My Two Cents: Vote For Board Of Education

Board of Education candidates forum last week in Potomac

My Two Cents is a weekly opinion column from Bethesda resident Joseph Hawkins. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BethesdaNow.com.

On Nov. 4 and starting Thursday with early voting, Montgomery County voters will choose four Board of Education candidates. Even though some Board candidates run in assigned districts, voters are allowed to vote for all Board candidates. Excluding the student member, the Board is comprised of seven members.

Traditionally, county voters ignore casting a vote for the Board candidates.

Joseph HawkinsGiven the fact that our public school system typically accounts for almost half of the county’s budget (more than $2 billion dollars), that type of voter apathy needs to change.

Please, please vote for Board of Education on Nov. 4.

Here is a link to the sample Montgomery County ballot, which includes Board candidates. And here is a separate link to relevant campaign information on the candidates.

Bethesda voters fall into District 3. Our current Board member is Pat O’Neil, who is being challenged by Laurie Halverson.

I wish I had time to devote to each of the eight Board candidates. I also wish I had time to get crazed about the issues — overcrowded schools and the achievement gap are just two.

I decided I would go another route by getting personal with the District 3 candidates. I asked Pat and Laurie, via email, the following question:

If you spent the rest of your life isolated on an island without internet or telephone service, but could take a few essentials, what would you bring along? The only condition is you could bring one of each.

Essential Pat Laurie
Book Webster’s Dictionary Unbroken
Music CD Original Cast of Les Miserables The Big Chill soundtrack
Film Titanic Cinema Paradiso
TV series The Good Wife The Twilight Zone
Board game Monopoly Monopoly
Drink Diet Coke Coca Cola
Cookie Chocolate chip Chocolate chip

(Note:  There would be an unlimited supply of the essential drink and cookie. Laurie notes her film pick is driven by the fact that “Cinema Paradiso” was the first date film she saw with her husband and the chocolate chip cookies had to be hot out the oven.)

Does any of this inspire you to pick Pat over Laurie or Laurie over Pat?

Again, please vote on Nov. 4 or in early voting starting this week. And don’t forget to take a few minutes and learn about the Board of Education candidates in all four races.

Joseph Hawkins is a longtime Bethesda resident who remembers when there was no Capital Crescent Trail. He works full-time for an employee-owned social science research firm located Montgomery County. He is a D.C. native and for nearly 10 years, he wrote a regular column for the Montgomery Journal. He also has essays and editorials published in Education Week, the Washington Post, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine. He is a serious live music fan and is committed to checking out some live act at least once a month.

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