Smith announces re-election bid

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

by Keith L. Martin

Staff Writer

Twelve-year school board member Jean A. Smith has announced that she will seek re-election this year.

Smith filed her papers with the board of elections on Monday.

Appointed to the Frederick County Board of Education in 1994 and again in 1998, she was first selected by voters in 2002.

‘‘I take the job seriously and love it and I’m not ready to give up,” she said.

A former president and vice president of the board, Smith has also served as president of the PTA Council of Frederick County, as volunteer coordinator at elementary, middle and high schools and a member of the board of directors of the Maryland Congress of Parents and Teachers.

Among the things she would like to accomplish in another four years on the board are eliminating the achievement gap between minority and white students, continued recruitment and retention of qualified teachers and new school construction.

‘‘I’ve got to see Linganore High School [renovated],” Smith said. ‘‘I’ve got to see that building and also the renovation of West Frederick Middle School.”

Smith is one of four current school board members up for election this fall. Bonnie M. Borsa, Daryl A. Boffman and board president Michael E. Schaden have not announced whether they will seek an additional term.

For more on this story, see TheGazette on Thursday.