St. Mary's County Public Schools elections (2014)

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2014 St. Mary's County Public Schools Elections
Primary Election date:
June 24, 2014
General Election date:
November 4, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
Maryland St. Mary's County Public Schools St. Mary's County, Maryland ballot measures Local ballot measures, Maryland

Two seats on the St. Mary's County Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. There was a primary election for the District 1 seat on June 24, 2014. John Alonzo Gaskin and Rita Weaver defeated Randy Darnowsky in the District 1 primary and advanced to the general election. They sought to replace incumbent Salvatore Raspa, who did not file for re-election. Weaver won the open seat. Incumbent Brooke Matthews lost his re-election to the District 3 seat against challenger Karin Bailey on November 4, 2014.

See also: What was at stake in the St. Mary County Public Schools 2014 election?

About the district

See also: St. Mary's County Public Schools, Maryland

St. Mary's County Public Schools is located in St. Mary's County, Maryland

St. Mary's County Public Schools is based in Leonardtown, the county seat of St. Mary's County, Maryland. St. Mary's County was home to 109,633 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau. St. Mary's County Public Schools was the 12th-largest school district in Maryland in the 2011-2012 school year, serving 17,449 students.

Demographics

In 2012, St. Mary's County had a lower percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree compared to the state overall. The United States Census Bureau reported that 28.4 percent of residents aged 25 and older in St. Mary's County had earned a bachelor's degree, compared with 36.3 percent for Maryland. The county’s median household income was $85,032, above the state median of $72,999. The poverty rate in St. Mary's County was 7.1 percent, below the state rate of 9.4 percent.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	St. Mary's County (%)	Maryland (%)
White	79.5	60.8
Black or African American	14.3	30.0
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.4	0.5
Asian	2.7	6.0
Two or More Races	3.0	2.5
Hispanic or Latino	4.3	8.7

Party registration, 2014
Party	Number of registered voters
Republican	25,418
Democratic	25,016
Unaffiliated	12,559
Other	443
Libertarian	286
Green	134
Total	63,856

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Voter and candidate information

As of the 2014 election, the St. Mary's County Board of Education consisted of five members elected to four-year terms. Four members were elected to specific districts, while one at-large member represented the entire county. There was a primary election on June 24, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Board candidates submitted their statements of organization and certificates of candidacy with the county elections office by February 25, 2014. Each candidate was also required to submit a filing fee of $25 to the county. State law required candidates to be registered voters and residents of the district.

County residents had to register to vote for the primary election by June 3, 2014. The county offered early voting in the primary from June 12, 2014, to June 19, 2014. The deadline to register to vote in the general election was October 14, 2014. Early voting for the general election took place from October 23, 2014, to October 30, 2014.

District 1

• John Alonzo Gaskin
  • Board member, NAACP Education Committee
• Rita Weaver
  • Former registered nurse
  • Veteran, U.S. Navy

Candidates defeated in the primary

• Randy Darnowsky
  • Graduate, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Enterprise architect, NAS Patuxent River

District 3

• Brooke Matthews
  • Incumbent
  • Realtor
• Karin Bailey
  • Stay-at-home mom

Election results

General: District 1

St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Rita Weaver	56.9%	15,586
	Nonpartisan	John Alonzo Gaskin	42.8%	11,706
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.3%	77
Total Votes				27,369
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for St. Mary's County," December 2, 2014

General: District 3

St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Karin Bailey	63.3%	16,563
	Nonpartisan	Brooke Matthews Incumbent	36.3%	9,508
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.4%	100
Total Votes				26,171
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for St. Mary's County," December 2, 2014

Primary: District 1

St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Rita Weaver	49.7%	4,763
	Nonpartisan	John Alonzo Gaskin	36.1%	3,458
	Nonpartisan	Randy Darnowsky	14.1%	1,355
Total Votes				9,576
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for St. Mary's County," July 16, 2014

Primary: District 3

No primary was held for District 3 as only two candidates filed for the race.

Endorsements

John Alonzo Gaskin received the endorsement of the Education Association of St. Mary's County ahead of the June 24, 2014, primary election. The Bay Net endorsed Gaskin and Rita Weaver prior to the primary.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $1,000.00 and reported no expenditures as of May 22, 2014, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. 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. John Alonzo Gaskin, Rita Weaver, Karin Bailey, and Brooke Matthews all filed ALCEs prior to the primary.

In the District 1 race, candidates raised a total of $1,000.00 and spent a total of $0.00.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Randy Darnowsky	$1,000.00	$0.00	$1,000.00
John Alonzo Gaskin	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Rita Weaver	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

In the District 3 race, candidates reported no contributions or expenditures.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Karin Bailey	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Brooke Matthews	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2012 St. Mary's County Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Marilyn Crosby 64% 25,818      Nonpartisan James Tomasic 35.7% 14,396      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 114 Total Votes 40,328 Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential General Election Results," November 28, 2012 St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Cathy Allen 67.9% 27,263      Nonpartisan Jim Davis 31.9% 12,801      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 100 Total Votes 40,164 Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential General Election Results," November 28, 2012 St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Mary M. Washington 71.9% 29,729      Nonpartisan Joel Rose 27.9% 11,544      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 82 Total Votes 41,355 Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential General Election Results," November 28, 2012 2010 St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Salvatore Raspa 51.7% 12,816      Nonpartisan James Tomasic 48.1% 11,930      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 66 Total Votes 24,812 Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2010 Gubernatorial General Election Results," accessed May 22, 2014 St. Mary's County Public Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Brooke Matthews 99.5% 21,256      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.5% 112 Total Votes 21,368 Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2010 Gubernatorial General Election Results," accessed May 22, 2014

What was at stake?

