Following the general election on Nov. 5, three newcomers were elected to the Montgomery County Board of Education, replacing the three incumbents in a decisive victory. Natalie Zimmerman, Laura Stewart and Rita Montoya will represent two of five Montgomery County geographic districts and one of two at-large seats on the Board.
The three candidates won by significant margins in this recent election, securing four-year seats on the Board of Education. The candidates come to office with ideas to implement new special programming, fix infrastructure issues, support students, teachers and administrators, and advocate for change within the school system.
Zimmerman, an MCPS teacher for the past five years, has taught at Wheaton Woods Elementary School in Rockville and Summit Hall Elementary School in Gaithersburg, two Title I schools that receive federal funding to support low-income families better. She defeated the incumbent District 2 representative, Brenda Diaz, receiving 55.3% of the vote compared to Diaz’s 44%.
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Zimmerman wants to focus on increasing student outcomes by using thorough surveying and data collection measures to determine what strategies are effective. “Public education is one of the greatest investments we can offer to our children, so we must focus on improving student outcomes and increase their readiness for the workforce,” she said.
Stewart is a leader for the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), a founder of the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities, and has been a part of numerous county organizations focusing on transparency within education, student wellness, and effective school funding. “I’m also a mom of two recent graduates who attended STEM and arts programs,” Stewart said. “I have had experiences in 6 different schools, giving me a wider view of MCPS, and have experienced some of the inequities in the system first hand.”
Stewart won the District 4 election, receiving 57.5% of the vote, defeating Shebra Evans who was running for her third reelection. She earned several influential endorsements from County Executive Marc Elrich, State Delegates Joe Vogel and Jared Solomon, Moms Demand Action, and the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA).
In the at-large race, Montoya, a public defender and parent of two MCPS students, received 53.1% of the vote, defeating incumbent Lynne Harris. Among other achievements, she has founded a patient advocacy nonprofit, tutored elementary students learning English and testified in front of Maryland legislative bodies.
Her platform focuses on supporting student achievement by funding effective programming, protecting students from hate bias and discrimination, and rebuilding trust in the Board after the 2023 coverup incident involving the misconduct of former middle school principal Joel Beidleman.
Between 2016 and 2023, Beidleman received 18 complaints of sexual harassment, usage of slurs and workplace violence. Despite being a part of an internal investigation by former superintendent Monifa McKnight and the Board at the time, Beidleman received an increased salary and promotion to principal of Paint Branch High School. Both the Board and superintendent faced backlash for their lack of transparency, and McKnight was asked to step down from her position by Board members on Jan. 22. “The public needs to know who was aware of this information and why it was not promptly investigated,” County Council president Evan Glass said via social media following the allegations.
Stewart cites this series of errors in her reasoning for running for office. “I decided to run when the Office of Inspector General (OIG) report came out in January detailing how there were multiple warnings about the problems with the MCPS Department of Compliance and Investigations (DCI) and no action was taken,” Stewart said. “That report and other problems with delivering on commitments from Central Office convinced me that the board needed a new culture.”
Notably, Zimmerman, Stewart and Montoya were the three Board of Education candidates endorsed by MCEA (the Montgomery County teachers union) instead of their incumbent challengers. “Montgomery County voters clearly value and respect the views of educators in a way, quite frankly, that this board and district administration have not always done,” MCEA President David Stein said in response to the announcement.
In a release to their website on March 6, the MCEA Representative Assembly revealed their endorsements and reasoning to the public. “After an extensive vetting and interview process of the many candidates who sought our endorsement, we are confident that these are the candidates who will fight for us and our students. Zimmerman, Stewart, and Montoya displayed an understanding of our work, our needs, and our communities. We look forward to working together to ensure these pro-public education candidates are elected to MCPS Board of Education in November,” MCEA officials said. Many noticed the lack of any incumbent members of the Board featured in their endorsement and some attribute this to the ineffective handling of the Beidleman situation.
The MCEA endorsement has historically been very important in the success of Board of Education candidates and reflects the power that the union holds. MCEA prints their recommendations onto red apple-shaped papers passed out in front of election centers. Stewart acknowledged the importance of MCEA support. “Being endorsed by MCEA and being on the Apple Ballot was key. It helped that I already had a great relationship with the teacher’s union and other labor unions,” she said.
Zimmerman, Stewart and Montoya will be sworn into office on Dec. 2 at the Board of Education meeting.
