[Baltimore Sun] Anne Arundel District 5 candidates clash over pandemic recovery, qualifications
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The District 5 Board of Education race is between incumbent and teacher union endorsed Dana Schallheim and mental health professional LaToya Nkongolo.
District 5 encompasses the Arundel, Broadneck and Severna Park high school clusters.
Schallheim was elected in 2018 when she defeated an appointed school board member by about 1,250 votes.
“I got into this because of the students. I think my record shows that I can do this job effectively,” Schallheim said.
Throughout her term, Schallheim pushed for pay raises for teachers, scholarships for students enlisting in the military, enhanced anti-bullying policies and expanded career and technical education programs.
Schallheim said she has no interest in any other office.
Nkongolo ran unsuccessfully for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2022. She said she was encouraged to run for the District 5 seat by friends and colleagues because of her work ethic and experience.
A licensed therapist for 25 years, Nkongolo is an adjunct professor at Anne Arundel Community College. She developed a family wellness workshop at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center and has participated in several anti-drug initiatives for both Republican and Democratic county executive administrations. She also runs her own mental health facility in Glen Burnie, Work Life Behavioral Health.
Her priorities are academic achievement, parental involvement and mental health, Nkongolo said. She wants to boost parent involvement at the high school level and improve curriculum transparency by making curriculum content easily accessible on the district website.
Nkongolo has criticized Schallheim for voting in favor of safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic].
But Schallheim said it wasn’t a matter of a board member’s opinion. She said, as a board member, she followed guidelines set by experts, voting to allow students to remove masks even before she was personally comfortable being out in public without one.
“Some of us wanted to focus on the science and use that to guide our decisions,” Schallheim said. “The decision I made on behalf of our students was made following guidance provided by the federal government, the state government and the local county health expert at that time.”
Schallheim said during her time on the school board the number of mental health professionals in schools has increased every year since 2018, and Superintendent Mark Bedell, who was hired in 2022, has made student well-being a priority.
Nkongolo praised Bedell’s priorities, but argues the district needs to partner with private businesses to boost academic recovery from the pandemic.
“We have to take an aggressive approach,” Nkongolo said. “We have great tutoring programs here. We have great mental health providers in the community. So, we have to strengthen those partnerships to address the academic and mental issues our children are facing.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles County, Schallheim is a stay-at-home mom and volunteer. Her daughter attends school in her district, and before running for school board, Schallheim spent 36 years volunteering. She sees her work on the board as an extension of her volunteer career. Board members make $8,000 annually.
Endorsed by the Anne Arundel County Teachers Association, Schallheim said if she wins her priorities will be to increase the number of mental health professionals in schools; ensure AACPS teaching jobs remain competitive with other districts in terms of pay and workload; continue improving curriculum; implement the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future with fidelity; and keep partisan political fights away from the school board.
Nkongolo said she thinks their primary difference is experience, citing her background as a business owner and leadership positions in Anne Arundel County.
“She describes herself as a life-long volunteer. We don’t hire volunteers to run $2 billion businesses,” Nkongolo said. “Hiring someone who’s never had a job or strong resume is an issue.”
Schallheim holds an MBA in business from the University of Brighton in England and worked on renewable energy programs for the Department of Energy and a consulting firm before becoming a stay-at-home parent. She has been on the board for the last six years, scrutinizing and amending the AACPS budget.
Election Day is Nov. 5.
Have a news tip? Contact Bridget Byrne at bbyrne@baltsun.com, 443-690-7205 and x.com/brdgtbyrn.
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