MCCF Education Committee Questionnaire: Candidates for Election to Montgomery County Board of Education (BoE)

1. MCCF has taken the position that no MCPS land should be sold or otherwise transferred to another authority unless the sale/transfer is linked to the acquisition of land of comparable size and value, thus preserving MCPS resources for building additional educational facilities as needed. What is your position regarding the surplussing of school property?

2. Do you believe that the BoE needs additional staff support? If so, how many and for what purpose(s)?

3. Do you believe that public trust in the BoE has diminished over the last few years? If so, what will you do to restore this lost trust?

4. Under what circumstances would you NOT act in accord with the expressed wishes of a large majority of a community in the county?

5. Much concern has been expressed about the number of portable classrooms and the quality of the learning environment they provide for so many of our children. How would you address these concerns, given the realities of budgetary constraints and the growing gap between needed school construction and projects that are actually in the pipeline?

6. Some concern has been expressed that the costs of running our school system have continued to increase without producing proportional gains in outcome. How do you believe the BoE can assess which MCPS programs are most cost effective and which are not working? What criteria would you use to determine if/when programs should be eliminated because they have not proven cost effective?

7. What is your view of the authority of the Office of the Inspector General to evaluate practices and policies of MCPS and the BoE?

8. What is your view of the authority of the County Council with regard to decisions made by the BoE?

9. Under what circumstances would it be appropriate for the BoE to consider initiating a search for a new superintendent?

10. Do you think that the salaries of BoE members should be increased, and if so, to what level?

11. Do you think that the number and distribution of seats (5 district, 2 at large) on the BoE should be changed? If so, why and in what way?

12. Please describe briefly the three most pressing issues that you feel the BoE must address, and how you would work to deal with those issues.