Peter E. Perini Sr.
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Peter E. Perini Sr. was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Washington County Board of Education in Maryland. He advanced from the primary election on June 24, 2014, but was defeated general election on November 4, 2014.
Biography
Perini was born in Maryland and grew up in Hagerstown with two brothers. He earned a master's degree in engineering from University of Maryland College Park. He and his wife, Cynthia, have three children who all attended district schools. Perini attends St. Ann Catholic Church.[1]
Elections
2014
The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included incumbents Jacqueline Fischer and Karen J. Harshman as well as challengers Mike Guessford, Henry House, Mindy Marsden, Ryan Richard Miner, Peter E. Perini Sr. and Stan Stouffer. All of the primary candidates except House and Marsden faced off in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Mike Guessford |
19.6% | 17,242 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen J. Harshman Incumbent |
18.2% | 15,995 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacqueline Fischer Incumbent |
18.1% | 15,919 | |
| Nonpartisan | Peter E. Perini Sr. | 17.5% | 15,398 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stan Stouffer | 15.9% | 13,966 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ryan Richard Miner | 10.4% | 9,150 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 268 | |
| Total Votes | 87,938 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Washington County," December 2, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Mike Guessford |
16.7% | 6,296 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen J. Harshman Incumbent |
15.5% | 5,840 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stan Stouffer |
13.8% | 5,208 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacqueline Fischer Incumbent |
13.2% | 4,963 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ryan Richard Miner |
11.4% | 4,287 | |
| Nonpartisan | Peter E. Perini Sr. |
11.2% | 4,212 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mindy Marsden | 11.1% | 4,184 | |
| Nonpartisan | Henry House | 7% | 2,651 | |
| Total Votes | 37,641 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Washington County," July 16, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Perini reported no contributions or expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections prior to the primary.[2]
Endorsements
Perini received endorsements from the Washington County Teachers Association, Washington County Educational Support Personnel Association and current board member Paul Bailey prior to the primary election.[3][4]
Campaign themes
2014
Perini explained his themes for the 2014 campaign in an interview with The Herald-Media:
| “ |
1. In your opinion, what is the role of a school board member? One of the most important roles of a member of the Board of Education is to be an advocate for the appropriate level of funding for the school system. That funding comes from the State of Maryland as well as from the County Commissioners. Therefore, the Board members need to be strong advocates and have good relationships with the Commissioners, the governor’s administration, the leadership of the General Assembly and our state delegation. 2. With the cost of brick-and-mortar schools so high, what should be done to accommodate student growth overall and in specific areas? With the success of BISFA, the Board should explore other options of small, specialty schools in downtown. These specialty schools can create the opportunity for program-specific learning in an atmosphere based on a particular area of study. Developing small, specialty schools would free up seats in existing schools, thus putting off the expense of building another full sized $80M high school. Specialty high schools would be a better investment of our county’s taxpayer’s dollars. 3. What more should Washington County Public Schools do to prevent bullying, including cyberbullying? There should be a comprehensive and ongoing anti-bullying and anti-cyberbullying program, including anonymous questionnaires, staff training, a strong student code of conduct and, most importantly, parent involvement. The anti-bullying message should be communicated regularly and incorporated into the classroom dialogue. It is important to immediately respond to incidents of bullying, whether physical, verbal or cyberbullying, with strong and effective disciplinary actions, along with counseling, social skills development and conflict resolution. 4. What can the school system do to improve literacy among elementary school students? One of the challenges to improving literacy is summer learning loss, which is a student’s lack of retention over the summer break. One way to improve literacy among elementary students is to promote and grow the Primary Academic Acceleration Camp for students in kindergarten through second grade. Part of that program is to reinforce literary skills and provide take-home reading materials so that students will “gain an edge in advance of the next school year.” 5. Do you have any concerns about the Common Core State Standards, now referred to as Maryland's College and Career-Ready Standards? Why or why not, and what could the local board do about any concerns that you might have? My concern about the Common Core Standards is to make sure that the implementation is done correctly. That includes making sure that WCPS has written an appropriate curriculum and that the appropriate amount of time is taken to ensure the new curriculum has been fully integrated before the teachers are assessed on the students' performance. The Common Core Standards are here to stay, and so it is important that we get it right.[5] |
” |
| —The Herald-Media, (2014) | ||
What was at stake?
Issues in the election
2014
June 2 candidate forum
Every candidate except Mike Guessford participated in a candidate forum on June 2, 2014, at the district's Center for Educational Services. HMTV6 anchor Mark Keller directed questions about bullying, district communications and the layout of the school day to the candidates though the questions were not asked of all candidates. The following is a summary of candidate responses to Keller's questions:[7]
Bullying
Jacqueline Fischer, Karen J. Harshman and Stan Stouffer discussed the issue of bullying in district schools. Fischer advocated for a more open discussion among district residents as well as more flexibility under state law to suspend or expel repeat offenders. Harshman suggested teachers hold an important role in identifying students who are struggling and encouraging positive behaviors in the classroom. Stouffer stated that the district needs to educate parents about how to identify bullying behaviors and modify these behaviors at home.[[[7]
District communications
Henry House and Peter E. Perini Sr. offered proposals for improvements to the district's communications with parents and teachers. House argued that the district should add a liaison that encourages involvement by home-schooled students. Perini celebrated Superintendent Clayton Wilcox's regular listening sessions and proposed improved PTAs especially at the high school level.[7]
School day layout
Mindy Marsden and Ryan Richard Miner disagreed about potential reforms to the number of periods in each school day. The school board has discussed a six-period school day that would spread classes throughout the school year. Marsden supports using the six-period school day to break lessons into smaller sections especially for students with varying attention spans. Miner expressed misgivings with the six-period proposal because of concerns about the impacts on extracurricular activities and arts programs.[7]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Peter + Perini + Washington + County + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Peter E. Perini, Sr. for Board of Education, "About," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed June 3, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through e-mail from Peter E. Perini, Sr. on June 22, 2014.
- ↑ Herald-Mail Media, "Letters to the Editor - June 12," June 12, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Herald-Media, "Washington County Board of Education candidate - Peter E. Perini Sr.," June 1, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The Herald-Media, "School board candidates address bullying, communication," June 2, 2014
| 2014 Washington County Public Schools Elections | |
| Washington County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Jacqueline Fischer • Mike Guessford • Karen J. Harshman • Henry House • Mindy Marsden • Ryan Richard Miner • Peter E. Perini Sr. • Stan Stouffer |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
