Protesters lined the entrance to the library parking lot with signs that read “Shame on Chuck, drop out now.” But inside the library, no word was mentioned in an hourlong candidate’s forum about what has become a central issue in the Anne Arundel school board race.

Anne Arundel County Democratic leaders called on Charles “Chuck” Yocum to drop out of the District 3 race after The Banner reported last week that Yocum was charged 30 years ago with child sexual abuse and removed from his teaching position at Northeast High School over those and other accusations.

Though Yocum, 61, of Pasadena, was found not guilty in 1994, Anne Arundel County Public Schools had enough concerns that the system launched an extensive internal investigation.

The investigation turned up more claims that Yocum sexually harassed or made inappropriate comments to students as young as 13. He never went back to teaching.

Yocum categorically denied the accusations.

The rules of the forum, which was sponsored by the PTAs of two high schools in District 3, didn’t allow for questions from the audience. Questions were collected in advance from the community and given to the candidates so they could prepare. Yocum’s opponent, Erica McFarland, said some people sent in questions asking about Yocum’s past, as well as language he used in recent Facebook posts. (Steffani Mykins, the mother of a child with special needs, took umbrage with some comments he used that could be offensive to those with special needs. She said she came to the debate because she was angered by Yocum’s language and believes he should not serve on the board.)

Those questions were deleted by the organizers, McFarland said, because they were only addressed to one candidate and not both. In addition, McFarland and Yocum said during the forum that the questions they had been given in a spreadsheet in advance did not match those that were read to them by the moderators.

“It is very disheartening that it wasn’t mentioned,” said Conor Curran of Pasadena, a member of the county’s state central committee.

The organizers declined to comment on the lack of discussion about Yocum’s background and Yocum left the forum shortly after it ended. About 50 people attended the event, filling the room, and appeared to be mostly divided into McFarland supporters, who wore blue T-shirts, and Yocum supporters. The candidates discussed how they would handle school budgets, contentious issues and student safety.

The two candidates also decried the political polarization of the community. McFarland said she believed people could be brought together if they listened to one another. Yocum said that the most contentious issues can be solved at the school board level and don’t need to enter the classroom.

The Banner last month interviewed two of Yocum’s former students. The first woman, whose allegations of sexual abuse led to Yocum’s 1993 arrest and trial the following year, said she stands by her story. The second woman’s allegations that Yocum propositioned her to engage in sex acts and wrote her explicit notes were never made public; law enforcement investigated and did not file charges. Their accounts 30 years later closely match those in the internal investigative report, a confidential record neither woman has seen. Both women said they want voters to reject Yocum at the ballot box.

Investigators recommended the school system charge him with professional misconduct as part of an employee disciplinary process, and The Baltimore Sun reported he was fired in August 1994. Yocum was allowed to work in central office positions while he appealed the action, and eventually struck a deal with the school system behind closed doors. He worked in administrative positions until he retired this summer.

He filed to be a school board candidate before he retired.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.