2024 BOE Finalist Candidate Questionnaire – Lynne Harris (At-Large)

October 17, 2024

We sent the following questionnaire to all 6 BOE finalist candidates and will be posting each of them individually (in the order received) as well as a comparison between them on another page.

These are the responses by Lynne Harris who is running for At-Large (everyone in the County can vote regardless of district).

Note: Please read to the end as the candidates were given an open-ended text area to explain any yes/no answers or questions they chose not to answer. You can also check out our recent BOE candidate forum or the one we did before the primary for more information.

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Are you in favor of reinstating final exams for all high school classes?

Yes

Are you in favor of using class rank in high schools as a reportable metric?

No

Are you in favor of eliminating the 50% rule for grading?

Yes

Are you in favor of implementing an advanced science course track for middle school?

Yes

Are you in favor of revamping the elementary school social studies curriculum to include a comprehensive overview of 20th century history (including Depression, WW2, Holocaust, Cold War, FDR, JFK)?

Yes

Are you in favor of allowing parents to opt-out of curriculum for religious reasons?

No

Are you in favor of keeping schools open and without mask requirements during surges of seasonal illnesses?

Yes

Are you in favor of reinstating the traditional SRO program in high schools, with an officer assigned to each school?

No

Are you in favor of implementing merit-based pay increases and bonuses for teachers?

Yes

Merit pay — only if we have a solid, objective, transparent metric.

Are you in favor of an Inspector General-led full audit of MCPS finances?

Yes

Are you in favor of a more widely-available COSA program where students could select a high school where they might feel more comfortable?

No

Are you in favor of county taxpayers funding MCPS over the Maintenance of Effort requirement?

Yes

Funding over MOE — only if necessary — first thing is to ensure we are working smarter, eliminating redundancies, maximizing partnerships, and eliminating state barriers to student access and achievement.

Are you in favor of the position of a Board of Education member becoming full-time and then aligning a pay structure similar to County Councilmembers?

No

Do you support reinstating the Montgomery Virtual Academy (MVA) until there is a comparable state option?

Yes

The virtual academy — we need that option, but it’s unclear that MCPS can afford to continue the model originally developed — that needs a solid, objective fiscal analysis.

Do you support a cell phone use ban during school time (note that doesn’t mean not being able to have them)

Yes

Are you in favor of publicly posting MCPS MPIA requests and responses?

Yes

Are you in favor of posting school community letters on the school and/or MCPS websites?

Yes

Are you in favor of the policy extending excused absences for student walkouts and/or protests during school hours? 

Yes

Are you in favor of installing metal detectors and/or bag checks for entry into Middle and/or High Schools?

Yes

Metal detectors — so many other things we should do first, and the operational impacts must be clearly shared.

Special Ed: Are you in favor of moving the burden of proof to the school system instead of families? (See opinion piece here for explanation: https://moderatelymoco.com/david-vs-goliath-parents-and-advocates-pitted-against-msea-and-school-districts-in-the-maryland-legislature/)

Yes

Order the following priorities you believe should apply when considering school boundary changes (separate by commas for consistency): utilization, proximity, diversity, stability

utilization, diversity, proximity, stability

Boundary changes — over and under utilized schools cost money we really can’t afford to spend. Ensuring we are responsibly managing our infrastructure is essential. Diversity – the research is clear — students in any demographic you want to define do better in truly diverse schools– academically, socially, personally . That’s the way we make students ready for the world. Any discussion of boundaries must be accompanied by an intentional, thoughtful, comprehensive review of program availability, and a commitment to creating a strategic plan for programs so that EVERY student in the county has genuine access to every program

You can provide any explanations below for your answers above that you feel are necessary:

For many of these questions, the answer isn’t a strict yes or no — it depends.

Editor’s Note: I have compiled the explanations given into the appropriate questions above.

Website

Learn more about Lynne Harris on her website here.

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