Greg Malveaux and Kristen Zihmer lead the Carroll County Board of Education race with all precincts reporting.
Voters had a choice between four candidates vying for two open seats now held by members Marsha Herbert and Donna Sivigny on the five-member school board. Fighting against Malveaux and Zihmer were Muri Lynn Dueppen and Amanda Jozkowski, who campaigned together.
Malveaux leads with 30% of the votes, according to the stateβs board of elections. Zihmer has 29%.
Malveaux, 53, said his priorities would include safety and special education. He would support strict cellphone policies, rewarding outstanding teachers with more pay, strong student discipline policies and parent involvement that supports teachersβ efforts.
In an interview before the results came in, he said he was impressed with how informed the voters were about the race while campaigning at Manchester Valley High School on Tuesday. The community college professor had been told by voters they admired his education background. He said he put all he had into the campaign.
βSo I have no concern about the outcome,β said Malveaux. βI donβt feel like I left any stone unturned.β
Zihmer, 38, said her school budget priorities include academics and safety. She said competitive pay and manageable class sizes are ways to keep and attract teachers, and she supports students having access to books that represent various perspectives. However, parental consent should be given to access controversial materials, she said.
Although the race is nonpartisan, itβs clear there was a political divide among candidates. Malveaux and Zihmer were both endorsed by Republican leaders and groups. Dueppen and Jozkowski were endorsed by Democratic leaders and the teachers union β a group that often endorses Democrats.
The Maryland Democratic Party announced it invested in board of education campaigns across Maryland for the first time in recent history to prevent candidates they see as extreme from being elected. Malveaux made their list. He and Zihmer were endorsed by Carroll Countyβs Moms for Liberty chapter. Democrats see the group as hateful, but the nonprofit identifies itself as nonpartisan. Efforts by Carrollβs chapter, however, like a campaign to remove school library books they find sexually explicit, often align with conservative values.
Dueppen and Jozkowski posted an endorsement from nearly two dozen retired Carroll County Public School educators on Facebook that accused their opponents of βwishing to return our schools to the style of leadership prominent in the 1950β²sβ and groups like Moms for Liberty of βseek[ing] to return our society to a white, male-dominated, Christian society.β Republican members of Carrollβs delegation condemned the post and accused Dueppen and Jozkowski of injecting βracial and anti-religious rhetoricβ into the race.
Dueppen, 55, thinks cellphones in class should be minimal and, advocated increasing compensation and reducing workload for school employees. She doesnβt think school library books should be restricted and said parents should have rights over their own children and not others.
Jozkowski, 40, said part of her goal is to stop βpolitically motivated and divisive rhetoric,β and that career and technical education, mental health services and technology would be her budget priorities.
She said Tuesday night that sheβs disappointed she and Dueppen werenβt elected.
βI think whatβs the most sad about this, our teachers and our students deserve more and deserve better,β she said.
Jozkowski said itβs also a reflection of the powerful support their opponents received from Republicans, the dominant party in Carroll. She said sheβd hoped she and Dueppen would have brought balance on the school board.
Jason Bogat of Westminster, who voted at the Career and Tech Center, picked Malveaux and Zihmer. He said he agreed with their positions on school library books and didnβt want the left to push their agenda.
βThereβs some controversial books out there that Iβve seen,β he said. βI just donβt want my daughter subjected to [them].β
Sharon Willingham, who voted at Parrβs Ridge Elementary School in Mount Airy, said she agrees with Zihmerβs and Malveauxβs values. Willingham, 75, liked that they believe in parents rights.
Justin Woodson, however, said he does not agree with their values. He found they were supported by Moms for Liberty and picked Jozkowski and Dueppen. He and his family were not fans of the library book removals. When it was clear Jozkowski and Dueppen felt the same, βWe aligned with that kind of moral value.β
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