A candidate for school board in Charles County, Md., in the upcoming election allegedly sent an email message in April to more than 3,000 teachers and school staffers, introducing himself as a candidate and asking for their feedback on a few education-related issues, the Maryland Gazette reports.
Although the candidate, Mark Crawford, was not directly quoted in the article, he reportedly said he had obtained the email addresses from a public website and was just seeking information, adding that the most important information about school issues would come from people working in the schools.
“Board members and Board candidates should send all of their requests for information to our Communications Office rather than directly to staff,” wrote Charles County Superintendent Kimberly A Hill in a letter to school staff, advising them to disregard Mr Crawford’s information request. “The reason for this is that requests like these are a distraction to the important work you do every day. Additionally, if we allow one candidate to engage in this type of communication, then we would have to allow all candidates the same courtesy.”
Politics are starting to get fired up in the school board race in the county, with candidates crying foul over such things as not being invited to breakfasts, not participating in the endorsement process for the local teachers’ union, and so on. We urge voters in Charles County to conduct research on the candidates for school board and vote in the election on Tuesday, Nov 4.
The Education Association of Charles County, the union that represents teachers in the district, has endorsed the following candidates for school board: Jennifer Abell, Victoria “Vicki” Talley Kelly, Mike Lukas, Margaret Marshall, Virginia “Ginny” McGraw, Barbara Palko, and Robert “Bob” Pitts. Since only Ms Abell and Mr Lukas serve on the current school board in Charles County, it seems the teachers’ union wants to replace most of the school board come Election Day.