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Mary Kowalski

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Mary Kowalski
Image of Mary Kowalski

Education

Graduate

McDaniel College

Personal
Profession
School paraprofessional
Contact

Mary Kowalski was a candidate for at-large representative on the Carroll County Board of Education in Maryland. Kowalski ran for the seat in the primary election on April 26, 2016. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]

Kowalski was a 2014 candidate for an at-large seat on the Carroll County Board of Education. She lost election against seven other candidates in a primary election on June 24, 2014.

Biography

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Kowalski earned a master's degree in elementary education from McDaniel College. She works as a paraprofessional with the district. Kowalski is a founding member of Carroll Citizens United and the Carroll Joint Neighborhood Association.[2]

Elections

2016

See also: Carroll County Public Schools elections (2016)

Two of the five seats on the Carroll County Board of Education were up for general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on April 26, 2016, with the top four vote recipients advancing to the general election. Incumbent Jim Doolan filed for re-election, while Jennifer Seidel did not file for the 2016 election. Doolan faced challengers Marsha Herbert, Julie Kingsley, Mary Kowalski, and Donna Sivigny in the primary.[1]

In March 2016, Doolan announced his withdrawal from the election. His withdrawal took place after the deadline to remove names from the ballot, which meant that Carroll County voters still saw Doolan's name on the primary ballot. Herbert, Kingsley, Kowalski, and Sivigny defeated Doolan in the primary. Herbert and Sivigny defeated Kingsley and Kowalski in the general election.[3]

Results

Carroll County Public Schools,
At-large General Election, 4-Year Terms, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Donna Sivigny 31.09% 41,372
Green check mark transparent.png Marsha Herbert 27.93% 37,176
Julie Kingsley 25.00% 33,276
Mary Kowalski 15.52% 20,654
Write-in votes 0.46% 614
Total Votes 133,092
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2016 Presidential General Election Results," accessed December 14, 2016
Carroll County Public Schools,
At-large Primary Election, 4-Year Terms, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Donna Sivigny 22.86% 14,452
Green check mark transparent.png Julie Kingsley 21.79% 13,779
Green check mark transparent.png Marsha Herbert 19.92% 12,596
Green check mark transparent.png Mary Kowalski 17.79% 11,245
Jim Doolan Incumbent 17.63% 11,149
Total Votes 63,221
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Carroll County," accessed April 26, 2016

Funding

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016
Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png

Candidates for public office in Maryland had until March 22, 2016, to submit their first contributions and expenditure report of the primary campaign. The final campaign finance deadline of the 2016 campaign was November 22, 2016.[4] State law allows candidates to file Affidavits of Limited Contributions and Expenditures (ALCE) if their campaigns did not accept $1,000 in contributions or spend $1,000 in a particular reporting period.[5]

October 28 filing

Candidates received a total of $10,191.82 and spent a total of $3,473.51 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System.[6]

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Marsha Herbert $1,699.82 $2,042.29 $487.80
Julie Kingsley $1,015.00 $263.52 $977.80
Mary Kowalski $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Donna Sivigny $7,477.00 $1,167.70 $6,547.53

March 22 filing

Candidates received a total of $7,884.20 and spent a total of $4,606.75 as of April 19, 2016, according to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System.[7]

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Jim Doolan (incumbent) ALCE ALCE ALCE
Marsha Herbert $4,070.00 $1,938.89 $2,131.11
Julie Kingsley $1,210.00 $650.30 $559.70
Mary Kowalski ALCE ALCE ALCE
Donna Sivigny $2,604.20 $2,017.56 $586.64

2014

See also: Carroll County Public Schools elections (2014)

The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included incumbent Virginia R. Harrison along with challengers Gary W. Desper, George E. Harmening, Mary Kowalski, Bob Lord, Charles "Bud" Nason, Jim Roenick and Devon Rothschild. Board members Gary Bauer and Barbara Shreeve did not file for re-election. Harmening, Lord, Nason, Roenick, Rothschild and Harrison faced off in the general election on November 4, 2014. Harmening, Nason and Roenick ran as a slate opposed to Common Core.

Harrison, Rothschild and Lord won the general election.

