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Virginia R. Harrison
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Virginia R. Harrison is an at-large member of the Carroll County Board of Education in Maryland. She was first appointed to the board on April 9, 2008.[1] Harrison advanced from a primary election on June 24, 2014, to face five other candidates for three available seats in the general election on November 4, 2014. Virginia R. Harrison won the general election on November 4, 2014.
Biography
Harrison served on advisory committees for the University System of Maryland from 1983 to 1995. She also served on the Carroll County Local Management Board from 1997 to 2004. Harrison is a founding member of Carroll Citizens for Racial Equality.[1]
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
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Virginia R. Harrison Incumbent |
21.4% | 29,854 | |
| Nonpartisan | Devon Rothschild |
19.4% | 27,004 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bob Lord |
15.5% | 21,596 | |
| Nonpartisan | George E. Harmening | 13.9% | 19,456 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jim Roenick | 14.8% | 20,665 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charles "Bud" Nason | 14.7% | 20,494 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 0.3% | 418 | |
| Total Votes | 139,487 | |||
| Source: Carroll County Board of Elections, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Virginia R. Harrison Incumbent |
19.2% | 13,203 | |
| Nonpartisan | Devon Rothschild |
16.8% | 11,561 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bob Lord |
14.1% | 9,676 | |
| Nonpartisan | George E. Harmening |
11.4% | 7,821 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jim Roenick |
11.4% | 7,813 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charles "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
Harrison began the race with an existing account balance of $412.02 from her previous campaigns. She reported $1,180.00 in contributions and $538.25 in expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections as of August 19, 2014, which left her campaign with $1,053.77 on hand.[2]
Endorsements
Harrison received the endorsement of the Carroll County Education Association (CCEA) and the Carroll Association of School Employees (CASE) prior to the primary election.[3]
2010
| Carroll County Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Virginia R. Harrison Incumbent |
23% | 26,533 | |
| Nonpartisan | Barbara Shreeve Incumbent |
22.4% | 25,803 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary Bauer Incumbent |
22.4% | 25,754 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jim Doolan | 17.5% | 20,098 | |
| Nonpartisan | George E. Harmening | 14.4% | 16,579 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 403 | |
| Total Votes | 115,170 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2010 Gubernatorial General Election results for Carroll County," accessed June 9, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
Harrison explained her themes for the 2014 race in a series of interviews with the Carroll County Times:
| “ |
Capital projects Charles Carroll and William Winchester elementary schools should be at the same standards as our other elementary schools. As the two most outdated schools in the county, these should be our priority. I would support every effort to secure funding these projects. Common Core CCPS is doing the best job they can reaching out to parents about the curriculum changes as of the result of Common Core. It’s a big change and it’s going to take some time to get everyone on board with the curriculum as well as the equipment. District fund balance I think it is critical to have a fund balance of surplus money for the school system. Without a surplus, we are unable to fund emergent and other critical initiatives that we may not have planned for. Unfortunately for our school system, we have had some difficult financial situations that were not under our control. We’re doing everything possible to maintain quality schools, but we had our budget cut for the last four years. We’re making the best decisions, we possibly can to maintain high quality education in Carroll County Public Schools. Teacher salaries If we're to maintain our educational goals, we must be able to attract and retain highly qualified teachers. And to do so, we must figure out a way to make their salaries competitive. |
” |
| —Carroll County Times, (2014) | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Virginia + Harrison + Carroll + County + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maryland Community Newspapers Online, "Harrison hopes to bring understanding to school board," April 17, 2008
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Carroll education groups announce candidate recommendations," April 3, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Carroll County Times, "Board of Education candidates weigh in on Carroll County Public School fund balance," May 16, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Carroll County Times, "Board of Education candidates weigh in on Carroll County Public School fund balance," May 16, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Carroll County Times, "Carroll County Board of Education candidates discuss how to inform parents about Common Core," May 13, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Carroll County Times, "Candidates for Board of Education discuss teacher salaries," May 15, 2014 (dead link)
| 2014 Carroll County Public Schools Elections | |
| Carroll County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Gary W. Desper • George E. Harmening • Virginia R. Harrison • Mary Kowalski • Bob Lord • Charles "Bud" Nason • Jim Roenick • Devon Rothschild |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
