Two candidates competing for one seat on the board (nonpartisan race)

Lynne Harris

Where you live: Silver Spring

Date of birth: 7/27/62

Do you have children who attend or have attended Montgomery County Public Schools? Which schools and when? Highland View Elementary (K-5, finished 2014); Silver Spring International Middle School (finished 2017); Einstein High School (class of ’21)

Current occupation and employer (may also list up to two previous jobs you’ve held); if retired, list your last job and employer: Instructor, medical science with clinical applications, Thomas Edison High School of Technology, MCPS

Political or education advocacy experience (public elected offices held and when, as well as unsuccessful campaigns for office and which years; can include PTA or similar experience; do not include political party positions):

MCCPTA – the largest 501(c)(3) advocacy organization in Montgomery County:

  • Legislative Committee chair, 2011-12
  • Vice president educational issues – May 2012-May 2013
  • Vice president legislation/advocacy – May 2013-June 2016
  • Area vice president, Downcounty Consortium – 2016-17
  • President, April 2017–January 2020

Campaign information:

1 – Why are you running for this office? (75 words max)
I believe in the power of education and the potential of every one of our 166,000+ students. I have substantive countywide knowledge of our school system and know that equity, excellence, engagement, safety, and accountability are essential to every student’s success. I want to serve on the BOE to devote my knowledge, skills, and full-time energy ensuring that every day, every student in every school feels safe, valued, and welcome being exactly who they are.

2 – What qualities or experience do you have to serve on the school board? (100 words max)
I bring academic and professional expertise in nursing, law, and public health to all issues impacting our schools, plus the experience of being an MCPS parent, teacher and longtime advocate. I know and understand BOE, county and state legislative processes. Over the past 10 years, I’ve partnered with MCPS, local PT(S)As and county agencies/partners on many issues, including mental wellness, increasing equitable opportunities, restorative and trauma-informed practices, child protection, crisis communication, pedestrian safety, safe technology, supporting LGBTQ students and staff. While leading MCCPTA, we were a thoughtful, constructive, reliable partner, and were very effective supporting students and schools.

3 – What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it? (100 words max)
MCPS must provide consistency in academic courses and opportunities, uniform excellence in delivery of them, and access for all. It should be easy for every student, staff, and family member to identify courses and programs common to all level-alike schools, locate unique opportunities not commonly available, and understand how to participate. Unique options must be geographically located so that all students can access, looking at transit as a resource. Information must be accurate, useable, easy to find and transparently shared. We need objective criteria for advanced courses, and continuous, substantive engagement with students to measure how well we’re serving them. 

4 – What is your opinion of the current countywide boundary analysis? (75 words max)
I support the boundary analysis and scope of work including benchmarking MCPS against other school systems that routinely assess boundaries to proactively address issues like capacity. It’s essential to base future decisions on objective, comprehensive, countywide data. MoCo Planning and MCPS should collaborate on quadrennial County Growth Policy review, to ensure growth stops outpacing school capacity, we transparently make small, sensible boundary adjustments as needed, and developers pay their fair share of their infrastructure demands.

5 – Do you believe school boundaries should be redrawn? Why or why not? (100 words)
Yes, boundaries should be adjusted. Countywide, at each level (ES, MS, HS), enrollment is close to capacity, but individual school enrollment ranges from 62% to 201% of capacity. Some under-enrolled schools are adjacent to overcapacity schools. The result is a poor use of resources and many schools with less than optimal learning environments for students and staff. This situation exists because for decades, MCPS has failed to look, comprehensively, at school capacity and boundaries and make common-sense, periodic adjustments. We also have extremely-high-poverty schools, unacceptable in the nation’s 18th wealthiest county.

6 – What is one issue the current school board has handled poorly? What would you have done? (75 words max)
Timely, transparent communication and meaningful engagement of students, staff and families is an ongoing challenge with MCPS/BOE. Viewing the announcement of a decision as the start of engagement hasn’t worked. The unwillingness to communicate and share data timely and transparently has resulted in a tremendous lack of trust. I would treat stakeholders as the smart, valuable partners they are and plan routine stakeholder work sessions. Their wisdom and experience are essential to good decision-making.

7 – How well has Jack Smith done as superintendent? Give specific examples (100 words max)
Dr. Smith has shown a real commitment to equity, access, family engagement, and expanding academic options for students. During his tenure, Career and Technology programs have grown, high-quality advanced academic programs like the IB magnet are expanding geographically, and the Dual Enrollment partnership with MC has expanded existing, and created new opportunities. In partnership with MCCPTA, the MCPS Family Engagement Team has been recreated and expanded. At the beginning of his third year, Dr. Smith added a deputy superintendent whose primary charge is looking at everything MCPS does through an equity lens.

