Karla Silvestre joins Julie Yang in jumping ship from the BOE in favor of County Council

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/16/silvestre-election-county-council/

Montgomery County school board member Karla Silvestre announced Tuesday she is running for one of the County Council at-large seats in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

“I moved to Montgomery County nearly twenty years ago for the jobs, schools, and public amenities like parks and transportation hubs that gave my family a high quality of life,” Silvestre said in a Tuesday press release. “However, our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community. I want to put my proven experience to work for the people of our county to strengthen our local economy and provide the quality of life that our residents expect and deserve.”

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident and Democrat, was elected to the school board in 2018 as an at-large member and was re-elected in 2022. She served as county president for two years and is chair of the school board’s Fiscal Management Committee. She also works at Montgomery College as the director of Community Engagement and previously worked for the county government as a community liaison in the Office of Community Partnerships, according to her announcement.

Silvestre is the second school board member to announce her campaign for County Council. School board President Julie Yang announced in July she was seeking the District 1 seat held by Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1). Friedson is running for county executive to replace Marc Elrich (D), who cannot run again due to term limits.

Looks like no one enjoys or values serving on the MCPS Board of Education. I wonder why?

No. They served their time, now they're on to something else. It's hard to give your all to a cause for more than a few years, PP. You're not as effective or enthusastic anymore. That's human nature, and not a reflection on the BOE.

DP. Not to mention:

BOE member salary $25K
Council member salary $167K

It is an incredibly poor policy decision to expect a Board member to do a high profile full-time job of oversight of one of the largest school districts in the country and pay them less than what you could make working part time at a fast food joint.

It's an intentional barrier that ensures only the wealthy (or well-married) can run for the BOE.

Or people do it in addition to another FT or PT job.

Maryland Legislators receive an annual salary of $54,437. Many of them are also college professors, either full or part-time.

Only the wealthy can afford to work part-time and live in Montgomery County.

They can pick up a side hustle as a BOE member.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/16/silvestre-election-county-council/

Montgomery County school board member Karla Silvestre announced Tuesday she is running for one of the County Council at-large seats in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

“I moved to Montgomery County nearly twenty years ago for the jobs, schools, and public amenities like parks and transportation hubs that gave my family a high quality of life,” Silvestre said in a Tuesday press release. “However, our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community. I want to put my proven experience to work for the people of our county to strengthen our local economy and provide the quality of life that our residents expect and deserve.”

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident and Democrat, was elected to the school board in 2018 as an at-large member and was re-elected in 2022. She served as county president for two years and is chair of the school board’s Fiscal Management Committee. She also works at Montgomery College as the director of Community Engagement and previously worked for the county government as a community liaison in the Office of Community Partnerships, according to her announcement.

Silvestre is the second school board member to announce her campaign for County Council. School board President Julie Yang announced in July she was seeking the District 1 seat held by Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1). Friedson is running for county executive to replace Marc Elrich (D), who cannot run again due to term limits.

Looks like no one enjoys or values serving on the MCPS Board of Education. I wonder why?

No. They served their time, now they're on to something else. It's hard to give your all to a cause for more than a few years, PP. You're not as effective or enthusastic anymore. That's human nature, and not a reflection on the BOE.

DP. Not to mention:

BOE member salary $25K
Council member salary $167K

It is an incredibly poor policy decision to expect a Board member to do a high profile full-time job of oversight of one of the largest school districts in the country and pay them less than what you could make working part time at a fast food joint.

That's how all small board/city elected officials are paid, if they are paid at all.

There are a growing number of full-time school boards. Los Angeles has a full-time school board and Atlanta is considering making its board full-time as well. Neighboring Fairfax County just increased compensation for its board because it recognized the low pay and part-time status was an equity barrier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/16/silvestre-election-county-council/

Montgomery County school board member Karla Silvestre announced Tuesday she is running for one of the County Council at-large seats in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

“I moved to Montgomery County nearly twenty years ago for the jobs, schools, and public amenities like parks and transportation hubs that gave my family a high quality of life,” Silvestre said in a Tuesday press release. “However, our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community. I want to put my proven experience to work for the people of our county to strengthen our local economy and provide the quality of life that our residents expect and deserve.”

