Politics & Government
Prince George's County Board of Education Candidates
This is the full guide to Board of Education candidates in Prince George's County for today's election.
Patch provides you with a last minute look at your Prince George's County Board of Education candidates on your way out to the polls today for the primary.
District 1:
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Background: Henry is a retired mechanical engineer and a staff officer at the National Academy of Sciences for 32 years.
Related Experience: All five of Henry's children have gone through the Prince George's County public school system, and four of his grandchildren currently attend.
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Other: Henry's main platform is to reintroduce the textbook-approach to education to catch America up with the rest of the world.
Background: Brandon has experience as the youth director at Little David Baptist Church in Landover.
Related Experience: He is a current committeeman of the Prince George's County Young Republicans and current executive vice president of the Maryland Young Republicans for Prince George's County Republican Central Committee Dist. 21.
Other: Brandon holds the budget very highly on his platform and wants to bring fiscal transparency to the public school system.
Background: Chonya has more than a decade of management, business and development work experience to bring to the job. She also has graduate coursework.
Other: Chonya hopes to increase accountability and transparency of the board and wants to see more collaboration with parents by creating a parent-liaison program.
Background: Rosalind currently serves on the board of education.
Related Experience: She taught for 30 years in the Prince George's County Public Schools.
Other: Rosalind hopes to see the High School Initiative begin, more funding based on an increased tax base, more parent involvement and continued reform based on accountability.
Background: Steve has 34 years of experience in automobile dealership management, and he has owned and operated his own dealership for 14 years.
Related Experience: Steve has served on the Bishop McNamara High School Board of Directors in Forestville for nine years.
Other: He plans to achieve an 80 percent graduation rate by 2012 and help "at risk" students through the implementation of a volunteer tutoring program.
Background: Mike is a Prince George's County Public Schools father.
Related Experience: He has served on state and local advisory boards, including the current and only advisory board of the Prince George's Board of Education.
Other: He wants to improve communication and collaboration and expand outreach.
Background: David was appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley to the Maryland State Board of Education.
Other: Through his platform, David wants to achieve financial literacy, expand options for specialty programs and ensure that money is used directly for the benefit of students.
District 2:
Background: Mark is a College Park councilman and Prince George's Family Crisis Center board member.
Other: Mark would like to decrease class size, prepare students for college, make college more affordable and raise the excellence level of the schools to encourage people to move to the area.
Background: Peggy has a master's degree in general administration from UMd./University College, as well as a master's degree in social work from Catholic University. She has lived in Greenbelt for 18 years.
Related Experience: Peggy has been the director of Youth and Family Services in College Park for 20 years, involved in social work service in Prince George's County for 27 years and has been working in the field of social work advocating for children and families for 32 years.
Other: Peggy is a former member of PGCPS Head Start Policy Council and a current member of NAACP
District 3:
Amber Waller
Background: Amber is originally from Roanoke, Va., and is a graduate of Columbia Union College. She has two children and has been an executive administrator and program manager for various organizations, including the Prince George's County government.
Related Experience: Amber has served as the president and vice president of the Prince George's County PTA and has a governor's appointment to Maryland Advisory Council on Youth Camp Safety.
Other: Amber has served as the 8th Precinct Civic Association (Chillum) president, was a founding member of Washington Gas Watch and is a member of the Multicultural Alliance of Prince George's County.
Hillary Kassembe
Background: Hillary is a resident of Hyattsville and is originally from Tanzania. He is the father of three children, attended Prince George's Community College and is a U.S. Army Veteran.
Related Experience: Unknown
Charles C. Coleman: No information available.
District 4:
Background: Patricia is a single mother who raised two children, both of whom are graduates of Prince George's County Public Schools.
Related Experience: Patricia has spent 12 years at the executive level on the PTA of her children's schools. She is also a former full-time substitute teacher in Prince George's Schools and has 25 years of volunteer service in communities and schools around Prince George's County and Washington, D.C.
Other: Patricia is a former Fairmount Heights Pom Pom sponsor and a former Fairmont Heights Warriors Pop Warner Football team mom.
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