¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ

Candidates in Districts 1 and 5 will appear on the ballot of May 14’s primary election. The top two vote-getters will move on to the general election. The District 3 candidates will not be on the ballot until November, since only two candidates are registered.

¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ reached out to the eight candidates competing for the seats to ask questions about their campaigns.

The candidates’ answers below have been edited for clarity and length. Extended versions of these Q&As are available at .

MIKE HARTFORD

Mike Hartford is running for the District 5 Dorchester County Board of Education seat.

What will you bring to the board?

First-hand knowledge from a parent standpoint on current issues. Outside perspective, from not only a parental standpoint, but from a business standpoint. As a small business owner I feel I have the tools necessary to communicate issues effectively and provide reasonable solutions when problems do arise.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward?

We need to focus more on our local needs and suggestions, rather than what the state suggests. Our county is run by the students and the parents. The current board needs to be aware of that. It is about the kids, always.

How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

Maryland’s Blueprint itself is a great concept. We need to adapt to these guidelines and utilize the tools and knowledge we have of our local community to expand the idea further. For Instance, teacher incentives, pay raises and teacher appreciation should be at the forefront of our focus. These are the people who guide the students in the right direction. We need to attract the best talent so we can provide the children the best education they can get. Our country’s future depends on it.

CHRISTINE LAMONICA

Christine LaMonica is running for the District 3 Dorchester County Board of Education seat.

What will you bring to the board?

As a prospective member of the Board of Education, I bring a commitment to fostering positive change and ensuring that every student receives the best possible education in a safe environment.

I bring a true passion for advocacy for our students, families, and educators to ensure that their voices are heard, and their needs are met within our educational system. This will include advocating for resources for all schools regardless of their socioeconomic status or location, as I believe in the power of inclusive education that celebrates diversity and promotes a sense of belonging for every student.

As a board member I would promote transparency and collaboration in decision making. I am looking forward to visiting the schools and listening to the needs of each district, I believe that is paramount in understanding the culture of our schools. I recognize that to make progress, the Board functions best when the members work together towards common goals with open communication and respect.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward? How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

I am going to combine this question along with the question regarding the Blueprint. Overall, the board and district should work together towards the common goal of student safety, success in learning, and wellness for all students first and foremost, the Blueprint hopefully being a roadmap to help us meet certain objectives.

As a candidate and community member I see the Blueprint as a “challenge,� and one that has the potential to bring good to our schools, albeit nothing is perfect or easy. As a candidate I think the county and the board are addressing the issues of funding and staffing regarding the requirements of the Blueprint and the future of our education system the best they can right now with the resources available to them. The county and the board are going to have to be creative and resilient with the challenges ahead. We aren’t alone or singled out in Dorchester County. Larger counties are facing challenges also. They may have more resources to pull from, but larger populations to serve. We all have our specific barriers to overcome. We see this not only in the education system, but in many public service arenas.

LUCAS THORPE

Lucas Thorpe is running for the District 1 Dorchester County Board of Education seat.

What will you bring to the board?

As a candidate for the Board of Education, I bring a unique blend of experience, passion, and dedication to student success. Having previously served as a student member on the board, I understand the inner workings of the education system and the challenges that students face firsthand. This experience has equipped me with valuable insights into the needs and aspirations of our student population.

In addition to my board experience, my current work in the nonprofit sector serving Dorchester County Public Schools students has further deepened my understanding of the issues affecting our educational system. Through my role, I have developed innovative programs and initiatives aimed at supporting student growth and achievement.

I am committed to fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, and excellence within the board. My goal is to ensure that every decision made reflects a student-first mindset and contributes to the overall improvement of our educational system.

Furthermore, I am dedicated to promoting innovation and equity in education. I will work tirelessly to advocate for resources and programs that empower all students to reach their full potential, regardless of their background or circumstances.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward?

The goals that the board and district need to be working toward are multifaceted and require a comprehensive approach to address the challenges facing Dorchester County Public Schools. First and foremost, we need to prioritize improving academic outcomes and student achievement. Currently, DCPS is ranked 23 out of 24 systems in the state of Maryland, which is unacceptable. We must work tirelessly to elevate our educational standards and ensure that every student receives a high-quality education that prepares them for success.

To achieve this goal, we need to focus on several key areas:

• Leadership and support.
• Parent and community involvement.
• Addressing chronic absenteeism.
• Discipline and behavioral remediation.
• College and career readiness.

The board and district need to prioritize academic excellence, foster parent and community involvement, address chronic absenteeism and discipline issues, and promote college and career readiness.

How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

As a law passed in the Maryland State Legislature, my stance on the Blueprint is clear: I fully support its objectives and initiatives.

Now, the conversation shifts to how our school system will implement and stay on track with what is outlined in the Blueprint.

