Voters in Anne Arundel County will soon decide who they want to represent them on the school board, which has seven elected members and one peer-appointed student.

Two of the seven nonpartisan races feature incumbents who are running unopposed, but the other five races are head-to-head matchups against candidates with dramatically different visions for the school system.

One sticking point is whether candidates believe the district should invest directly in mental health care for students or connect students with providers in the community.

The race for the District 3 seat features a candidate who has faced calls to drop out. And three candidates are being targeted by the Maryland Democratic Party.

The Baltimore Banner summarized information about the candidates’ policy positions, combing through candidate questionnaires they filled out for us and to the League of Women Voters.

Early voting starts Thursday, and Election Day is Nov. 5.

DISTRICT 1: Brooklyn Park, Ferndale, Jessup, Linthicum

Gloria Dent, Incumbent

Dent is a married Army veteran with three children who lives in Severn. She’s a current member of the school board who also serves on the board of directors for the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation. She did not return candidate questionnaires seeking information about her policy positions. Dent’s challenger removed herself from the ballot in May, so she is running unopposed.

DISTRICT 2 Glen Burnie, Millersville, Severn

Robert Silkworth, Incumbent

Silkworth taught in the county for nearly 50 years. He’s a grandfather who currently serves as the board’s president. He said his top priority is boosting the number of staff available to alleviate students’ mental health challenges. Silkworth, 75, also wants to boost accountability for people who bring weapons to school. He touted the health care available to the district’s teachers and staff as among the best in the state and said he wants to promote it.

Silkworth has been endorsed by the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County. He’s running unopposed.

DISTRICT 3: Gibson Island, Pasadena

Erica McFarland

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 lives in Pasadena.

She said she wants to make mental health care more accessible for students because it can be tough to get an appointment, and not every family can pay out of pocket for services.

One problem she wants to tackle as a board member is the prevalence of bullying. “It breaks my heart that some people are made to feel like they don’t belong in our schools and community just for being who they are,” she told the League of Women Voters.

To grow the district’s teacher workforce, she said she wants to invest in a “grow your own” program that would encourage local students to become area teachers. She said such programs can provide financial support to aspiring teachers and encourage diversity.

McFarland has been endorsed by the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County.

Chuck Yocum

Yocum, 61, worked in the county school system for more than 30 years, first as a teacher and coach and later as an administrator. He is the father of a Northeast High School junior and two graduates who lives in Pasadena.

He was once charged with child sexual abuse and removed from his teaching position at Northeast High School over those and other accusations, the Baltimore Banner reported. Though he was found not guilty of the charges, an internal investigation launched by the school system turned up more claims that Yocum sexually harassed or made inappropriate comments to students. Local Democrats, including the county executive, have called for him to drop out of the race.

As a board member, Yocum said he wants to focus on discipline, accountability, and core subjects like reading and math. “As a teacher, it was my job to teach students how to think and not what to think,” he told the League of Women Voters. “My opinions never entered the classroom.”

Yocum said he is concerned about students’ mental health, but he doesn’t think it’s feasible for the district to provide support directly. Rather, he wants the district to develop public-private partnerships that connect students with community providers. Yocum also wants to build more housing for teachers through a public-private partnership.

DISTRICT 4: Ft. Meade, Laurel, Odenton

Sarah McDermott

McDermott is a married mother of two and an 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.

She said she wants to invest in clubs and activities that allow students to feel more connected to their school communities. She also wants to boost the number of school counselors and psychologists, and to modernize the district’s approach to career and technical education.

To make the district an attractive place to work, McDermott wants to increase teacher pay, expand health care offerings and give teachers a say on class size.

Stephanie Mutchler

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.

She said she wants to create a working environment for the district’s teachers that makes them feel valued and respected. She laments that larger class sizes and a lack of free periods have made the school day tougher for staff and students. She also wants to see the district prioritize providing full support for students with disabilities.

“Every child should have a true relationship with adults at their school who make them feel safe and seen as the special person they are,” she told the League of Women Voters.

DISTRICT 5: Arnold, Broadneck peninsula, Severna Park

LaToya Nkongolo

Nkongolo, 45, is a mental health expert, former county employee and a married mother of two children enrolled in county schools. She lives in Severna Park.

She says the school system’s reputation for academic excellence has faltered and she wants to restore it to help students and protect taxpayers’ investment. She wants to invest in a revamped curriculum.

