Place of residence: Taneytown Date of birth: April 7, 1954 Place of birth: Rhinebeck, N.Y. Current occupation: High school biology teacher, Littlestown Area School District, Littlestown, Pa. Education: BS, animal science, Cornell University; MPS, agricultural education, Cornell University; 60 credits, post-graduate, Penn State, et al Community associations, involvement: Silver Run⁄Union Mills Lions (past president); Hanover Community Players (past treasurer); Barlow School (past member, board of trustees); Charles Carroll Elementary PTA (past member) Professional associations: Littlestown Education Association; Pennsylvania Education Association; National Education Association; Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators; National Association of Agricultural Educators Family: Married Ellen Hutchinson in 1990; daughter, Charlotte, a freshman at Winters Mill; son, Ben, a seventh-grader at East Middle Campaign office address and telephone: 2628 Blacks Schoolhouse Road, Taneytown, MD 21787; 410-346-7727; jeffmorse@dishmail.net Web site: www.jeffmorse.org Link to state Board of Elections campaign finance database

Carroll Board of Education

Jeffrey Morse

Class size reduction. We currently have many academic classes at the middle and high levels with over 35 in a class. This is not beneficial for student performance or teacher retention. We must work to reduce the size of these very large classes to reasonable yet affordable levels.

Facility utilization. With the completion of Manchester Valley High School, there will be significant space available at North Carroll and MVHS until the growth in the area requires the space for high school students. I would like to see an arrangement with Carroll Community College, which is rapidly growing, to share this space. This would provide much-needed space for the college and offer our students true ‘‘College in the High School.”

Balance new construction with renovation⁄modernizations of our aging facilities.

How would you rate the performance of the current school board: excellent, good, fair or poor? Why?

Good. This is a very new board. With the exception of Gary Bauer, the average experience of a board member is less than two years. I think this board has the potential to become an excellent board with experience.

How would you rate the job performance of Superintendent Charles Ecker, excellent, good, fair or poor? Why?

Good. Dr. Ecker took over Carroll County schools during very troubled times, and has successfully lead us in a better direction. He has developed strong working relationship with the other governmental organizations that we interact with, particularly the county commissioners.

Is the county funding for schools too much, about right or too little? If too little, where would you find additional money?

The schools receive money from the county, state and federal governments. It is well known that Carroll County ranks near the bottom of the Maryland counties in total spending per student. However, a significant portion of this is because we do not receive as much state and federal money as many of the other counties.

When we look at Carroll County’s contributions, especially when measured against the ability to pay, we rank much higher. Money is tight and getting tighter. The school system must work to efficiently deliver the resources directly to the classrooms and try to avoid excessive bureaucracy.

An area that will be a challenge will be meeting the needs for the capital budget in the coming years. With the reduction in growth, the revenue to the county drops, but our schools continue to have aging facilities that need costly renovations and modernizations. The commissioners have looked at ways of meeting this financial need and I hope they are successful in implementing a revenue source in the future.

Do you think the current system for renovating and building schools is adequate or does it need changing?

It is a constant struggle to balance new construction with modernizations of existing schools. I think the combination of reduced growth in the county and our new system of assessing the educational adequacy of our older facilities will go a long way towards balancing these needs.

What do you think about the board’s relationship with the community?

Improving communication between the board and the community is a goal that the current board is working on. Some communities have needs and strongly advocate for their community schools which is the right thing for them to do. That having been said, they must also understand that the board is responsible for the entire county and must balance a communities wants with the needs of the entire county system.

Do the commissioners have too much, too little or not enough oversight of the school system?

I think the commissioners have about the right amount of oversight. They provide the funding. They have a member that sits on the school board in a nonvoting capacity but can address issues as they arise.

Are the schools safe for students and teachers? If not, what should be done?

I am not sure that anywhere is ‘‘safe” for everyone. We strive to keep our schools as safe and secure as possible. We will be spending $1.5 million installing security cameras at schools in the next year to continue to try to maintain our schools in as safe and secure an environment as possible.