8 – What are the most important issues related to student safety? How would you address them? (75 words max)
Threats against schools, pedestrian safety, school climate. Our schools are the front line of child protection. We must: comprehensively adopt trauma-informed practices; have students and staff make schools welcoming to all, seeing and supporting struggling students quickly; complete secure entrances at all schools; continue working with partner agencies to make school communities resilient, and enhance pedestrian and bus stop safety; promote Safe Schools MD Hotline, with anonymous reporting of violence, bullying, and mental health crises.

9 – MCPS currently has an achievement gap for students of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. How would you address it? (75 words max)
Place experienced, highly effective teachers and administrators in the most challenged schools. Ensure that all academic and other opportunities are truly accessible to all students — looking at geographic placement across the county, transit as a resource, and as a last resort online access. Implement the community schools model at schools where poverty level exceeds 37% (countywide FARMs). Provide ongoing, excellent professional development so teachers have the strategies to support all students.

10 – Do you support raising the salary for school board members? Why or why not? If yes, how much? (50 words max)
Yes. Current BOE salary is not commensurate with the full-time work required to tackle the complex issues of a large school system, intelligently spend 44% of county revenues, and ensure MCPS serves all students well. A minimum $60,000 salary would allow individuals not retired or otherwise financially secure to serve.

11 – What has MCPS done well in responding to the pandemic? (100 words max)
As a teacher/parent/advocate I appreciate MCPS’ intentionality in embracing the 21st century reality that schools serve many needs, not just educational ones. Supporting students with meals, technology, ongoing mental-wellness and self-care resources is key to supporting the mission of education. Creating design teams, including stakeholders, working over the summer on key issues related to virtual/hybrid instruction — very important. For Fall: emphasizing connecting with students, providing technology to teachers, and enabling teachers to teach from classrooms if desired. Later start times for MS and HS makes sense now, but is unsustainable once live instruction resumes.

12 – What has MCPS not done well in responding to the pandemic? (100 words max)
Inadequate involvement of students, including special needs students, on the summer remote learning plan design teams was a huge missed opportunity. Similarly, lacking representation of ES teachers/parents/students, for whom distance learning is probably most challenging. CTE teacher perspective: little emphasis on the unique needs and challenges of our CTE courses, many of which are intensely hands on. Inadequate prioritization of plans to periodically bring small cohorts of student into schools for live instruction. Inadequate innovative thinking around how departments whose work is currently quiet, like transportation, can be creatively redeployed to support students and schools during the closure.

Sunil Dasgupta

Where you live: Aspen Hill

Date of birth: 6/16/68

Do you have children who attend or have attended Montgomery County Public Schools? Which schools and when? Three. Currently at Rockville High School, Loiederman Middle School, Barnsley Elementary School

Current occupation and employer (may also list up to two previous jobs you’ve held); if retired, list your last job and employer: Professor and director of the program in political science at University of Maryland Baltimore County at The Universities at Shady Grove

Political or education advocacy experience (public elected offices held and when, as well as unsuccessful campaigns for office and which years; can include PTA or similar experience; do not include political party positions): I have spent 20 years in the classroom and in policy research; over a decade in academic planning and management at The Universities at Shady Grove, where over 90 percent of my students are MCPS graduates, and from where I have advocated for my low-income, first-generation college and first-generation immigrant students. As PTA leader, I have pushed for improved learning outcomes, smart strategies, and equal access to public education irrespective of ZIP code.

First-time political candidate

Volunteer positions and participation include PTA president and vice president, Earle B. Wood Middle School, 2017-19; Rockville cluster coordinator, MCCPTA board member, MCCPTA Health and Safety/Wellness Committee chair, 2017-2020; Founder and convener of Annual Mental Health and Wellness Forum for families, students, and staff, 2018, 2019, 2020. Member of the Schools Technical Advisory Team for the Planning Board’s Subdivision Staging Policy, 2019-2020.

Campaign information:

1 – Why are you running for this office? (75 words max)
I decided to run because I was moved by the many inequities hurting our students emotionally and academically. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated challenges of learning loss, equity, school budgets, student and staff mental health, and leadership, jeopardizing public education itself. Given my background in teaching, academic planning, online education, public policy, and education advocacy, I am uniquely placed to bring an independent, informed, and analytical voice to help MCPS recover, reimagine, and reopen. 

2 – What qualities or experience do you have to serve on the school board? (100 words max)
I am a first-generation immigrant and parent of 3 MCPS students. I have 20 years of experience in classroom teaching— including 7 in online teaching — and over a decade in academic planning and management, and public policy research. I’ve worked extensively with budgets, financial reports, and data. I’ve been a school- and county-level PTA leader, and founded the annual Youth Mental Health and Wellness forum. I’ve published articles on education issues and testified before the Board of Education, County Council, and other forums. I’ve consistently raised an independent voice, and built a cross-county coalition to push for MCPS reforms. 