She wants to ensure students’ physical safety at school and hold accountable any individuals who cause disruptions.

To support students’ mental health, she wants schools to become hubs where families can seek referrals to community-based providers. She does not think schools should provide those services directly.

And to enhance teachers’ job satisfaction, she wants to solicit feedback from staff and work to implement their suggestions.

Dana Schallheim, Incumbent

Schallheim, 48, is a married public school parent who lives in Severna Park. She has served on the board for the last six years, helping to lead the district through the pandemic and a superintendent search.

She touts that she oversaw the hiring of dozens of new school counselors, psychologists and social workers and voted to increase teacher pay, making the district’s new-teacher salary the fourth-highest in the state, she says.

Schallheim wants to ensure funding for public schools is not redirected to private or home schools.

Expanding access to full-day pre-K is one of her top priorities. She also wants to fight censorship and “extremist” policies that, for example, limit students’ access to some school library books.

To support students, she wants to expand mentorship programs and mental health counseling.

“My worst days as a board member are when my phone rings with the news of yet another suicide,” Schallheim told the League of Women Voters.

Schallheim has been endorsed by the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, fellow board member Joanna Bache Tobin, and former student board member Josie Urrea. She’s also been endorsed by Comptroller Brooke Lierman, County Executive Steuart Pittman and numerous Democratic state lawmakers.

DISTRICT 6: Annapolis, Crownsville, Millersville

Joanna Bache Tobin, Incumbent

Tobin, 61, is a married mother who currently serves on the board. She plans to draw on her experience attending public schools around the world and teaching college students if she gets reelected.

She said one of her top goals is ensuring responsible oversight of the superintendent. She also wants to reduce achievement gaps, develop stronger programming for special education and gifted and talented students, and support culturally responsive teaching.

“Teachers must be empowered and trusted to create inclusive classrooms where every student feels they belong,” she told the League of Women Voters.

To make the district an attractive place to work, Bache Tobin wants to offer teachers tuition reimbursement for additional degrees and certificates and ensure the lowest-paid employees earn at least $20 an hour. She also wants to institute more equitable time off for custodians and maintenance staff.

She said she wants the district to provide mental health services for students and staff, grow bilingual immersion programs and offer transportation to and from after-school activities in hopes of boosting participation.

Tobin has been endorsed by the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, County Executive Steuart Pittman, and the Caucus of African American Leaders, as well as numerous Democratic state and county lawmakers.

Edilene Barros

Edilene Barros, 53, did not respond to The Banner’s voter guide inquiries.

She told The Baltimore Sun in May that her first child attended public school, but she chose to homeschool her children when she moved to Annapolis. She is originally from Brazil, studied in Belgium and now has a child planning to attend public school, The Sun reported.

Barros wants to improve test scores and communication with parents, along with school transportation and safe learning environments, according to The Sun.

DISTRICT 7: Crofton, Davidsonville, Edgewater, Deale

Dawn Pulliam

Pulliam, 52, has more than two decades of experience in education. She is single with no children, but her extended family includes children who attend county schools.

She said she wants to prioritize the physical safety of schools via improved cybersecurity, updated transportation protocols, vape detectors and strong law enforcement partnerships.

She pledged to accomplish those goals while staying within the budget, “avoiding the approach of simply throwing money at problems.”

Another top goal is to reduce distractions created by technology and return to a traditional teaching model that emphasizes reading, writing and arithmetic instruction.

She also wants to add behavioral interventionists, expand mental health counseling, and reduce the number of conditionally certified educators.

Pulliam has been endorsed by County Council members Shannon Leadbetter and Nathan Volke, as well as several current and former Republican state lawmakers.

Jeremy York

York, 38, is a married father of two and a Marine Corps veteran. He also previously worked as a consultant for IBM and a senior strategist at Coursera.

His top goal is convincing state and county lawmakers to increase school funding so the district can attract, train and retain the best educators. He also wants to improve teachers’ work-life balance and offer staff priority access to the county’s School Age Child Care program.

He vowed to be a staunch advocate for increased mental health resources in the schools because “we can’t afford not to.”

“We cannot expect positive student outcomes without positively influencing the mental health within their environments,” he told the League of Women Voters.

York has been endorsed by the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, board member Joanna Bache Tobin, and County Executive Steuart Pittman. He’s also won the support of the Caucus of African American Leaders and several Democratic state lawmakers.