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Nancy Reynolds
Nancy Reynolds represented District D on the Harford County Board of Education in Maryland. She was first appointed to the board in June 2011.[1] Reynolds advanced from a primary election on June 24, 2014 and defeated challenger Mike Simon in the general election on November 4, 2014. Reynolds did run for re-election in 2018.
Biography
Reynolds earned a B.S. in English from Marietta College. She later received a master's degree in reading from Towson University. Reynolds worked as a reading specialist, assistant principal and principal in the district until her retirement in 2008. She also worked as a learning facilitator for the district until her appointment to the board in 2011. Reynolds has two children who graduate from district schools and four grandchildren.[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 |  Nancy Reynolds Incumbent |
67.1% | 9,557 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Simon | 31.8% | 4,536 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 1.1% | 150 | |
| Total Votes | 14,243 | |||
| 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 | Nancy Reynolds Incumbent |
55.2% | 3,212 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Simon |
20.5% | 1,193 | |
| Nonpartisan | Chris Scholz | 16.2% | 944 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tishan D. Weerasooriya | 8% | 466 | |
| Total Votes | 5,815 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County," July 17, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Reynolds reported $3,890.00 in contributions and $2,037.09 in expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections, leaving her campaign with $2,425.91 on hand as of June 10, 2014. This total includes amounts from previous filing periods.[3]
Endorsements
Reynolds received an endorsement from The Baltimore Sun prior to the primary election.[4]
Campaign themes
2014
Reynolds explained her 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? As a Board member, it is vital that I continue to advocate for adequate funding for our schools. Every student in Harford County Public Schools deserves equal access to a quality education; this means appropriate program offerings, adequate technology and highly qualified teachers. Unfortunately, our starting salaries for teachers rank twenty-second out of the twenty four counties in Maryland and we are losing teachers to our neighboring counties who are able to offer higher compensation packages. In order to maintain a school system that both attracts and retains the best teachers and staff, we must offer fair, competitive wages. Therefore, it is imperative that the Board of Education continues to work cooperatively and collaboratively with our funding authorities, our local and state elected officials, to develop a short and long term strategic plan to improve funding for education. It is equally imperative that we solicit input from our parents, our community and our business leaders to create a vision for the future of our schools. As a community, we need to decide what we want our schools to look like in the future.....in the next five and ten years. We are working closely with the county council to create a committee to study these issues. 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. School safety is of utmost importance to me as a member of the School Board, as a member of the community and as the grandmother of two Harford County Public School students. Harford County Public Schools has a Department of Safety and Security whose mission is to integrate safety into the fabric of the school system through continuous, on-going evaluation, education and training. This department works closely with the Harford County Emergency Operations Center, the Harford County Sheriff's Office and the four police agencies within our county, the State's Attorney's office, the various volunteer fire departments, MSDE Safe Schools and Maryland Security Directors to provide safe, secure learning environments for all of our students and staff. Last year, the Board Of Education requested funding in our Capital Budget for "Security Measures"; between the county and the state funding we received from this request, we were able to complete the installation of cameras, proxy readers and remote door access in all of our schools. In addition to various security devices, each of our schools has a safety committee to address site specific safety concerns and to collaborate and create a Critical Incident Plan. Schools also conduct monthly drills and evacuations. Our Safety and Security Department has also collaborated with the police to provide anti-gang and anti-drug programs for our elementary and middle school students. As a Board member, I will continue to be responsive to the recommendations of the Superintendent, her staff and the Department of Safety and Security to ensure the safety of our Harford County Public School community. 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. Altering transportation parameters and implementing fourth tier bussing for some of our elementary schools were cost saving measures that were difficult for all Board members to approve as we were fully aware of the inconvenience and hardship we were inflicting on some parents and students;however, these were necessary steps that had to be taken in order to protect the quality of instruction in each individual classroom and to retain as many of our instructional personnel and programs as possible.The Board engaged the consultant firm of School Bus Consultants (SBC) to review our transportation services with a focus on identifying opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services. Their report, dated January, 2014, acknowledged that most school systems across the nation face the same challenges as HCPS as normal revenue streams are no longer available. In addition, SBC complimented HCPS on the implementation of our transportation changes and acknowledged that our challenge, as with other school districts, is to continue to provide a high level of transportation services to our students without adversely affecting services and resources in the classroom. SBC also indicated that HCPS continues to "provide a high level of service to its stakeholders and does so in a conscientious and safety minded atmosphere." So, again, the underlying issue for our school system is adequate funding and, again, we need to work cooperatively with our funding authorities and our community to resolve these issues. Q: How will you address student achievement in all ages in the various testing programs? As Board members, our role is to ensure that all students have access to excellent instructional programs, up-to-date technology and highly-qualified, well-trained, supported teachers and staff. Our teachers must be given frequent opportunities to engage in meaningful staff development and the time to utilize their expertise to analyze the data from various tests, including PARCC, to create differentiated instruction that will meet the needs of all of their students. Funding must be available to provide appropriate interventions, from remedial to enrichment, in order to close the achievement gap and allow each student to realize his/her potential. Q: How has HCPSS performed in implementing the Common Core state standards? Should anything be done differently as the school system continues its implementation? The Common Core State Standards were adopted by the Maryland State Board of Education and mandated for implementation by the twenty-four local Boards of Education. Harford County Public Schools continues to move forward in aligning our curriculum to these standards and in implementing this curriculum in the classroom. Our staffs, both school-based and central office, have been working together to ensure that the transition to Common Core State Standards has been as smooth and effective as possible. As a system, however, we face several challenges in this implementation. Perhaps the greatest of these challenges is the limited funding that is available for technology. This lack of resources has had a negative impact on our ability to provide adequate infrastructure for technology in most of our elementary schools and to provide sufficient or up-date devices to enable technology to be fully integrated in all classrooms for daily instruction. I do applaud the decision of the Maryland State Department of Education to delay the tying of teacher evaluations to student performance as measured by the PAARC assessments.[5] |
” |
| —The Baltimore Sun, (2014) | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harford County Public Schools, "Board of Education of Harford County," 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
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Aegis school board voter recommendations (Editorial)," June 3, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Nancy Reynolds," 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 |
