SCANNED DOCS: Students Produce "Young Apple Ballot" for MoCo School Board Races // PLUS: Read Candidate Literature

MoCo students advocate for a styrofoam ban at a recent youth town hall meeting.

MOCO STUDENTS GET POLITICAL OVER THE ENVIRONMENT: Maryland Juice picked up a number of pieces of literature at a Montgomery County Board of Education debate last night. But the most interesting flyer I grabbed was a "Young Apple Ballot" endorsement card produced by a group called "The Young Activist Club." The student-led movement has been trying for years to persuade Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to eliminate environmentally unfriendly styrofoam trays from use in school cafeterias. Specifically, they have been trying to get permission to launch a pilot program at Piney Branch Elementary School (which happens to be about four blocks from my house). After their efforts were rejected the last few years, the young activists-in-training are now getting political. Below you can read a scan of their new endorsement card, along with some background information from their website (excerpt below):

YOUNG ACTIVIST CLUB: We want to replace the wasteful and toxic polystyrene lunch trays at Piney Branch Elementary School with 350 durable lunch trays and a tray washer (also called a ware washer).   Once the ware washer is installed, we want to track the costs and benefits of moving away from disposables and toward reusables.   We want this project to be a test or pilot for the county school district and then, if successful, a model for other schools anywhere in the country.

Money Raised to Date:  We have raised $10,115 to pay for a rebuilt dish washer and durable reusable trays to replace the disposable polystyrene lunch trays.

Status:  Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) administrators have denied our request to proceed with a pilot project.  In a December 23rd, 2010 memo to the MCPS Board of Education, then School Superintendent Jerry Weast cited cost reasons for his opposition to the project.  His staff continue to insist we need a $27,000 new ware washer, that installation costs are a whopping $12,000 (not true), and that two staff are needed to operate a ware washer in Maryland (also not true).... We will continue to appeal the decision and to present evidence justifying the merits of our pilot project which will save MCPS money during its operation, not cost money.  We are now asking new Superintendent Joshua Staff to meet with us so we can discuss the benefits of our project and seek his support to move forward.

Their website also contains a voter guide for this year's Board of Education races:

Board of Ed Candidates Who Support Healthy Schools and Our Dishwasher Project:

Annita Seckinger - District 4
Fred Evans - District 2
Rebecca Smondrowski - District 2
Morris Panner - At Large

Current Board of Ed Members Seeking Re-Election Who DO NOT Support Our Project:

Christopher Barclay - District 4
Philip Kauffman - At Large

Don't Forget to Vote!

Below you can see the literature they were handing out at the school board debate:
"Young Apple Ballot" from Moco Students Activists

BOARD OF EDUCATION CANDIDATE LITERATURE: Maryland Juice also picked up a few pieces of literature that the school board candidates were handing out. Unfortunately, I did not see pieces from all of the candidates. Note that all Montgomery County voters will get to vote for candidates in all three school board races:

• DISTRICT 2:  Fred Evans vs. Rebecca Smondrowski
• DISTRICT 4: Chris Barclay vs. Annita Seckinger
• AT-LARGE: Phil Kauffman vs. Morris Panner

DEBATE SCHEDULE: Montgomery County Board of Education Candidates to Face Off // Fred Evans vs. Rebecca Smondrowski

UPDATE: Two readers inform us that there are two additional school board candidates debates. One on WED 10/10 and another on MON 10/29.  

10/10 DEBATE: School Board Candidates Forum on Public Safety, October 10 - 7 p.m.
Long Branch Community Center, 2nd floor Social Hall
8700 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring, MD

10/29 DEBATE: League of Women Voters of Montgomery County and the American Association of University Women are holding a School Board debate for all the candidates on Monday, October 29 at 6pm at Wheaton Library.

In Montgomery County, there are only a few hotly contested races on the ballot this November, and much of the attention has been focused on the 6th Congressional District battle between Democrat John Delaney and GOP Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. Meanwhile, the numerous referenda are attracting time and resources from local Dems -- (eg: police union rights, gambling, redistricting, the Dream Act and marriage equality).

But the real sleeper race is the Board of Education District 2 contest between former principal Fred Evans and MoCo politico Rebecca Smondrowski. Over the next two weeks, MoCo voters will have two opportunities to watch the school board candidates square off (details below):

DEBATE #1: OCT. 19 LEISURE WORLD DEMOCRATIC CLUB EVENT - Montgomery County's Leisure World community has long been a hotbed of Democratic Party activity, given that the thousands of retirees residing there have reliably high voter turnout. They are hosting a school board forum on Friday, October 19th (details below):

We in Leisure World have scheduled a Candidates Forum for the 6 candidates for the Montgomery County Board of Education. It will be held on Friday, October 19, 2012, from 2pm to 4pm. It is sponsored by the Democratic Club of Leisure World but since the Board of Education election is non-partisan, our Candidates Forum will be non-partisan too.