Results

Carroll County Public Schools, At-Large Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngVirginia R. Harrison Incumbent 19.2% 13,203
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngDevon Rothschild 16.8% 11,561
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngBob Lord 14.1% 9,676
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngGeorge E. Harmening 11.4% 7,821
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJim Roenick 11.4% 7,813
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngCharles "Bud" Nason 11.1% 7,609
     Nonpartisan Mary Kowalski 10% 6,866
     Nonpartisan Gary W. Desper 6% 4,108
Total Votes 68,657
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Carroll County," July 16, 2014

Funding

Kowalski reported no contributions or expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections as of August 19, 2014.[8]

Endorsements

Kowalski did not receive any official endorsements in this election.

Campaign themes

Mary Kowalski video for Community Media Center

2016

Kowalski's campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:

Oppose Common Core

I am against Common Core because it ties the hands of our teachers, inhibits innovation in the classroom, and reduces local control of education. We must keep achievement in the forefront and keep local control of education.

Control Spending

The Board of Education wants to SPEND a whopping $96 Million to build a new Career and Tech Center. The current Career and Tech Center is no longer big enough to handle the demand for its programs. But do we really need a new Career and Tech Center? Keep reading...

Stop School Closures

For months we have listened to the propaganda that closing schools would "save" $5 Million. Rather than save money, it would only give the Board of Ed an excuse to build a new $96 million dollar Career and Tech Center. We should nix the plan to close schools and, instead, use the ample surplus space in our schools to meet the demand for Career and Technology programs, and save the $96 Million!

Strengthen Character Education

Many students are struggling to deal with bullying and negative peer pressure. During the occasional classroom discussion on these topics, students come to life. I believe that we need to do much more to educate teens about the very real dangers of drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity. [9]

—Mary Kowalski (2016), [10]

2014

Kowalski explained her themes for the 2014 race in a series of interviews with the Carroll County Times:

Capital projects

Repairs and maintenance needs should be a priority because if schools are not kept in good repair all along, they will only cost more to repair down the road. The next priority is new schools when they are needed. The way to secure funding is through solid planning, collaboration and communication.

Common Core

The school system itself seems to be confused and overwhelmed about the recent curriculum changes, as our Board of Education has stated on many occasions. Many teachers have said this has been the most difficult year they have experienced. I believe that the Board of Education should first be sure they themselves understand the many components of President Obama’s Common Core program before they attempt to explain it to parents.

District fund balance

I think there is ample money in the budget to cover school system needs, if only the Board of Education would spend responsibly. There is far too much waste on unnecessary six-figure central office positions and corporate-welfare spending that only benefits the corporations getting lucrative deals, but does not benefit kids.

Teacher salaries

The Board of Education must cut the waste at their administrative offices where far too many individuals make exorbitant salaries in positions that are not needed. In addition, these individuals do not work directly with students and are grossly out of touch with what is happening in our classrooms. Cutting this waste would go a long way to helping teachers get the raises they have waited so long to receive.

[9]

Carroll County Times, (2014)

[11][12][13][14]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Mary Kowalski' 'Carroll County Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Maryland State Board of Elections, "Carroll County 2016 Presidential Primary Election Local Candidates List," February 10, 2016
  2. Mary Kowalski for Board of Education, "About Mary," accessed April 12, 2016
  3. Carroll County Times, "School board president Doolan will not seek re-election," March 30, 2016
  4. Maryland State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedule," accessed February 10, 2016
  5. Maryland State Board of Elections, "EAffidavit Filing," accessed February 10, 2016
  6. Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports Information," accessed October 30, 2016
  7. Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports Information," accessed April 19, 2016
  8. Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed October 20, 2014
  9. 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  10. Mary Kowalski for Board of Education, "On the Issues," accessed April 12, 2016
  11. Carroll County Times, "Board of Education candidates weigh in on Carroll County Public School fund balance," May 16, 2014 (dead link)
  12. Carroll County Times, "Board of Education candidates weigh in on Carroll County Public School fund balance," May 16, 2014 (dead link)
  13. Carroll County Times, "Carroll County Board of Education candidates discuss how to inform parents about Common Core," May 13, 2014 (dead link)
  14. Carroll County Times, "Candidates for Board of Education discuss teacher salaries," May 15, 2014 (dead link)