For Montgomery School Board

WITHOUT DOUBT, the most important duty of any board of education is to select the person who actually runs the schools. In Montgomery County, that task becomes all the more daunting because of the large shoes that will need to be filled with Superintendent Jerry D. Weast's expected departure in 2011. It is therefore incumbent on voters to take great care Nov. 4 in deciding who will sit on the school board.

Two seats are being contested for the seven-member board. A worsening economy means painful decisions for a school system accustomed to getting what it wants. With a $250 million budget gap forecast for fiscal 2010, the board will have no choice but to cut back, and the test will be how to do so while maintaining the reforms that have boosted student learning and narrowed the achievement gap.

Incumbent Christopher S. Barclay is unopposed for the Silver Spring seat. For the at-large seat left open by Sharon W. Cox's decision not to seek reelection, Olney activist Phil Kauffman is the clear choice over retired engineer Tommy Le. Mr. Kauffman has broad and deep knowledge of the system, having been active in school and community affairs for 13 years. He rightfully speaks with pride of the accomplishments of the system yet is attuned to the frustrations of parents who feel their children are underserved. His fiscal background -- he works at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he provides support to billions of dollars in contracts -- will be key as the board wrestles with what to cut.

In the contest for the Rockville-Potomac seat, experience, vision and independence give long-term incumbent Stephen N. Abrams the advantage over his spirited challenger, lawyer Laura Farthing Berthiaume. Mr. Abrams's tenure has been marked by some controversy as he has a style that can be off-putting. But he brings sharp analysis, acute business sense and important institutional memory to the board. He was, for example, prescient in voting against terms of the current teacher contract, which is now acknowledged to be unaffordable. Mr. Abrams first took office in 1992 and is one of two members of the board that appointed Mr. Weast. It is experience that will be crucial in searching for the next superintendent. Finally, we admire Mr. Abrams's commitment to equity in education and his abhorrence of schools that don't do all they can to serve all students.