One key aspect of the Blueprint that I strongly endorse is Pillar 2, which focuses on high quality and diverse teachers and leaders. This pillar mandates that local school systems implement new teacher ladders, including a minimum teacher salary of $60,000 by fiscal year 2026. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to increase and support the pipeline of diverse teachers and leaders. Increasing teacher pay is essential for Dorchester to remain competitive and attract top talent to our schools.

However, it’s important to note that while I fully support the Blueprint, it is not currently fully funded by the State of Maryland. Despite a budget surplus in fiscal year 2023, the state is projected to face a structural budget deficit of $761 million by fiscal year 2025. In fiscal year 2024, DCPS received $58,118,000 in direct state funding and $24,006,038 in funding from the county. Historically, our county commissioners have funded education locally at around 0.0-1.0% above the Maintenance of Effort, whereas neighboring Wicomico County funds at roughly 5.0-10.0% above the MOE. As leaders in the school system and the county council, it’s imperative that we collaborate to find ways to fully fund initiatives and programming efforts locally.

SUSAN MORGAN

Susan Morgan is running for the District 3 Dorchester County Board of Education seat. Morgan is the current Board of Education vice president.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward?

• Raise the academic performance of all students in every school, with a particular focus on reading and math.
• Make kindergarten readiness programs available for all students.
• Reduce chronic absenteeism.
• Implement an effective alternative education program to address disruptive behavior at every level.
• Refuse to accept violent behavior by imposing serious and predictable consequences on such behavior.
• Increase fiscal responsibility and accountability.

How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

The Board of Education is directing DCPS to implement the Blueprint requirements within the required timelines. However, sufficient funding to meet these mandated requirements is not being provided by the State of Maryland. Lack of adequate funding will require hard, but informed choices over the next several years. Unless increased funding is provided or implementation deadlines are modified, it may impossible to meet Blueprint requirements going forward.

As a board member, what has been your biggest accomplishment OR what has been the board’s biggest accomplishment since you’ve been on it? What is one goal still ahead?

I have worked constructively with all individuals and groups who have the success of our students as their goal. For example, Mike Diaz (2023-24 Board President, 2022-23 Vice President) and I (2022-23 President, 2023-24 Vice President) have markedly different political views, but we have worked extremely well together to generate the constructive change needed for our children to succeed. Actions of the Board under our leadership over the past two years have resulted in the following accomplishments:

• Student Achievement: The Board is now monitoring student achievement using structured reports prepared by the DCPS Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessments. As a result, we now have reliable data demonstrating that our students’ test scores are improving somewhat is some areas.
• Kindergarten Readiness: Importantly, 42.4% of students enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs demonstrate readiness for kindergarten. Overall Kindergarten readiness has improved with 39% of students demonstrating readiness in Fall of SY2023-2024 (versus 32% in SY2022-2023 and 29% in SY2021-2022).
• Programs to Address Disruptive Behavior: This year, the Board has finally implemented a structured alternative education program that includes both academic and social/emotional components (with both an on-campus and an off-campus high school program) that is showing measurable results. Functional Family Therapy delivered in the student’s home is an important component of this program. A request for proposals to develop and implement similar on-campus programs at the elementary and middle school levels has been posted.
• Increased Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability: Over the past two years, the Board President and Vice President have initiated increased scrutiny of budget development and detailed justifications of spending requests. The Board now requires that concrete performance and outcome measures be specified for funded programs and for contracts with external organizations. In preparation for SY 2024-25, we are going back to the basics with our budget. Every dollar is being scrutinized, including costs of maintenance, function, administration and teachers. Costs have often been carried over from year-to-year without evaluation.
• School Safety: School safety has been improved demonstrably. We have supplied all of our secondary schools with weapons detection systems and installed fences around many of our schools. In addition, the board now refuses to accept violent behavior and is willing to impose serious and predictable consequences for violent behavior.
• Website Redesign: Comments from users indicated that the previous DCPS website failed to provide important information, was difficult to navigate, and lacked effective mechanisms for getting information out to the community. The Board directed DCPS to develop a new website that would incorporate an integrated communication system to address these deficiencies. After much discussion and review, the new website and communication system were installed and became operational this year.
• Increased Communication with the County Council:The board president and vice president have met regularly with the president and vice president of the County Council to foster an understanding of DCPS needs and programs and to address wider areas of concern, such as juvenile justice challenges.

MIKE DIAZ

Mike Diaz is running for the District 1 Dorchester County Board of Education seat. Diaz is the current Board of Education president.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward?

The board (5 elected individuals), are intensely focused on the areas described above. The Board members working with the superintendent are highly focused on retention and accountability within the system. As with any large company, or in our case school district, change doesn’t occur over night and neither do results. I feel we are moving rapidly in the right direction.

How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

Our job as the duly elected members to the school district is to govern the district and work with the superintendent. He manages the district and, specifically, the Blueprint requirements. The county government provides us the Maintenance of Effort funding to which we and the superintendent account for in the budget. This funding accounts for roughly 20% of the DCPS budget.

