This assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that our political views shape how we perceive the role of government in society, and in the context of the BOE election, they certainly influence how candidates view the role of the school system. This isn’t a call to inject political agendas into our schools, but rather a call for transparency. Voters deserve to understand a candidate’s management style and worldview, which are often closely tied to their political affiliations.

In fact, knowing a BOE candidate’s political affiliation is crucial.

No candidate on the ballot is free from political affiliations. How can you tell? Follow the money.

Take Muri Dueppen and Amanda Jozkowski, who are running as the “Slate for Student Success.” They’ve collectively received donations from prominent Democratic politicians or their campaign committees including Jamie Raskin, Dutch Ruppersberger, David Trone and Sarah Elfreth. They’ve also garnered support from the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee and several other Democrat-aligned PACs.

On the other side of the aisle, candidates Greg Malveaux and Kristen Zihmer have received backing from numerous Republican politicians. Justin Ready, Chris Tomlinson, Haven Shoemaker, Nino Mangione, Susan Krebs and other key Republicans have provided financial support either directly or through their committees, along with nearly all the Republican clubs in Carroll County.

When you cast your vote for the Board of Education, it’s essential to vote your conscience and consider your political affiliations. And be wary of any candidate who claims to be above politics. Transparency about a candidate’s political leanings is not only beneficial but necessary in ensuring that voters make informed decisions about who will influence the future of our children’s education.

Bryan Thompson is a Westminster resident who has four children in Carroll County Public Schools. 

We watched in dismay as our children suffered the consequences of school shutdowns and a year of remote learning. By no means was this the fault of our great teachers, but was, instead, due to failed leadership within Carroll County Public Schools’ central office and outside pressure from a teachers union serving its own interest.

We now see our children facing an education gap that, coupled with setbacks to their social and emotional health, will affect our community for years to come.

There is, however, a silver lining. Virtual learning provided a much-needed window into the classroom. We now see greater parent involvement in their children’s education, and, overall, a renewed appreciation for our teachers and schools. A year of virtual learning taught us that schools are essential to our community. We learned that most parents, no matter how hard they tried, are not an adequate substitute for our teachers. Likewise, a computer screen does not replace the need for a physical classroom.

Parents want what is best for our teachers because, ultimately, their success is our children’s success. Yes, we have many concerns, but not with the hard-working teachers. Rather, our concerns are directed toward a union that purports to represent teachers, disregards parent interests, and pushes policies that harm our children.

This was evidenced by the recent Carroll County Times commentary from Teresa McCulloh, president of the Carroll County Education Association, who marches in lockstep with the national teachers union to insert politics and drive a wedge between parents and teachers.

In her piece, she argues that less classroom time, not more, is what’s needed for our students and teachers. Her proposal to add a monthly early dismissal day is tone deaf, ignores the impact to working families, exacerbates the education gap, and falls short of providing the relief teachers so desperately need.

No doubt, teachers are facing additional pressure to help our students catch up from a lost academic year. As if that wasn’t enough, they’re being asked to enforce mask mandates, perform contact-tracing and face an increase in behavioral problems from kids dealing with the stress of the pandemic.

Something must be done to relieve our teachers, but not at the expense of our children’s education. We’ve spoken to many teachers who have brought forward great ideas to reduce their workload, such as scaling back state/county requirements on administrative work, like testing and documentation, meetings, and professional development. Additionally, it is imperative to alleviate the burden of COVID policies on school staff by requesting the help of the health department, where these responsibilities belong. These and several other options could be explored to give our teachers the actual relief they need while maximizing much needed classroom time for our children.

Yet, Ms. McCulloh and the CCEA want to send our kids home.

Why the continued push for policy that we know goes against everything we learned from the pandemic? It’s simple: union politics. Knowing that parents will never willingly approve of less classroom time for their children, Ms. McCulloh openly accuses parents of obstructing the board from approving the early-dismissal request. She continues to blame the unrelated “politically neutral” policy discussion as a distraction and refers to parents as a “vocal minority” on a “witch hunt” that seeks to “punish any teacher who ‘steps out of line.”

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Ms. McCulloh’s attempt to group these two unrelated issues and demonize parents is a dishonest, blatantly political move to drum up support for policies she knows are unpopular.

If we are to “come together and move forward” as Ms. McCulloh suggests, the CCEA needs to first acknowledge the trust gap that exists between the teachers union and the community. We’ve watched for two years while the union inserted itself at the highest levels of government to influence COVID policy, school closures and emergency funding. Now, once again, we are seeing the union seize on an opportunity to pit teachers against parents to serve their own interests at the expense of our children’s education.

Rather than using our children as bargaining chips, we ask the CCEA to take parents’ concerns seriously and seek solutions that balance the needs of teachers and the students they serve. Less time in the classroom, as proposed by the CCEA, only harms our children and does little to lessen the burden teachers are facing.

Bryan Thompson is the chair of Concerned Parents of Carroll County and is a Westminster resident.