By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
This is a commentary piece and reflects the view of its author. The Board of Education race is officially nonpartisan. The Orange Ballot is a political action committee, and its co-founders describe themselves as Republicans.
Early voting is open through Thursday, Oct. 29, and one of the most consequential races on the Frederick County ballot is also one of the easiest to skip. Four seats on the Board of Education are up. Eight candidates are left from a primary field of 14, and they sort into two groups of four. (MDBayNews profiled the full field on June 12.)
One group is the Apple Ballot: Casey Day, Rae Gallagher, Dean Rose and Chad King Wilson Sr. They are endorsed by the Maryland State Education Association, and Rose, Gallagher and Wilson are incumbents. The other group is the Orange Ballot: Heather Fletcher, Shelley Potter, Geoff Seidel and Tyler Walker, all challengers. This column makes the case for the second group, and it does not pretend to be neutral.
What the Orange Ballot is
Marie and Charles Boshoff of Point of Rocks formed the PAC in March 2025, according to campaign filings reported by the Frederick News-Post. Marie Boshoff said she worked the polls in 2024, saw the Apple Ballot, and wondered, “Where’s the parental voice in all of this?” The group says it is volunteer-led, and candidates who want its endorsement fill out an application on its website.
In Frederick County, the slate is:
- Heather Fletcher, a Point of Rocks resident who ran as a write-in candidate in 2024
- Shelley Potter, a Frederick County native with more than 15 years of teaching and school leadership
- Geoff Seidel, who has a 47-year career in nursing and cancer research
- Tyler Walker
Better Maryland Schools, a parent-led, nonpartisan group that rates candidates on academic outcomes, budget efficiency and parental rights, recommended Potter, Seidel and Walker, as MDBayNews reported in June. The Orange Ballot also endorses two incumbents in Washington County, Mike Guessford and Darrell Evans, who both advanced from their June primary.
The group says it prioritizes student success, parental rights, fairness in girls’ sports and evidence-based curriculum. A slate is not a platform, though. Voters should read each candidate’s own answers and not assume four people agree on everything. Here is why the priorities deserve a hard look.
The academics
Maryland released its 2025-26 test results on July 28. Statewide, 51.7 percent of students were proficient in English and 27.1 percent in math. Frederick is not a failing district, and it would be silly to argue otherwise. The News-Post reported that FCPS again finished among the state’s highest-performing districts, well above the statewide averages, with small gains in English and math.
But look at what that ranking sits on. If 27.1 percent is the state’s math number, even a district far above it leaves a lot of children short of proficient. Last year, the district’s own release put middle school English proficiency at 62 percent, which means more than a third of those students did not get there.
A board that hears “top performer” and stops asking questions has confused a ranking with a result. The Orange candidates have made academic standards part of their pitch. That is a good instinct.
The money
The school board approved an operating budget of more than $1.01 billion for fiscal 2027 on June 10, the News-Post reported. FCPS’s fiscal 2026 budget was $970 million.
The February request drew objections for what it trimmed. The News-Post reported cuts of about four full-time media specialist positions, about seven behavior support specialists and two board-certified behavior analysts. WYPR reported that officials described the behavior roles as overlapping, and that the district’s curriculum director said the positions cut were held by long-term substitutes, not permanent staff. Board member Chad Wilson, an Apple Ballot candidate, said the cuts were hard to accept on equity grounds.
Both sides of that argument deserve a hearing. The question for voters is not whether a billion dollars is enough. It is what students actually lost, how the district will measure the effect, and what alternatives the board weighed. Candidates who ask those questions are doing the job.
The parents
Policy 443 is the sharpest dividing line in the race. FCPS lists the current version as revised Dec. 10, 2025, a month after WYPR reported on the board’s debate over changes.
As posted on the district’s site, the policy says students may decide where, when, and with whom to share their gender identity, and staff may not disclose a student’s status except to school staff, people the student authorizes, or certain law enforcement, medical, or emergency professionals. Parents are contacted when there is a health, mental health, or safety concern. Otherwise, staff are told to encourage communication between the student and the parent. The policy also says student records are made available to parents on request, and it gives students access to restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, with alternatives offered to any student who is uncomfortable. The policy also requires schools to notify parents in a timely and supportive manner when a student younger than 12 asks for a change in name, pronouns, or access to gender-specific facilities. For older students, the confidentiality rules above remain the point of contention.
