School Board Shifts Direction

The Board of Education selected Christopher Barclay to fill the vacant District 4 seat formerly held by Valerie Ervin who now serves on the County Council (D-District 5). The Examiner reported that the decision was not without controversy with Sharon Cox and Stephen Abrams accusing MCEA of exercising too much influence on the Board's choice:

Stephen Abrams, who has been on the panel for 11 years, called Barclay the candidate hand-picked by the district’s 11,000-member teachers’ union, and he opted instead to lend his support to Victor Salazar, an Army officer who made a highly emotional and personal plea for the job.

Even though she did not single Barclay out by name Saturday, Board Vice President Sharon Cox plainly said she refused to vote for the finalist with a “mighty advocate” in the Montgomery County Education Association in his corner, and was instead backing Salazar.

“That kind of influence is a concern for me,” Cox said.

Barclay, however, defended himself against accusations of any improper influence, saying he had worked hard to make the victory happen.

“Every person who was considered in that top five at least had some conversations with representatives beyond the board and community. I think it’s completely appropriate to speak to them about those decisions,” he told the Examiner. “As far as the union, I was happy to have an opportunity to meet with them. There was no indication after my meeting with them that I was ‘their guy.’ I didn’t think I was anyone’s guy.”

Even before the finalists’ 20-minute interviews, Abrams said he had grave concerns that board members had already made up their minds based on deals made with the MCEA. After the decision was announced, he told The Examiner that his fears were realized when Barclay got five of the seven votes.

“The union ordained it, and the lemmings marched to it,” Abrams said. “I think he may be a better board member than even the union envisioned ... We’ll see what he’s made of.”

Judy Docca was one of the board members who voted for Barclay. On Sunday, she said Abrams’ assertions were complete “hearsay” and that she had independently decided Barclay was the best fit based on his past experience.

“The union never approached me about it. I don’t know anything about that,” she told The Examiner. “We got quite a bit of e-mails of support, especially from the finalists ... but I don’t think that influenced it at all.”

Besides runner-up Salazar, the other finalists were Sheldon Fishman, Alies Muskin and Beth Wong.

A father of three children in the school system, Barclay has been active in the school community, particularly on the county’ s PTA and NAACP Parents Council. As a black man, he said his main focus on the board will be to close the achievement gap so that all students can excel.

Vote tally

Who the Montgomery County School Board members individually supported for the empty District 4 seat:

Stephen Abrams — Salazar
Judy Docca — Barclay
Sarah Horvitz — Barclay
Sharon Cox — Salazar
Patricia O’Neill — Barclay
Shirley Brandman — Barclay
Nancy Navarro — Barclay

(See the Gazette story as well.) Barclay is African American, so the appointment will also raise the number of minorities on the Board to a new high of three. Judy Docca is also African American and Nancy Navarro is Latina. No Asian American, the third major minority group in the County currently sits on the Board or the County Council. There are three Asian American delegates in our county delegation to the General Assembly.

The new alignment on the Board was also apparent in the selection of Nancy Navarro as Board President and Shirley Brandman as its Vice President. Stephen Abrams was the only member of the Board to vote against either choice; Sharon Cox withdrew as a candidate for Board President before the Board voted. Cox put a negative spin on the shift in the Board when she spoke to the Gazette:

‘‘The recent election has resulted in what I believe is a significant philosophical shift among members of the board in regard to the board’s role and responsibilities.”

That shift, ushered in by November’s election, puts more emphasis ‘‘on constituent services than to focus on teaching and learning in the classroom,” Cox said Monday.

How that shift will play out in the direction the board takes on issues before it next year, ranging from middle school reform to a possible renewal of Superintendent Jerry D. Weast’s contract, remains to be seen, Cox said.

On Tuesday, Navarro said she plans to carry out her duties under the guiding principles that ‘‘every child can learn and succeed, the pursuit of excellence is unending” and that the integrity of an open board is ‘‘invaluable.”

‘‘All [board members] are deeply committed to student achievement and we will match our skills and that will lead us to success,” she said.

The Board has clearly undergone a shift with Abrams and Cox obviously being the odd couple on the Board. We'll have to wait and see exactly what it means for Board policy. While many have expectations, I don't know enough to predict the impact of the change in leadership with certainty. Moreover, alignments don't always last as long as some expect as new issues arise.