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Colleen E. Cusimano
Colleen E. Cusimano was an at-large member of the Frederick County Board of Education in Maryland. She was first appointed to the board in July 2013.[1] Cusimano did not run for re-election in 2018.
Biography
Cusimano earned a B.S. in information systems management from the University of Maryland. At the time of her tenure, Cusimano was working as a systems engineer at Johns Hopkins University. Cusimano and her husband, Paul, have three children.[1]
Elections
2014
The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included incumbents Colleen E. Cusimano, April Fleming Miller and Brad W. Young as well as challengers Liz Barrett, Jonathan C. Carothers, Mike Ferrell, Millicent Hall, Kenneth Kerr and Richard S. Vallaster III. Board member Jean A. Smith did not file for re-election. All of the primary candidates except Carothers faced off in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Incumbents Brad W. Young and Colleen E. Cusimano, along with newcomers Liz Barrett and Kenneth Kerr, won the general election.
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Liz Barrett |
15.5% | 35,673 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brad W. Young Incumbent |
14.2% | 32,632 | |
| Nonpartisan | Colleen E. Cusimano Incumbent |
13.6% | 31,147 | |
| Nonpartisan | April Fleming Miller Incumbent |
12.9% | 29,700 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ken Kerr | 12.9% | 29,657 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Ferrell | 11.4% | 26,104 | |
| Nonpartisan | Millicent Hall | 10.4% | 23,984 | |
| Nonpartisan | Richard S. Vallaster III | 8.9% | 20,470 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 0.2% | 422 | |
| Total Votes | 229,789 | |||
| Source: Frederick County Board of Elections, "2014 Gubernatorial General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Liz Barrett |
15.3% | 16,235 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brad W. Young Incumbent |
14.9% | 15,830 | |
| Nonpartisan | Colleen E. Cusimano Incumbent |
12.9% | 13,765 | |
| Nonpartisan | April Fleming Miller Incumbent |
12.3% | 13,044 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ken Kerr |
12.2% | 12,942 | |
| Nonpartisan | Millicent Hall |
9.5% | 10,131 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Ferrell |
8.7% | 9,250 | |
| Nonpartisan | Richard S. Vallaster III |
8.4% | 8,967 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jonathan C. Carothers | 5.9% | 6,270 | |
| Total Votes | 106,434 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Frederick County," July 16, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Cusimano has reported no contributions or expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections as of June 9, 2014.[2]
Endorsements
Cusimano did not receive any official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2014
Cusimano explained her themes for the 2014 race in an interview with The Frederick News-Post:
| “ |
Why are you running for the Board of Education? I am a mother who found herself concerned about what was happening in our schools, school budgets, and resources, curriculum and teaching materials. I lobbied the Board before deciding I needed to run in order to make the changes that were needed. What steps should the school system take to deal with financial uncertainty and maintenance-of-effort funding? Our whole nation is dealing right now with financial uncertainty. Our school system needs to protect the great educational opportunities that we provide to all students. The greatest solution to poverty is education. If we focus on well-developed materials and techniques and continue all of those practices that have placed ours among the top school systems in the country, we will be able to help our students to succeed. How do you intend to balance the competing needs of children, administration and teachers? Our children and their needs must come first. Our teachers deserve our support and reasonable salary levels. Teachers go into this field because their hearts drive them to it, not to get wealthy. Our school administration is largely trying to meet the demands of outside forces. We really need to measure the usefulness of burdensome policy and work to untangle the political/bureaucratic mess. What should the school board’s top priorities be? Our school leaders need to work to support and retain local decision-making and local control. ... More laws and regulations for our schools to try to meet — some of them conflicting with each other or prior existing law — new ones come, but the outdated ones never go away. This effort to serve many masters will be the undoing of our public schools. We need to bring the focus back to our students and families, our community, and meaningful curriculum. Other than the budget, what is the school system’s biggest challenge in the next four years? Finding ways to run a school system that serves each individual child’s specific needs while contorting to meet the growing list of demands that are trying to make our schools into factory-like producers of cookie-cutter graduates. What is the biggest difference between your approach and that of the past board? I am a member of the current Board. I believe longtime BoE members have spent years being vocally supportive of our schools, but largely reactive to education efforts and demands. The current political climate for education requires current and future Board members to be proactive, strong advocates for our schools. Questioning the conventional approaches seems necessary. |
” |
| —The Frederick News-Post, (2014) | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frederick County Public Schools, "Colleen E. Cusimano," August 12, 2013
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed May 23, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Frederick News-Post, "Board of Education candidate Colleen Cusimano," April 2, 2014
| 2014 Frederick County Public Schools Elections | |
| Frederick County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Liz Barrett • Jonathan C. Carothers • Colleen E. Cusimano • Mike Ferrell • Millicent Hall • Kenneth Kerr • April Fleming Miller • Richard S. Vallaster III • Brad W. Young |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
