Sally McCarthy
Running for school board in Montgomery County District 3
Email: sally@sallymccarthy.org
Website: www.sallymccarthy.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/p/Sally4BOE-61583836503333/
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 3)?
55
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Self-employed, education research
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Ph.D. in education policy, University of Maryland, College Park
Why are you running for the school board?
I value public education and want Montgomery County Public Schools to improve on delivering the basics for all students and staff. Right now, Montgomery County Public Schools urgently needs dedicated and diligent oversight as the system heads toward big shifts--from boundaries and program changes to new math curriculum and academic pathways. Montgomery County Public Schools can’t tackle the fundamentals like closing student achievement gaps, lowering class sizes and safeguarding school facilities without aligning budgets to strategic plans, so that all students and staff are supported in the classroom. Montgomery County Public Schools also must seek community engagement and consider feedback when decisions are most impactful.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I will bring my personal experience and professional expertise to help improve Montgomery County Public Schools oversight and accountability on day one. I'm a Thomas S. Wootton High School graduate, my husband graduated from Winston Churchill High School and my girls graduated from Walt Whitman High School. I have decades of professional experience in public education and understand Board of Education governance and budget processes. I hold a Ph.D. in education policy, worked in government relations, higher education policy research and served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Maryland. I work collaboratively; my community connections are deep and countywide. I’ve spent 15 years working with the Montgomery County Council of PTAs in leadership roles, as an executive board member and Capital Budget Committee Chair. I’ve run my campaign by showing voters my work, not by making unrealistic promises and commitments that are well beyond the scope of board powers. My commitment is to evidence, transparency and to every Montgomery County Public Schools student, staff and family. I want the board to be a genuine check on the system it oversees, not a rubber stamp.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
Montgomery County Public Schools is struggling to deliver the basics: clean and safe buildings where all students and staff have what they need so they are ready to thrive and succeed. What is the Board of Education's job in making this happen? The board is authorized to hold Montgomery County Public Schools accountable for spending in these areas; making sure Montgomery County Public Schools' budget is strategically aligned to deliver outcomes. I believe the board should amplify its oversight here, with requests for monthly public briefings by independent staff, reporting on core functions like facilities, safety and learning metrics, accompanied by expenditures. The board needs better tools to elevate its own deliberations in order to help schools improve on the fundamentals.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
No response
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, is a 10-year plan that includes increased funding to support early childhood education, higher teacher starting pay, college/career-readiness standards for high school graduates, and expanded services to multilingual and impoverished families, among other goals. Since the Blueprint's implementation, test scores have increased modestly in many parts of the state, but some school officials complain about the costs and administrative burdens placed on them by the Blueprint. Please tell us your views on the Blueprint and how it is affecting your school district.
I support the Blueprint’s broadest goals like expanding pre-K and raising teacher pay, which are evidence-based investments. My concerns, however, lie with the implementation—shifting fiscal and compliance burdens to local school districts. Current economic and budget conditions in Montgomery County cannot sustain these increases. Compliance also pushes school based administrative time toward reporting and away from professional and curriculum oversight. Most importantly right now, the new state math curriculum content and pathway requirements are problematic for classroom teachers and students in Montgomery County Public Schools. Specifically, the middle school instructional time requirement could result in the elimination of elective course opportunities in foreign languages as well as the arts. The elimination of geometry as a stand-alone course also forces teachers to deliver two different content progressions simultaneously, compromising both instruction and academic outcomes at a time when Montgomery County Public Schools is just beginning to see small improvements in math achievement post-COVID.
Chronic absenteeism has been a problem in many schools since the Covid-19 pandemic. How big of a problem is absenteeism in your school district, and what if anything can the Board of Education do about it?
Chronic absenteeism remains a serious problem in Montgomery County Public Schools, especially in high schools where it has slowly declined since the 2022-23 school year, but still remains the highest across school levels. Currently, Montgomery County Public Schools publicly reports absenteeism and suspension data to the board at monthly business meetings as “informational” items on the agenda. However, this data is only discussed publicly with the board a few times a year. The board should require regular publication of school-level attendance so interventions occur where needed, review pupil personnel worker staffing at schools with absenteeism increases and evaluate and expand intervention strategies that demonstrate positive outcomes.
Are you satisfied with your school district's policy on AI use by students? If so, why? If not, what would you suggest to improve the AI policy?
The board updated its educational technology policy this past spring. The revised policy is headed in the right direction by addressing student data privacy, academic integrity, access and oversight. My biggest concern is consistency in implementation and understanding. I know that a broad framework allows for flexibility. However, the current policy fails to set forth a common framework so that students and families understand how and when students may use AI. This places the burden squarely on students and teachers, allowing for multiple interpretations throughout the academic day. I would push for an annual update and review of the policy. I would suggest immediate updates such as a systemwide framework for permissible use (eg. none--assistive--open); clear, simple guidance for families; publicly accessible privacy reviews for AI vendors; and prohibition on any AI platform pilot prior to public review.
Youth mental health has been a growing concern for years now. Do you think your school district has the resources and personnel in place to deal with this issue adequately? If not, what would you suggest to improve the situation?
Montgomery County Public Schools does not have enough dedicated school-based staff. School psychologist ratios hover around 1-to-1700 students, while national best practice recommendations are 1-to-500. These inadequacies, as well as school counselor staffing loads, are untenable. Montgomery County Public Schools should devise a multi-year plan for staffing targets, including a reduction at the elementary school level since counselors and psychologists shoulder the administrative paperwork for special education and individualized education plan testing. Montgomery County Public Schools also must hold public work sessions in spring 2027 to discuss the results of its ongoing K-5 screen time audit. New brain and psychological research provides conclusive evidence on the negative effects of screens and social media on young brains. Montgomery County Public Schools and the board should discuss and consider the potential that rollbacks might help improve mental health as well as look for ways to replicate and tailor to meet the needs of middle and high school students.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries? If so, what kind of books should be removed, and who should make those decisions?
School library book selection is appropriately the professional purview of library and school staff, and they must comply with state law. Montgomery County Public Schools families have several public pathways for expressing their opinions about content--the most important being the superintendent's regulation that states all families may request an evaluation and review of materials through petitioning a school administrator and/or the evaluation and selection department within Montgomery County Public Schools. I would not change this process, but rather as a Board of Education member, request annual data be available for review regarding such requests and resolutions.
