Candidates for Board of Education, District 4

Candidates for Montgomery County Board of Education, District Four

Much of the Blair community has become incensed by some of the recent actions by the Board of Education and MCPS. Issues such as soda machines, funding for the Down County Consortium, educational tracking and the achievement gap between minority and white students are all crucial in the Board of Education race for District Four. Valerie Ervin and Sheldon Fishman, who both have significant ties to the Blair community, are attempting to unseat incumbent Kermit Burnett, who has connections to the Kennedy Cluster. Ervin was endorsed by Silver Chips Print in the February 2004 issue.

Note: Board of Education races are considered non-partisan; voters from any party can vote for any candidate.

Valerie Ervin

Valerie Ervin left her position as Blair PTSA Co-President to run for the District Four Board of Education seat and is the current chief of staff for Montgomery County Council member George Leventhal. She received a B.A. in Labor Studies from National Labor College and an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. Ervin has focused her campaign on the growing achievement gap between white and minority students. She is a vocal opponent of educational tracking and encourages pushing minority students to enroll in honors and AP courses. For more information, read the Silver Chips
endorsement of Ervin.

Official Campaign Website

Sheldon Fishman

Fishman is the parent of two Blair graduates and, like Ervin, has significant ties to the Blair community. He is currently an instructor at Johns Hopkins University and an Internet specialist at the Swidler, Berlin Shereff & Friedman law firm. Fishman received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and an M.S. in Biostatistics from Harvard University. Fishman has been a vocal critic of MCPS' centralized bureaucratic control and asserts that it has brought about "inadequate progress beyond grade 2." Fishman also emphasizes that educational opportunities should be improved across the board, particularly for underachieving groups. He has received the endorsement of The Parent's Coalition, The Montgomery County Federation of Teachers, Blair Ewing and Alan Cheung.

Official Campaign Website

Chips' Best Guess: It should prove to be a very interesting race. Valerie Ervin seems to have significant grassroots support in the Blair Community, and we are predicting her to be the winner. However, it is by no means a sealed race.