The record-access language is worth stating plainly, because it is a real change. Still, a parent who has to know which records to request has already missed the conversation. WYPR reported in May that the board’s own members disagree about whether the policy needs amending, and that its president said it may need amending depending on the outcome of a West Virginia girls’ sports case at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled in that case on June 30, upholding state limits on girls’ sports. It did not address a policy like 443 directly, so the question of whether to change it stays with local boards. This is a live question, and the next board will decide it.
The oversight
In December 2021, the Justice Department announced a settlement with the district over the improper use of seclusion and restraint on students with disabilities. Maryland Matters reported that federal investigators counted more than 7,250 incidents involving 125 students, some as young as 5, and that Frederick reported the highest use of restraint and seclusion among Maryland’s 24 districts. The district agreed to end seclusion and train staff.
The rest of the story matters too. On May 16, 2025, the Justice Department notified the district that it had concluded monitoring of the agreement. Its summary says the district prohibited seclusion, documented and reviewed restraints, trained staff, set up a complaint process, and offered affected students counseling and compensatory education. The district deserves credit for that.
It is also a reminder of how this happened. A school board does most of its work out of sight, and it took a federal investigation to bring the problem into view. Voters are the earlier check.
The independence
The board sets curriculum policy, approves the annual budget, and hires the superintendent. Orange Ballot supporters argue that candidates endorsed by the unions will vote on spending that affects union members, and that parents deserve at least one slate that does not owe its ballot position to them.
An endorsement is not control, and that applies in both directions. Blue Voter Guide lists the Frederick County Republican Party among the groups backing the Orange four, so neither slate stands apart from organized politics. A fair test is conduct, not labels. Watch how each candidate votes on budgets, contracts, and parent-access questions, and judge them on that.
What the other side says
Apple Ballot candidates and their supporters will point to the record and ask for continuity. The News-Post reported that 2026 scores showed small gains in English and math and large gains in Algebra 2 and Geometry. Board President Dean Rose is seeking another term, and the News-Post reported that he wants to maintain the district’s momentum. Board member Rae Gallagher has said she wants to keep preserving protections and programs for students.
On Policy 443, the policy text says the school’s role is to encourage communication between the student and the parent, and it provides for parent contact in health and safety situations. At the November meeting, one speaker warned that giving parents access to those records could endanger students. Those are serious arguments, and voters who find them persuasive should weigh them against everything above.
What to Watch
- Early voting runs through Thursday, Oct. 29, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can vote at any early voting center in the county where you live, and you can register and vote the same day.
- Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Four seats are on the Frederick County ballot, and voters can choose up to four candidates.
- Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3, or hand-delivered to an official drop box or your local board of elections by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
- Policy 443 could be revisited by the new board.
Sources: The Frederick News-Post reporting used here includes Esther Frances on the formation of the Orange Ballot PAC (July 2025), Erik Anderson on the June 2026 primary count (June 2026), staff reports on the primary count (June 27, 2026), the school board’s February 2026 budget request and its fiscal 2027 budget vote (June 11, 2026), Katelynn Winebrenner on the certified primary field (July 25, 2026), and the News-Post’s July 2026 report on FCPS state test results. WFMD reported on the 2026 results on July 29, 2026. WYPR reported on the board’s budget request on Feb. 26, 2026, on revisions to Policy 443 on Nov. 7, 2025, and on the board’s debate over amending it on May 21, 2026. The current text of Policy 443, revised Dec. 10, 2025, is posted by Frederick County Public Schools. FCPS published its fiscal 2026 budget release on June 26, 2025, and its 2025 state assessment results release in 2025. The U.S. Supreme Court decided West Virginia v. B.P.J. on June 30, 2026. The Maryland State Department of Education released 2025-26 MCAP results on July 28, 2026. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the settlement with FCPS on Dec. 1, 2021, and its Civil Rights Division posts the May 16, 2025 notice that it concluded monitoring. Maryland Matters reported on the findings on Dec. 22, 2021. The Maryland State Board of Elections supplied the Frederick County primary ballot, official Washington County primary results, and early voting and Election Day dates. The Maryland State Board of Elections also supplied mail-in ballot return rules. Blue Voter Guide supplied candidate incumbency and endorsements for the Frederick County race. The Orange Ballot’s slate and About pages (mdorangeballot.com) supplied its stated priorities and endorsements. MDBayNews’s June 12, 2026 profile of the Frederick County field supplied candidate and Better Maryland Schools details.
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