Bus troubles, budget cuts shape Prince George’s school board races

After months of school bus delays, difficult budget cuts and persistent concerns about student achievement, Prince George’s County voters will decide Tuesday who will help steer Maryland’s second-largest school district through its next four years.

Eight candidates are vying for four seats on the Prince George’s County Board of Education in an election that could reshape how the district addresses transportation problems, supports students with disabilities and spends its limited resources.

The stakes are particularly high in District 2, which has been without a representative since June, and District 9, where a board member appointed earlier this year is seeking her first election to the seat.

Across the races, candidates overwhelmingly support the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s ambitious education reform plan, but worry about the resources needed to fulfill its promises. They also share a common message: Families deserve a more responsive, more accountable school system. But their ideas for getting there vary.

Tackling a troubled transportation system

Transportation has emerged as one of the election’s defining issues after the district’s phased rollout of new bus routing and tracking technology left families grappling with missed pickups, lengthy commutes and unreliable information.

District 2 candidate Terence Clegg Sr., an attorney, state government administrator and father of three PGCPS students, wants more transportation professionals involved in district operations.

“If I can track my Domino’s pizza from the oven all the way to my doorstep,” he said, “then I should be able to accurately track my kid — my most precious commodity — from school to my door.”

His opponent, Caroline Decaire-Goldin, a former PGCPS teacher and current education leader in D.C., wants the district to release bus routes well before the start of the school year, giving drivers and families time to identify and resolve problems before students return to classrooms. She’s also urging stronger channels for parents to provide feedback.

“We need to have structures in place where we are centering the people that experience this system most often,” she said.

In District 3, Hyattsville Elementary School PTA leader Jamie McGonnigal wants firm deadlines for resolving transportation complaints and consequences when district leaders miss them.

“Accountability has to look like something,” he said. “It can’t just be you’re accountable to me.”

His opponent, Brentwood Town Council member Juan Arango-Millan, advocates for stronger oversight and clearer communication, particularly with families who speak languages other than English.

District 9 challenger Erica Bennett, a longtime PGCPS educator and elementary school principal, proposes having drivers test routes two weeks before school starts, potentially with volunteer families providing feedback.

“A computer may route the route, but it cannot match the human touch,” she said in a phone interview. “Will we get it 100% correct? No. But would 10,000 children be left at a bus stop on the first day of school? Absolutely not.”

Her opponent, incumbent Chandrai “CJ” Jackson-Saunders, wants the district to reassess its transportation commitments, including lengthy trips to specialty programs, while addressing driver shortages and unreliable service.

“We need to stop band-aiding and putting bubble gum on these short-term fixes,” Jackson-Saunders said.

Protecting classrooms amid budget pressures

Candidates would also inherit difficult financial decisions after PGCPS cut around $150 million from its $3 billion fiscal 2027 budget.

Clegg wants to examine overlapping educational technology subscriptions and administrative positions before cutting classroom resources, while protecting specialty programs such as language immersion.

Decaire-Goldin told The Banner she’d consider pausing pilot programs and reviewing vacant positions for savings, but she cautioned against eliminating central office jobs without understanding their responsibilities. She also wants families involved earlier in budget decisions.

“We run into problems when suddenly we throw a budget in their laps that cuts the things they care so much about, and they feel like they never had a chance to share their voice,” she said.

In District 9, Bennett proposes an independent organizational audit to identify inefficiencies before eliminating more school-based positions.

“We cannot continue to balance the budget on the backs of our schools,” she said.

Jackson-Saunders, a former school psychologist, emphasizes holding the superintendent accountable for student outcomes and district operations.

In District 3, McGonnigal wants closer scrutiny of school spending while protecting mental health services, arts education and teacher salaries. Arango-Millan wants the board to monitor how reductions affect classrooms and essential student services.

In District 6, where board Chair Branndon Jackson is not seeking reelection, Tyra Janet Bennett, founder of a community literacy and math tutoring initiative, wants greater transparency about spending and its impact on student achievement.

“Good intentions are not enough,” she wrote in a candidate questionnaire earlier this year. “We should be able to identify the goal, measure progress and make adjustments when something is not producing the intended results.”

Her opponent, former board candidate Ashley Kearney, emphasizes improving educational opportunities while navigating financial constraints.

Improving student outcomes and rebuilding trust

Beyond buses and budgets, candidates are confronting persistent concerns about academic performance, special education staffing and chronic absenteeism.

More than one in four PGCPS students were chronically absent during the 2025-26 school year, meaning they missed at least 10% of school days.

Arango-Millan supports early warning systems to identify attendance problems and multilingual outreach for families facing transportation, housing or other barriers. McGonnigal wants less punitive attendance practices and more collaboration with families.

“We need to again see parents as partners and not obstacles to education,” McGonnigal said.

Clegg, whose children have received special education services, wants more special educators and paraprofessionals, while Decaire-Goldin supports expanding teacher preparation programs and apprenticeships.

In District 9, Jackson-Saunders wants to examine whether schools have enough teachers and support staff to meet students’ needs, rather than relying solely on districtwide staffing numbers. Erica Bennett wants more consistent monitoring of staffing, spending and superintendent performance.

Tyra Janet Bennett, meanwhile, prioritizes foundational reading and math skills through targeted academic support.

Across the races, candidates also want stronger relationships between schools and families, whether through listening sessions, parent organizations or community partnerships.