Issues in the election

Legal disputes

Rita Weaver and her husband, Greg, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against the district. The complaint filed with the department's Office of Civil Rights argued that the district mishandled the placement of her autistic son. Weaver noted in an interview with Maryland Community News Online that her son struggled after moving to a new middle school in January 2013. According to Weaver, the district recommended a transfer to The Harbour School in Annapolis, Maryland, which would have required a two-hour commute. She also argued that the school board had not responded to her request for assistance throughout the process. Her son was attending a middle school in the district without any issues. The district did not provide any comment to the Maryland Community News Online while the complaint was under investigation.

April 22 candidate forum

All three candidates for the District 1 seat, along with District 3 challenger Karin Bailey, participated in a forum at Lexington Park Library. The candidates discussed their perspectives on the district’s budget deficit, transparency, and the frequency of unanimous votes by sitting board members. Randy Darnowsky called for a review of the budget to identify excessive administrative costs, citing a $6 million overrun, and argued that any surplus funds should be directed toward increasing teacher salaries. Rita Weaver emphasized the need for a more transparent budgeting process, responsible spending, and changes to the IEP process for parents and students. John Alonzo Gaskin stated that budget decisions should be based on the needs of individual schools and highlighted the importance of making strategic investments in technology.

Each candidate agreed that the superintendent’s contract should be publicly accessible. Superintendent Michael Martirano did not post his contract on the district website but released information to local media.

Weaver and Gaskin differed on the implications of frequent unanimous votes by board members. Weaver argued that consistent 5-0 votes prevent open discussion that might produce alternative policies, while Gaskin responded that many disagreements are resolved in discussions before the votes take place.

Bailey advocated for more after-school programs across the district. She also suggested that after-school initiatives should not be restricted to a few schools but should be uniformly operated throughout the district. Bailey faced incumbent Brooke Matthews in the November general election.

Issues in the district

Tensions over budget deficit

The superintendent and school board members faced scrutiny from the St. Mary’s County Commission over $6 million in uncovered insurance costs. The district had budgeted $16.8 million for employee health insurance in that year’s budget. A high volume of insurance claims by district employees caused costs to exceed the budget by more than $6.5 million. The superintendent also reported that the district faced an additional $1.25 million in expenses related to utility costs and special education contractors. The county commission rejected the district's request for additional funds on May 13, 2014.

District officials and board members developed several options to address the budget shortfall. One approach allowed the school board to transfer savings from hiring freezes and spending cuts to cover unexpected costs. Other proposals involved requesting additional funds or loans from the county government, with amounts of up to $3.7 million under consideration. Commissioners expressed strong opposition to the district’s proposal during a county commission meeting. Commissioner Todd Morgan accused district administrators of using “smoke and mirrors” in the budget and recommended that the county withhold additional funding.

Board members provided several explanations when questioned by Morgan about choices made in the 2013-2014 budget. Cathy Allen noted that the district's insurance provider, Care First, recommended policy changes that were followed by the board. School board chair Salvatore Raspa reiterated the high number of claims in defending the board's past actions. Mary Washington recognized that the board made mistakes when developing the last budget, but suggested that the board had not failed in the past to maintain budget discipline. Brooke Matthews pointed out that changes to insurance policies were designed to stretch limited funds further for district schools.

Tammy McCourt, the assistant superintendent of fiscal services and human services, discovered the budget shortfall after assuming the job in early 2014. She acknowledged that the district needed to negotiate with the teachers' union for higher insurance premiums and co-pays to avoid future budget shortfalls.

The school board's final request from the county commission totaled $782,000. The county board voted not to increase funds to the district's 2014-2015 budget during a May 13, 2014, meeting. Board members proposed a 2014-2015 budget that cut 35 jobs, raised insurance premiums, and eliminated pay raises. This proposal eliminated the budget deficit, increased the insurance budget, and created a reserve for unanticipated expenses. The board also requested a supplemental appropriation from the county to restore employee raises. The county commission rejected the supplemental budget request and approved the board's amended budget request during a May 27, 2014, meeting. Both boards met again in August 2014 to assess remaining costs from the previous school year.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the St. Mary's County Public Schools election in 2014:

Deadline	Event
February 25, 2014	Deadline for candidate filing
June 3, 2014	Voter registration deadline for primary election
June 12-19, 2014	Early voting for primary election
June 24, 2014	Primary election day
October 14, 2014	Voter registration deadline for general election
October 23-30, 2014	Early voting for general election
November 4, 2014	General election day

Additional elections on the ballot

The school board election shared the ballot with county, state, and federal elections on November 4, 2014. Residents of St. Mary's County voted in races for county commission, treasurer, sheriff, and state's attorney. The general election ballot included candidates for governor, attorney general, and other state executive offices. Voters also chose candidates for state legislative seats and U.S. House seats on November 4, 2014.

See also

• Maryland
• St. Mary's County Public Schools, Maryland
• Maryland school board elections, 2014
• List of school board elections in 2014
• School board elections, 2014
• St. Mary's County, Maryland ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, Maryland

External links

Suggest a link

• St. Mary's County Public Schools
• St. Mary's County Board of Elections