A forum in Washington County, Md., in which a news anchor asked seven of the eight school board candidates what they thought about bullying and other school-related issues, will air periodically on HMTV6 before the June 24 primary, the Herald-Mail reports.
The main issues addressed, according to the news article, were
- Controlling bullying in the face of pressure to reduce the harshness of discipline
- Enhancing communication between the school system and community
- Allowing home-schooled students to participate in public-school programs
- Switching to a six-period day in the district’s schools
The primary election on June 24 will serve to narrow the field of eight down to six. All school board members are non-partisan in Washington County. Then, the November general election will select three of the remaining six to fill vacances on the seven-member board.
The candidates in the June 24 primary are
- Jacqueline Fischer (incumbent)
- Mike Guessford (did not participate in the forum)
- Karen J Harshman (incumbent)
- Henry House
- Mindy Marsden
- Ryan Richard Miner
- Peter E Perini Sr
- Stan Stouffer (incumbent)
The incumbents all noted the movement, on the part of Maryland state officials, to limit the number of suspensions and expulsions in order to provide students with more instruction time.
“I do believe that there are steps we can take to … combat bullying. I think … respect for others starts at home,” the paper quoted Mr Stouffer, a retired teacher, coach, and athletic director, as saying.
With regard to allowing home-schooled students to participate in public school programs, such as extracurricular activities, one candidate gave the idea a favorable nod. “My feeling is that the home-schooled students, they are contributing into … our tax base. There is a dynamic within WCPS that we would have to address and be effective in how we address it, whether it be extracurricular activities such as sports or band or even for a class that … the home-school parent may not feel comfortable in teaching,” said Mr House, a local businessman.
Current Maryland law does not allow home-schooled students to partially enroll in public schools for the purpose of completing certain programs that aren’t available to home-schooled students, unless they address special education needs. But some people want to change that, including Matthew Coile, a home-schooled student in Gaithersburg, who wrote an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun in April.
