Cassandra “Cassi” Sung – Candidate for Montgomery County Board of Education, District 3 (Moderately MOCO Candidate Introduction Series)

This post is part of the Moderately MOCO Candidate Introduction Series. Candidates who did not receive the questionnaire via email or need more information can get access through our contact form. The information in this post was submitted directly by the candidate and does not represent the views of Moderately MOCO or its publication.

Basic Information

Political Party: Nonpartisan

Campaign Website: www.cassandrasung.org

Social Media: Instagram | Facebook

Why Are You Running For Office?

MCPS Board of Education, District 3

What Is The Biggest Issue Facing Voters In This Race?

The proposed budget cuts facing MCPS represent the most urgent issue on the ballot this cycle. These are not abstract line items. They translate directly into reduced supports for students who need them most: intervention specialists, mental health resources, English learner programs, and the wraparound services that keep vulnerable kids connected to school.

Montgomery County has long been proud of its schools, and rightfully so. But I worry we have been resting on that reputation rather than actively maintaining it. A strong brand is not the same as a strong system. Infrastructure, staffing, and student supports require consistent, intentional investment, and the data suggests we have not kept pace.

What concerns me beyond the cuts themselves is the lack of transparency around how we got here. I am not interested in assigning blame. But voters deserve a clear accounting of how MCPS allocates its resources, where the gaps between investment and outcomes exist, and what the Board is doing to close them. Blaming rising costs only goes so far.

I am running because families in District 3 deserve a Board member who treats fiscal stewardship as a core responsibility, not an afterthought. Every dollar MCPS spends should be traceable to student outcomes. Right now, it is not.

What Experience Best Prepares You For This Role?

My career has been spent inside large, complex organizations, overseeing the implementation of systems that integrate data across multiple functions and require buy-in from diverse stakeholders. That work demands both analytical rigor and the ability to translate data into decisions that people can actually act on. MCPS, with its 160,000 students, 24,000 employees, and budget exceeding half of the county’s total spend, is exactly that kind of organization.

I have seen firsthand what happens when institutions invest in the right infrastructure and what gets left behind when they do not. I know how to ask the right questions of a dataset, identify where accountability gaps exist between spending and outcomes, and build systems that make performance visible rather than opaque.

I also bring a background in enablement and change management, which matters enormously in an institution where policy decisions have to translate into real classroom practice across hundreds of schools.

And yes, I am a parent. My daughter enters MCPS this fall. That is not my qualification for this role, but it is the reason I refused to sit on the sidelines. I want the system she enters to be one that has earned its reputation, not simply inherited it.

What Would You Like Voters To Know About You Personally?

I am a co-facilitator with Chamber of Mothers, an organization that centers the voices of mothers in policy and advocacy. I have lobbied on Capitol Hill, met with Governor Moore’s office, and engaged with Virginia officials on issues that cross state lines and land in our schools. I have served as an Election Judge here in Montgomery County and previously co-led an Allyship Affinity Group in my professional life. I also admin a local Buy Nothing community, because I genuinely believe that neighbors taking care of neighbors is the foundation of a healthy community.

At home, I am a wife, a mom of two, a dog mom, a big sister, and an amateur potter who finds real joy in making things with her hands. My family is multiracial, and raising biracial children in this county means I have a personal stake in whether MCPS reflects the full humanity of every student who walks through its doors.

I also move through the world as a neurodivergent person, which shapes how I think, how I problem-solve, and how deeply I understand that our schools must meet students where they are, not where it is convenient for a system to put them.

At my core, I am a connector. I believe the best solutions come from bringing the right people into the same room and actually listening. That is how I have worked my whole career, and it is exactly how I intend to serve District 3.

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