3 – What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it? (100 words max)
Public education in Montgomery County lacks clear vision. After too little live instruction in the spring, MCPS overcorrected to hours of live instruction that is unsustainable for many teachers and students. The fall plan was approved days before classes started and, in mid-September, there are no visible signs of planning for reopening. If elected, I would push to bring teachers on board, help them work in teams to pre-record core instruction modules, help staff and students receive adequate technology, redouble outreach to disconnected students, and seriously pursue a reopening plan. More on reopening: https://bit.ly/3mthfcp.

4 – What is your opinion of the current countywide boundary analysis? (75 words max)
The preliminary report from the consulting firm is now available. It’s clear that MCPS school assignments have not balanced utilization, proximity, and diversity. The only determinative factor over time has been stability. As soon as we get our heads above water with the pandemic, the board needs to offer a workable, new policy on boundaries that will bring the county together. I am the only candidate or board member to offer a detailed plan. 

5 – Do you believe school boundaries should be redrawn? Why or why not? (100 words)
MCPS should develop a new boundary policy that proactively addresses persistent imbalances in the school system. After much research and extensive discussions with families, school administrators, and teachers across the county, I have offered a plan for periodic, systemwide, and predictable boundary review and adjustment that could become the basis for moving forward on this contentious issue. My approach addresses several fears of redistricting opponents, including long bus rides, taking kids away from their friends and communities, and decline in home values, and has the advantage of enabling MCPS to remain abreast of population and demographic changes as they come.

6 – What is one issue the current school board has handled poorly? What would you have done? (75 words max)
Virtual learning has not been well managed. The fall plan, designed to approximate the traditional school day, is not sustainable for teachers, students, or families. Teachers were left to their own devices until Aug. 26, when a fall plan was belatedly approved. I would have pushed for early decisions, asked for workable online plans for students and staff, brought teachers on board, created teams for online delivery prep, and provided time and training for teachers. 

7 – How well has Jack Smith done as superintendent? Give specific examples (100 words max)
Dr. Smith pushed for evidence on the performance gap, supported the boundary analysis, and enabled universal screening for magnet programs. During the pandemic, he emphasized food delivery and computer distribution. But the delivery of online education remains shaky, decisions come too late, MCPS is in labor impasse with teachers when we need them on board, and there is little evidence of serious planning to reopen buildings. On balance, Dr. Smith has had difficulty addressing the fallout of the pandemic, but, equally, the board has not provided clear vision and leadership for him to follow.

8 – What are the most important issues related to student safety? How would you address them? (75 words max)
Students made hundreds of racism and sexual assault/harassment complaints on Instagram this summer. Many say their first reports weren’t taken seriously. MCPS must train staff to adequately respond to complaints, and educate students — early and often — on consent and bias. Criminal allegations must be reported to law enforcement rather than investigated internally. A single SRO has been inadequate defense against active shooters. We need more counselors, restorative practices, teacher diversity, lower teacher/staff ratios.

9 – MCPS currently has an achievement gap for students of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds. How would you address it? (75 words max)
Once budgets bounce back, we should reduce class size/staff ratios by hiring more teachers, staff, and counselors; improve staff and curriculum diversity; and train staff better. Lower class size lets teachers develop stronger relationships with students and families, and these relationships serve as the foundation that connects students to learning. We need to keep staff and programs in under-enrolled and under-resourced schools, expand hiring to encourage diversity, and consider the possibility of higher pay.

10 – Do you support raising the salary for school board members? Why or why not? If yes, how much? (50 words max)
Governing a $2.8 billion organization — with few staff working for board members — requires long hours. Given the current salary, few can serve. Generally, board members are retired, don’t need to work, or have flexible jobs. Raising the salary expands the field of candidates who can afford to serve.  

11 – What has MCPS done well in responding to the pandemic? (100 words max)
MCPS has done well with some operations such as meal, computer, mi-fi, book and material distribution. Improvements are always possible, but these tasks have benefitted from having existing infrastructure and people in place. The main challenge has been scaling up. On the academic side, some teachers have surged ahead with the transition to online education, setting impressive new ways of delivering instruction and engaging students. Many school principals have worked with parent leaders to bring their communities together, a welcome prospect for revitalizing the home and school partnership.

12 – What has MCPS not done well in responding to the pandemic? (100 words max)
There appears to be inability to plan ahead, belated decision-making, and too much left for teachers, students, and families to figure out on their own. The fall plan was approved days before school started and sought to approximate the traditional school day, an approach that isn’t sustainable for teachers, students, or families. Somehow, MCPS has slipped into a labor impasse with teachers at a time when we should have teachers on board. I am not seeing signs of planning for reopening buildings for when it becomes possible, including matching teachers willing to return with students who most need in-person instruction.