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident and Democrat, was elected to the school board in 2018 as an at-large member and was re-elected in 2022. She served as county president for two years and is chair of the school board’s Fiscal Management Committee. She also works at Montgomery College as the director of Community Engagement and previously worked for the county government as a community liaison in the Office of Community Partnerships, according to her announcement.

Silvestre is the second school board member to announce her campaign for County Council. School board President Julie Yang announced in July she was seeking the District 1 seat held by Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1). Friedson is running for county executive to replace Marc Elrich (D), who cannot run again due to term limits.

Looks like no one enjoys or values serving on the MCPS Board of Education. I wonder why?

No. They served their time, now they're on to something else. It's hard to give your all to a cause for more than a few years, PP. You're not as effective or enthusastic anymore. That's human nature, and not a reflection on the BOE.

DP. Not to mention:

BOE member salary $25K
Council member salary $167K

It is an incredibly poor policy decision to expect a Board member to do a high profile full-time job of oversight of one of the largest school districts in the country and pay them less than what you could make working part time at a fast food joint.

It's an intentional barrier that ensures only the wealthy (or well-married) can run for the BOE.

Or people do it in addition to another FT or PT job.

Maryland Legislators receive an annual salary of $54,437. Many of them are also college professors, either full or part-time.

Only the wealthy can afford to work part-time and live in Montgomery County.

They can pick up a side hustle as a BOE member.

Sure. Which ensures the board is not devoting its time, focus and energy on providing oversight and scrutiny of our sprawling $3 billion, 160,000+-student school system, leaving Taylor to do whatever he wants and lead them, rather than them leading him.

[Anonymous]

As a reminder, this is how the BOE studied its own time and performance: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/07/19/study-finds-county-school-board-works-full-time/

Despite holding a part-time position, many Montgomery County school board members worked an average of at least 40 hours a week last year, according to a study presented at Thursday afternoon’s board meeting.

The results of the study conducted by county school board staff members come amid a revived conversation among county officials about making board positions full time with higher compensation.

Board President Karla Silvestre told MoCo360 on Thursday that the study will be used to evaluate how the board can do its job more effectively. Ultimately, she said, the decision to increase compensation and make board members full time is in the hands of the state legislature.

“We want to be prepared, yes, to advocate to increase the capacity of the board to be able to be more effective,” Silvestre said. “We want to be ready to have a conversation with a study such as this and other ideas that we have.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/16/silvestre-election-county-council/

Montgomery County school board member Karla Silvestre announced Tuesday she is running for one of the County Council at-large seats in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

“I moved to Montgomery County nearly twenty years ago for the jobs, schools, and public amenities like parks and transportation hubs that gave my family a high quality of life,” Silvestre said in a Tuesday press release. “However, our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community. I want to put my proven experience to work for the people of our county to strengthen our local economy and provide the quality of life that our residents expect and deserve.”

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident and Democrat, was elected to the school board in 2018 as an at-large member and was re-elected in 2022. She served as county president for two years and is chair of the school board’s Fiscal Management Committee. She also works at Montgomery College as the director of Community Engagement and previously worked for the county government as a community liaison in the Office of Community Partnerships, according to her announcement.

Silvestre is the second school board member to announce her campaign for County Council. School board President Julie Yang announced in July she was seeking the District 1 seat held by Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1). Friedson is running for county executive to replace Marc Elrich (D), who cannot run again due to term limits.

Looks like no one enjoys or values serving on the MCPS Board of Education. I wonder why?

No. They served their time, now they're on to something else. It's hard to give your all to a cause for more than a few years, PP. You're not as effective or enthusastic anymore. That's human nature, and not a reflection on the BOE.

DP. Not to mention:

BOE member salary $25K
Council member salary $167K

It is an incredibly poor policy decision to expect a Board member to do a high profile full-time job of oversight of one of the largest school districts in the country and pay them less than what you could make working part time at a fast food joint.

That's how all small board/city elected officials are paid, if they are paid at all.

There are a growing number of full-time school boards. Los Angeles has a full-time school board and Atlanta is considering making its board full-time as well. Neighboring Fairfax County just increased compensation for its board because it recognized the low pay and part-time status was an equity barrier.

It makes sense to pay them appropriately. McPS has how many billions of dollars in its budget and we’re paying the people to oversee it peanuts? Also very few parents of school aged kids will ever want to get a Board seat if they’re also working full time, and it’s good to have parents who have fingers on the pulse of what McPS is doing.

