Nancy Highsmith
Prince Frederick, MD – Two former Calvert County school superintendents have filed to run for the Board of Education (BOE) seat in The Second Election District. The candidates—former superintendent and BOE member Dr. Eugene Karol and former interim superintendent Nancy Highsmith—both filed Friday, Jan. 29. That district’s seat is currently occupied by Tracy McGuire, who is serving her second term on the panel.
The BayNet has reached out to Karol, Highsmith and McGuire for comment. Highsmith said via email that she was going to be out of the country for about one week and would speak about her candidacy when she returns.
The deadline to file is Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. As of Friday, Jan. 29 the only other person to file to run for one of the three BOE seats up for grabs in 2016 is incumbent Kelly McConkey, who represents the Third Election District and will be seeking his second four-year term.
The three available seats in 2016 restrict candidates to the election district in which they reside. The school board also has two at-large seats.
As of Friday no candidates in the First Election District have filed. However, incumbent James Piatt, who was appointed by the Calvert County Commissioners in December 2014 to fill an unexpired term, has told The BayNet he will likely be registering Monday, Feb. 1 and plans to run for a full four-year term.
The candidates are required by state law to file 83 days before the Maryland Primary, which is April 26. Early voting is Thursday, April 14 through Thursday, April 21 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com