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Joseph L. Voskuhl
Joseph L. Voskuhl was the District C member on the Harford County Board of Education in Maryland. He advanced from a primary election on June 24, 2014 and went on to defeat incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy in the general election on November 4, 2014. Voskuhl did not run for re-election in 2018.
Biography
Voskuhl earned a B.A. in history from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He also received an M.Ed. in administration and supervision from Loyola University. Voskuhl worked as a teacher and principal in Baltimore City Public Schools and Harford County from 1970 until his retirement in 2011.[1]
Elections
2014
The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included primaries for Districts B, C, D, E and F with the top two vote recipients in each primary advancing to the general election on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Robert "Bob" Frisch and challenger Laura Runyeon defeated Greg Johnson in District B. District C incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy and challenger Joseph L. Voskuhl advanced to the general election by defeating John Anker. Nancy Reynolds faced challenger Mike Simon in her bid for another term in District D after defeating challengers Chris Scholz and Tishan D. Weerasooriya in the primary. The primary race for District E resulted in board member Arthur Kaff and newcomer Rachel Gauthier defeating Stephen Eric Macko and Barney Michel. Macko dropped out of the race after the withdrawal deadline which meant his name still appeared on the ballot. District F incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick and Michael R. Hitchings squared off in the general election after defeating Joe Fleckenstein in the primary.
The District A race advanced to the general election without a primary as newcomers Frederick A. Mullis and Jansen M. Robinson were the only candidates to file for the seat.
In the general election Jansen M. Robinson won District A, incumbent Robert "Bob" Frisch was returned to District B, challenger Joseph L. Voskuhl defeated incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy for District C, incumbent Nancy Reynolds won District D, newcomer Rachel Gauthier defeated incumbent Arthur Kaff for District E and incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick won another term in District F.
This was the first time that county voters selected members for these seats on the Harford County Board of Education. Board members were appointed by the governor prior to a 2009 state law that turned six of the nine board seats into elected positions. There were board elections for two-year terms in Districts A, B and D in November 2010. Victorious candidates in the general election took office in July 2015 along with three newly appointed members.[2]
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Joseph L. Voskuhl |
49.5% | 6,481 | |
| Nonpartisan | Alysson L. Krchnavy Incumbent | 49.1% | 6,428 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 1.3% | 173 | |
| Total Votes | 13,082 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Harford County," accessed December 20, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Joseph L. Voskuhl |
39.9% | 1,970 | |
| Nonpartisan | Alysson L. Krchnavy Incumbent |
35.5% | 1,752 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Anker | 24.5% | 1,211 | |
| Total Votes | 4,933 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County," July 17, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Voskuhl reported no contributions and $51.84 in expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections, leaving his campaign with $518.56 on hand as of June 10, 2014. This total includes amounts from previous filing periods.[3]
Endorsements
Voskuhl was endorsed by the Harford County Education Association (HCEA), The Aegis and The Baltimore Sun.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2014
Voskuhl explained his themes for the 2014 race in an interview with The Baltimore Sun:
| “ |
Q: How will you address the budget issues that each year leave Harford County Public Schools millions of dollars short of what school system officials say they need to operate? 1. Work with the new County Executive to identify duplicate services that could be combined in order to save the county and school system money. 2. Review all non-instructional positions in the central office. Any positions eliminated would make funds available for needed teaching positions. 3. Address the capacity and enrollment issues that exist in the middle and high schools. Combined, there are over 4,000 empty seats at these two levels. Q: In the wake of years of tragedies committed in schools across the country, please explain your position on school safety and security and what, if anything, should be done in Harford County Public Schools. The Office of Safety and Security, under the leadership of Bob Benedetto, has done an excellent job of ensuring the safety of our students and staff. Plans exist to continually update procedures in cooperation with the sheriff's office and the local police departments. Q: What is your position on two controversial cost savings measures – ending bus transportation waivers for students who live close to school and having tiered schedules in elementary schools to save on the number of buses needed. The fourth tier busing has placed a tremendous burden on the families in Harford County. If expenditures can be cut back in other areas, then fourth tier busing can be eliminated. It will also be up to the Board to examine the transportation waivers and the safety of students. Along with this issue, is the unfair burden placed on students that attend the magnet programs when their bus service was eliminated as a cost cutting measure. Q: How will you address student achievement in all ages in the various testing programs? The school system must insure that all students achieve to the highest levels. The school system must continue to close the achievement gap for all groups. Relying strictly on test scores as the only measure of student achievement is not practical. Solving budget issues will help to insure that programs are in place to provide students with the tools they need to succeed. Q: How has HCPSS performed in implementing the Common Core state standards? Should anything be done differently as the school system continues its implementation? Not being a current Board member, I can only comment on what I have heard from teachers. They feel they have not been given adequate training and curriculum has not been delivered to them in a timely manner. |
” |
| —The Baltimore Sun, (2014) | ||
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Harford County Public Schools
- Office website
- Campaign Facebook page
- Campaign blog
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Joe Voskuhl," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Five Harford school board members run for election; four don't," February 26, 2014
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ HCEA Impact, "Endorsed Candidates," October 2014
- ↑ The Aegis, "Robinson, Runyeon, Voskuhl, Simon, Kaff, Hitchings for Harford School Board," October 17, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Joseph L. Voskuhl," accessed June 10, 2014
| 2014 Harford County Public Schools Elections | |
| Harford County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District A: • Frederick A. Mullis • Jansen M. Robinson District B: • Robert "Bob" Frisch • Greg Johnson • Laura Runyeon |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