We have received acceptances from all 6 candidates, and we plan to have an in-depth conversation with all the candidates, in front of as many potential voters as possible. We won't have rigid time limits for answers, and won't have every candidate answer every question. Instead, each candidate will be given the opportunity to answer the questions he or she is most interested in, and to have a roughly equal amount of time to talk.

We've prepared a handout to help explain the MoCo Board of Education election, and I'll attach a copy of that handout to this email.

Leisure World is a gated community, where you need an invitation to enter, so if anyone would like to attend this event they can contact me (Paul M. Bessel at besselpaulm@comcast.net ) and I'll be happy to invite you so long as we have enough room.

Leisure World Debate Info: Montgomery County Board of Education

DEBATE #2: OCT. 24 PROGRESSIVE NEIGHBORS EVENT - Progressive Neighbors is a grassroots group of Montgomery County liberals, and on Wednesday, October 24th, they too are hosting a school board candidates debate (details below):

Save the Date: School Board Candidates Forum - Wednesday, October 24

WHAT: Montgomery County Education Forum, Progressive Neighbors, Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, and the African-American Democratic Club of Montgomery County invite you to join us for a community forum to hear from and ask questions of candidates for the Montgomery County Board of Education.

WHEN: Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 6:45 to 9:00 pm

WHERE: Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, Assembly Hall –
310 Tulip Ave (at Maple Ave), Takoma Park, MD 20912*

WHO:
District 2: Rebecca Smondrowski, Fred Evans
District 4: Christopher Barclay, Annita Seckinger
At-Large: Phil Kauffman, Morris Panner
Moderators: Del. Bonnie Cullison, Sharon Dooley, Marva Deskins

Please forward this to friends, family, neighbors, listserves, and share it on Facebook.  For more information, please contact Terrill North at terrillnorth@hotmail.com.

*Ample street parking and walkable from Takoma Park Metro.

MoCo Board of Education Primaries Bring Mixed Results for Washington Post & Teachers Union Endorsed Candidates

BACKGROUND: Only the most demented among Maryland politicos could enjoy following the longstanding endorsement rivalry between The Washington Post and Montgomery County's teachers union (aka MCEA). If you happen to be one of these deranged politicos, note that last night's Board of Education results in Montgomery County are a mixed bag for both The Washington Post and MCEA.

In both the Board of Education District 2 and At-Large races, voters were asked to choose only one candidate in each race. These "primaries" are non-partisan, and so in both the District 2 and At Large races, the top two finishers will appear on the November General Election ballot.

Board of Education District 2 (Vote for One): For the District 2 race, MCEA endorsed two candidates: Fred Evans and Jeanne Ellinport. Meanwhile, The Washington Post endorsed Rebecca Smondrowski. This skirmish will continue into November, as Fred Evans and Rebecca Smondrowski are the top two finishers in the unofficial vote totals. The 2nd MCEA-backed candidate Jeanne Ellinport trails Smondrowski by 451 votes, which represents over half of a percentage point difference between the two candidates.

1. Fred Evans - 16,495 (24.8%) - MCEA Endorsed
2. Rebecca Smondrowski - 14,938 (22.4%) - Washington Post Endorsed
3. Jeanne Ellinport - 14,487 (21.7%) - MCEA Endorsed
4. Susan Byrne - 13,828 (20.8%)
5. Saqib Ali  - 6,878 (10.3%)

Board of Education At Large (Vote for One): In the Board of Education At Large race, MCEA-backed incumbent Phil Kauffman dominated the primary election, winning over 60% of the vote. His nearest challenger, The Washington Post-backed Morris Panner, was over 42 points behind. Nevertheless, the At Large school board race is another race where MCEA and The Washington Post-backed candidates took the top two spots. That means this skirmish will also continue into November.

1. Phil Kauffman - 38,722 - (60.3%) - MCEA Endorsed
2. Morris Panner - 10,897 - (17.0%) - Washington Post Endorsed
3. Lou August - 7,649 - (11.9%)
4. Aryeh Shudofsky - 6,947 - (10.8%)

More on the MoCo Board of Education races soon!