make the budget decisions in the county of why we need the money, why it's important to fund its programs."

Others, such as pharmacist Simeon M. Georgiou, 52, have said that it's not their day job that qualifies them but their volunteer work in schools. Georgiou pointed to the years he served on the county's Citizen Advisory Committee, a parent group that advises the school board.

"I have an in-depth understanding of what a school board is, what it does and what it can't do," he said.

Besides Georgiou, of Severn, and Birge, of Crofton, other candidates for the District 32 seat are Robert V. Hull of Millersville and Carole J. McCullough of Linthicum. The nine candidates for the at-large seat are Alison L. Asti of Pasadena; Boensel, of Annapolis; Walter N. Chitwood III of Annapolis; Thomas H. Frank of Crofton; Kevin L. Jackson of Edgewater; school board President Tricia L. Johnson of Davidsonville; Evelyn C. Mason of Glen Burnie; Paul G. Rudolph of Severna Park; and Richard A. Streeter of Pasadena.

The candidates had opportunity to introduce themselves at two hearings and answer questions from the commission. During a third hearing Monday, the public will be able to comment about the candidates. That meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Room 219 of the Cade Building at Anne Arundel Community College, 101 College Pkwy. in Arnold. A final hearing will be May 12, in which the commission will deliberate and vote on its nominations.

The candidates have focused on a few core issues: fiscal challenges resulting from the tight budgets that are likely to continue, the construction and maintenance backlog, and the high turnover of teachers.

"The fiscal constraints facing the county are overriding a lot of the decisions," said Johnson, 53, who hopes to retain her at-large seat. "We've tried hard to protect the classroom, and we've been pretty successful at that. But the tighter the times, the more difficult the decisions are going to get."

Previously, candidates were selected during a nominating convention, and names were then sent to the governor, who was not obligated to select anyone from the list. Under the new process, the commission will produce a list of candidates for Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who then must appoint two of them to the school board.