The workload of a Board appt is too much for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/16/silvestre-election-county-council/

Montgomery County school board member Karla Silvestre announced Tuesday she is running for one of the County Council at-large seats in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

“I moved to Montgomery County nearly twenty years ago for the jobs, schools, and public amenities like parks and transportation hubs that gave my family a high quality of life,” Silvestre said in a Tuesday press release. “However, our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community. I want to put my proven experience to work for the people of our county to strengthen our local economy and provide the quality of life that our residents expect and deserve.”

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident and Democrat, was elected to the school board in 2018 as an at-large member and was re-elected in 2022. She served as county president for two years and is chair of the school board’s Fiscal Management Committee. She also works at Montgomery College as the director of Community Engagement and previously worked for the county government as a community liaison in the Office of Community Partnerships, according to her announcement.

Silvestre is the second school board member to announce her campaign for County Council. School board President Julie Yang announced in July she was seeking the District 1 seat held by Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1). Friedson is running for county executive to replace Marc Elrich (D), who cannot run again due to term limits.

Looks like no one enjoys or values serving on the MCPS Board of Education. I wonder why?

No. They served their time, now they're on to something else. It's hard to give your all to a cause for more than a few years, PP. You're not as effective or enthusastic anymore. That's human nature, and not a reflection on the BOE.

DP. Not to mention:

BOE member salary $25K
Council member salary $167K

It is an incredibly poor policy decision to expect a Board member to do a high profile full-time job of oversight of one of the largest school districts in the country and pay them less than what you could make working part time at a fast food joint.

That's how all small board/city elected officials are paid, if they are paid at all.

There are a growing number of full-time school boards. Los Angeles has a full-time school board and Atlanta is considering making its board full-time as well. Neighboring Fairfax County just increased compensation for its board because it recognized the low pay and part-time status was an equity barrier.

It makes sense to pay them appropriately. McPS has how many billions of dollars in its budget and we’re paying the people to oversee it peanuts? Also very few parents of school aged kids will ever want to get a Board seat if they’re also working full time, and it’s good to have parents who have fingers on the pulse of what McPS is doing.

The workload of a Board appt is too much for that.

100% agreed.

[Anonymous]

I will miss Julie. She is the board member who does the most to hold MCPS accountable. I think Karla used to be better but just seems exhausted now. I’m surprised she is trying for higher office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/09/16/silvestre-election-county-council/

Montgomery County school board member Karla Silvestre announced Tuesday she is running for one of the County Council at-large seats in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

“I moved to Montgomery County nearly twenty years ago for the jobs, schools, and public amenities like parks and transportation hubs that gave my family a high quality of life,” Silvestre said in a Tuesday press release. “However, our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community. I want to put my proven experience to work for the people of our county to strengthen our local economy and provide the quality of life that our residents expect and deserve.”

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident and Democrat, was elected to the school board in 2018 as an at-large member and was re-elected in 2022. She served as county president for two years and is chair of the school board’s Fiscal Management Committee. She also works at Montgomery College as the director of Community Engagement and previously worked for the county government as a community liaison in the Office of Community Partnerships, according to her announcement.

Silvestre is the second school board member to announce her campaign for County Council. School board President Julie Yang announced in July she was seeking the District 1 seat held by Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1). Friedson is running for county executive to replace Marc Elrich (D), who cannot run again due to term limits.

Looks like no one enjoys or values serving on the MCPS Board of Education. I wonder why?

No. They served their time, now they're on to something else. It's hard to give your all to a cause for more than a few years, PP. You're not as effective or enthusastic anymore. That's human nature, and not a reflection on the BOE.

+1 Silvestre has some political talent, and will have served 8 years on BoE by the time she leaves. School board was never meant to be a lifetime sinecure. She's not the pope.

I won’t vote for Silvestre because of how she handled Beidleman and McKnight. Also not a fan of how she is double dipping and constantly more worried about the bottom line for MC than MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will miss Julie. She is the board member who does the most to hold MCPS accountable. I think Karla used to be better but just seems exhausted now. I’m surprised she is trying for higher office.

Julie is the real deal. I love when she brings receipts to read from past MCPS studies to reiterate her concerns to the current regime. She is clearly well prepared andcan think on her feet