The Capital News Service Board of Education Voter Guide is the inaugural project of the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Thanks to an anchor commitment from the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund, the College created the Local News Network this year to support and improve local news coverage across the state. Information from the voter guide will be made available for publication free of charge to any news outlet in Maryland.
The Local News Network began this project by surveying all 155 school board candidates in the state. Some 102 candidates responded. The vast majority completed the candidate questionnaire online, but several candidates opted to be interviewed by Capital News Service journalists. Candidate responses, either online or in interviews, were edited to an appropriate length. Grammar and style errors were also corrected.
A team of 96 student journalists completed background checks on the candidates. A future Capital News Service story will include details about candidates who have faced significant legal issues or who incorrectly reported their employment or education.
Lead editor: Jerry Zremski, jzremski@umd.edu
Advisers on the project: Marty Kaiser, Tom Rosenstiel and Derek P. Willis
Editors: Abbie Bennett, Christine Harvey, Clarence Williams, David Lightman, John Hughes
Copy editors: Adrianne Flynn and John McIntyre
Layout and design: Adam Marton and Alexander Pyles.
Reporters: Aaron Jaffe, Abigail Warwick, Alexa Wootten, Alexander Gary, Alice Carlson, Allison Seidel, Austin Cole, Ava Thompson, Benjamin Strober, Bode Ramsay, Brandon Schwartzberg, Brian Melanson, Bridget Byrne, C. Max Bachmann, Cecelia Shilling, Christine Folivi, Colin McNamara, Cooper Fojas, Curtis Walker, Danielle Hodes, David Kai-Jeffrey Smith, Dillon Schliesman, Dorothy Hood, Dylan Jaffe, Dylan Manfre, Elana Mutnick, Elana Renbaum, Emily R. Condon, Emma Schmalz, Emma Tufo, Fatema Hosseini, Greg Morton, Hailey Closson, Hannah Kennedy, Hannah Wallace, Harper Lawson, Hayden Sweeney, Henry Lillenfeld, Hyunju Lee, Ian Dalrymple, Isaiah Hayes, Jack Rothenberg, Jackson Clifton, Jacob Hunting, Jenna Bloom, Jennifer Gable, Jessica Harden, Joe Francomano, Jon Dennis, Jonas Evans, Jordan Budney, Jose Sanchez Garcia, Joseph Beck, June-Young Yun, Katharine Wilson, Khushboo Rathore, Laura Wortman, Lilly Howard, Lisa Woelfl, Mahelate Solomon, Malcolm Ferguson, Margaret Scala, Marwa Barakat, Mathew Schumer, Matthew Neus, Maya Patel, Micaela Hanson, Michael Rovetto, Morgan Leason, Nathan Schwartz, Nicholas Wolcott, Nicolas Quintana, Oliver Schaack, Paige Bilsbury, Rachel McCrea, Rebecca Redeker, Richard Podgorski, Ryan Colasanti, Ryan Mercado, Samantha Barrett, Sapna Bansil, Sarah Hersh, Sasha Allen, Sequoia Smallwood, Stephanie Quinn, Sununu Bah, Sydney Klapman, Tara Goldstein, Taylor Mullen, Thomas Tucker, Torrence Banks, Viviane Stackhouse, Will Beltran, William Meyer, Xiaozhuo Zhu.
Thanks to: Jonathan Carter and Eli Wohlenhaus of Adams Publishing Group for inspiring this project, to Associate Dean Rafael Lorente for the vision of making it a statewide effort, and to Dean Lucy Dalglish for her unrelenting support.
