Linda Kohler
Running for school board in Queen Anne's County At Large
Email: lindakohler@verizon.net
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 3)?
67
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Yes, Chesapeake Charities, executive director
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
I received my Bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Maryland University College
Why are you running for the school board?
I have served on the county's Spending Affordability Committee for the past several years and the school board has overspent the budget by millions of dollars each of the past four years. What makes this worse is that there are 40 fewer teachers working in the schools this year with slightly higher enrollment, so the money is not being spent on classroom instruction. Queen Anne's County Public Schools is a good school system but needs leadership at the board level with financial expertise and strong budgeting skills.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I have volunteered in the schools for over 20 years and have a good working knowledge of how the system operates. Some of this volunteer work has been writing grants to bring additional resources to Queen Anne's County Public Schools. In order to write a compelling grant I have participated in meetings with the past five superintendents, school principals, reading and math specialists and staff in the finance department. I have listened as these professionals defined the challenges facing students and identified possible solutions to address those challenges. I have tracked the academic performance of Queen Anne's County Public Schools students at each grade level and have witnessed years when progress was made consistently and then years when student achievement fell. I know there are solutions to improve academic achievement.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
Class size has increased dramatically over the past five years, and it is not due to higher enrollment but to fewer K-12 teachers on staff. I believe this is the most significant impediment to improving academic achievement, particularly among subgroups who historically lag behind their peers.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I admire Marco Rubio as he has strengthened his skills at every level of public service and never abandoned his core beliefs and passion for the United States. Decades ago, Rubio drafted legislation to address the flaws in U.S. immigration policy. Despite his willingness to negotiate, members of both parties would not agree to a reasonable settlement. Many of the issues facing the country today might have been resolved if a handful of leaders would have had the courage to act.
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 wholeheartedly support the Blueprint's focus on having highly-skilled teachers in every classroom and paying those teachers a decent wage. It is the roll out of the Blueprint that has caused some school districts to face budget shortfalls and this is particularly true in Queen Anne's County. The Blueprint mandated wage levels for certified teachers, but the school administration used the Blueprint as an opportunity to increase their wages and those of other non-teaching staff. Without continued financial support from the state of Maryland, there was not enough funding to cover the higher wages and benefits, so paraprofessional and classroom teacher positions were eliminated.
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 is a problem and the Board of Education needs to do a better job of helping students understand that their participation in the classroom will give them opportunities to succeed in life.
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 school district is developing an AI policy and they deserve time to do so.
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?
No, we do not have the personnel and resources to deal with the mental health challenges facing students. Lowering class size and bringing paraprofessional back into the classrooms will give teachers additional time to spend with students who are struggling. Partnerships with mental health providers will also bring trained professionals into the schools. Queen Anne's County Public Schools has had difficulty filling positions and is now looking to contract out these services.
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?
I believe reasonable people know what is and what is not age-appropriate material. Library books should encourage children to read, teach them about themselves and the world and provide a love of reading.