As a board member, what has been your biggest accomplishment OR what has been the board’s biggest accomplishment since you’ve been on it? What is one goal still ahead?

I was elected in 2020 and, shortly after taking office, the pandemic occurred, slowing everything down. That being said, I ran on safety and security and accountability as my main focus. Since then we added a layered security apparatus that involves weapon detection systems, security camera upgrades, security vestibules, etc. We had the superintendent hire a director of security and an assistant superintendent to focus on safety and accountability directly in the schools.

Alternative Education at the secondary level was something I wanted to ensure was available to the district when these students displayed undesirable behaviors and were, in most cases, sent home or suspended long term. Although DCPS by law still has to provide them educational services, many students never completed those tasks and were in the community being unaccountable. Making the investment in alternative education now ensures that there is a program in place in each high school for students that are experiencing difficulty in their normal setting.

Students that are placed on long term suspension are asked to participate in the off-campus alternative education program in Woolford and are there for an average of 44 days. This is in collaboration with the student and the parents. Many of the students are also given the opportunity to participate in the Functional Family Therapy program that is also offered as an intensive in-home wrap-around service.

I can’t think of a better example of the term “equity� than this. Providing structural, long-term, evidenced-based services to our most at risk populations.

This Board also approved a three year agreement with the educators, increasing their compensation to meet the Blueprint standards.

The overall goal is to provide the community the best education possible. DCPS is currently 23 out of 24 in Maryland, something the acting superintendent reminds us of frequently. We didn’t get here overnight. I feel more confident that we are charging ahead with the mentality of accountability at all levels. This approach will shape the management and leadership culture in the district and will have a direct effect in the learning process.

BRANDY DAWSON CUMBERLAND

Brandy Dawson Cumberland is running for the District 1 Dorchester County Board of Education seat.

What will you bring to the board?

A fresh perspective as a parent and invested community member, without a private agenda. I have studied and implemented quality initiative projects throughout my doctoral studies. I am serious about safe, evidence-based and data-driven solutions while remembering the uniqueness and diversity of our large school district. Additionally, as a mental health professional, I aim to serve our community, and the future of our community is our children.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward?

Goals must prioritize safety, transparency, learning, retaining quality educators and accountability.

How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

While the Blueprint has been passed at the state level, several districts are in a similar situation to Dorchester. We must continue working with local and state legislators to advocate for resource allocation to allow for implementation.

CHRIS WEEDLETONChris Wheedleton is running for the District 5 Dorchester County Board of Education seat. He is currently serving as District 5 board member.

What goals do the board and district need to be working toward?

The board and district leadership established and aligned on a strategic plan last year that lays out clear goals for improvement and growth. Those goals were translated into scorecards and metrics in every area of the strategic plan including academic success, school/family/community partnerships, school safety & climate, high quality workforce and operational efficiency. We have shifted the monthly board meetings to put student outcomes and deliverables in each area at the forefront of what we focus on and post the outcomes on the DCPS website after every meeting to ensure transparency and clarity for all community stakeholders. Continuous improvement in every one of those areas is what the district needs to and is working towards. Check out the plan at:

How do you feel the county should be handling Blueprint?

In an honest and open way. That includes how we are working to understand and stay compliant with the guidelines that have been and continue to be laid out from the state, which we are currently doing through our Blueprint coordinator, Dr. Boyd. It also includes sharing with all stakeholders what is working and not working for our District and community. There are multiple elements of Blueprint that need to be refined in order for it to help support the unique needs of Dorchester County. The board and superintendent continue to share those with state and local officials so that they understand, from the educator’s perspective, what the implementation looks like on the ground. Working together to understand and try to improve what is needed for our county is important. There are positive aspects that have brought resources in the area of workforce development and career planning for students, as well as areas like early childhood that have yet to be structured in ways that work in Dorchester County.

As a board member, what has been your biggest accomplishment OR what has been the board’s biggest accomplishment since you’ve been on it? What is one goal still ahead?

I have enjoyed the work of the board and appreciate the feedback I have received that community members have seen my approach as organized and thoughtful to the questions and work that comes before the Board for consideration and action. I am proud to have added value in helping to develop and steer the publicly available Data Dashboard and the process behind it, clearer connections to the business community, and a reinstated CASE Agricultural program at DCTC to ensure that exposure to pathways to success in agriculture remain a viable part of the educational experience for students in our community. One clear goal ahead is the critical work of finding the best next leader of DCPS as part of the superintendent search process that we are currently going through, and I am honored to be helping to lead that process. I would be proud to represent the area of Dorchester County in District 5 that raised me. I welcome anyone who wants to learn more to check out my website at:

JEROME HARRIS

Jerome Harris is running for the District 5 Dorchester County Board of Education seat. Harris did not respond to the candidate questions in time for publication of this article.