In Anne Arundel County’s school board race, four of the seven board members appeared to have won re-election, ensuring the county’s superintendent will likely continue to have the board’s support.

Two current members held leads in contested races. Dana Schallheim, 48, has served for six years and helped lead the district through the pandemic and a superintendent’s search. With nearly all the precincts reporting, Schallheim was leading with 60% of the vote over LaToya Nkongolo in District 5, which includes Arnold, Broadneck Peninsula and Severna Park.

Longtime board member Joanna Bache Tobin, 61, also faced a challenger in District 6, which includes Annapolis, Crownsville and Millersville. Both Tobin and Schallheim are supported by the teachers union and Democratic leaders. Tobin was leading Edilene Barros, 53, with 65% of the vote. Schallheim declared victory with a majority of votes in, saying she was grateful to be serving again. She will be the longest serving elected member of the board, she said.

In District 3, Erica McFarland held a 1,000-vote lead over Charles “Chuck” Yocum with all precincts reporting. Provisional ballots will be counted on Wednesday. Democratic leaders, including the county executive, had called for Yocum to withdraw from the race after The Baltimore Banner reported that he had been charged and found not guilty of sexual abuse of a student 30 years ago. The school system launched an extensive internal investigation at the time that turned up more claims that Yocum sexually harassed or made inappropriate comments to students as young as 13. He did not return to teaching.

McFarland, 45, is a mother of two county students and two graduates who served on the school system’s Citizen Advisory Committee and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. She has been endorsed by the Maryland State Education Association, the state teachers union.

“We have done a lot to move the school system forward in the last four years,” said Tobin, noting the hiring of Mark Bedell as its superintendent. “I think voters feel that has made a positive difference in the schools. They are seeing great results from the work he is doing and they want it to continue.”

Schallheim said she was grateful to be returned to her seat after she and her supporters knocked on 15,000 doors and made 3,000 phone calls.

In District 1 and District 2, current board members Gloria Dent, representing Brooklyn Park, Ferndale, Linthicum and Jessup, and Robert Silkworth, representing Glen Burnie, Millersville, Severn, ran unopposed. Silkworth is the president of the school board.

While the races are nonpartisan, Maryland’s Democratic Party for the first time began investing in school board races to counter what they believe is a far-right agenda with some of the candidates. The Democrats have targetedYocum, 61, running in District 3, and Nkongolo in District 5. Both candidates have expressed conservative views.

In a video of her speaking after the primary election, Nkongolo had said she believed the school system should be “an institution of learning, not an institution of grooming.” She wanted to prioritize academics and said she believed that children are being exposed to sexually explicit materials. She was seeking to stop any effort to allow transgender girls to play on girls sports teams.

Two newcomers, Sarah McDermott and Stephanie Mutchler, were running against each other to represent District 4, which includes the Ft. Meade, Laurel and Odenton area of the county. McDermott was winning with 66% of the vote against Mutchler.

McDermott is a married mother of two and Air Force veteran who lives in Odenton. She serves as assistant commissioner for occupational and professional licensing at the Maryland Department of Labor and sometimes works as a substitute teacher in the school system.

Mutchler has two decades of experience working with schools, including volunteering in her child’s classroom and joining that county school’s affiliated parent organization.

In District 7, Dawn Pulliam, 52, was leading with 58% of the vote against Jeremy York, 38, to represent the Crofton, Davidsonville, Edgewater, Deale area on the board. Pulliam was endorsed by former Republican state lawmakers and two members of the County Council. She wants to improve the physical safety of students and return to a traditional teaching model.

York is a married father of two and a Marine Corps veteran who seeks to increase school funding to retain teachers. He is endorsed by the teachers union and several Democratic lawmakers.

School board races have historically drawn fewer votes than other contests in counties in the state. Jen and Jim Haller, 67 and 62, skipped voting in the Anne Arundel County school board elections this year because they said they didn’t feel like they knew enough about the candidates.

”When it’s a local, tight race, I don’t want to go in and just tip the balance because I don’t know the issues,” Jim Haller said. “Because it’s such a major local thing, I just chose to stay out of it.”But the Hallers, who both voted at Severna Park Middle School Tuesday evening, had done their research at the top of the ticket.

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