Progressives vs. Conservatives in School Board Race
John Aird: 1919-2005
In 1970,
many parents with children attending schools in Montgomery County, Maryland,
were concerned about a slate of candidates running for the school board. The
four candidates, calling themselves PACE—Positive Action for Children’s
Education—were running in opposition to what they saw as “progressive” trends
in education. John and Laurel Aird were among those concerned parents, and John
Aird decided that he needed to act if the PACE group was to be defeated. He
filed to run as a school board candidate.
PACE was
opposed by the Citizens Choice slate, which was comprised of Rosemary Hilberg,
the president of the existing board, and two other men, Arthur Korotkin and Pat
Dougherty, the only black candidate running. John Aird chose not to align
himself with this “progressive” group, choosing to run as an independent
instead. According to the local newspaper, the election was “one of the most
highly contested and one which could cause the greatest upheaval in the
county.”
I am not
sure what “progressive” trends the PACE group opposed, but the late 1960s and
early 1970s saw Montgomery County’s population changing, becoming less white and
more diverse. I suspect the word “progressive” was in part dog-whistle racism,
and in part a reference to larger social and cultural changes including the
anti-war movement, environmentalism, and the women’s movement that were being embraced
by young people, including middle and high school students in Montgomery
County. The local newspaper noted that:
“Student involvement in political elections
reached a head in 10 high schools, which last week endorsed the liberal slate,
thereby expressing their approval of Mrs. Hilberg’s methods of operation. The
student newspapers editorially endorsed Aird as well. The school papers voiced
objection to the PACE slate candidates who call for increased discipline ‘over
learning’.”
John Aird’s
oldest son, Steve, was involved in student government at his own high school,
so was probably one of the students encouraging support for the more liberal
candidates.
John Aird
ended up winning election to the board. Frederick, Maryland’s The News reported that with one third of
the precincts reporting, the winners of the four seats were Hilbert, Dougherty
and Aird, with only one PACE member gaining a seat, a man named Thomas Cooke.
School
board terms ran for four years, and John served one term, leaving office in
1974. John was a powerful voice on several hot-button issues facing the board. Immediately
after his election, John was involved in a strangely contentious issue about
the role of the district ombudsman. The Board wanted to have the ombudsman
report to the board rather than to the district superintendent. This upset the
district employees’ unions for some reason—I think they must have feared the
ombudsman could be used to attack teachers or school personnel. John tried to
act as an intermediary, crafting some sort of compromise between the two
groups.
In 1972, John was elected as the
Board vice president. The News
reported on March 4, 1972 that:
“Last month, Dr. John
S. Aird, vice president of the Montgomery Board of Education, appeared at a
public hearing before the state board of public works. He urged its
reconsideration of 12 of the 26 projects in Montgomery’s fiscal 1973 capital
budget that were not recommended for funding by the inter-agency on school
construction.”
John was also quoted in a Baltimore Sun article on the same topic.
“Dr. John Aird, vice
president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, told the public works
board he felt the state’s school construction agency was ‘interposing its
judgment on priorities submitted by the local boards.’”
The construction issue apparently
revolved around a change in laws requiring that new schools contain attached
gymnasiums. In the past, Montgomery County schools had been built without
gymnasium space. The district wanted to use capital funds to equalize the
schools, adding gyms to older buildings. I am guessing, once again, that
minority and poorer residents of the school district tended to be assigned to
the schools lacking gyms. The state was rejecting the construction requests,
arguing that Montgomery County had unused classroom space and didn’t need new
buildings and additions. Montgomery County had failed in the past to separate
classrooms used for specific activities, such as art, music and shop, from
their regular classroom count, so that it appeared their schools were not using
classroom space efficiently. Other districts counted only rooms actually being
used for class instruction in their classroom count.
During this period, the board was
also negotiating compensation for teachers and staff, another contentious
issue. Bruce remembers having teachers make snarky remarks about his father
during tense times while the teachers were considering a strike. Once again
John tried to strike the middle ground, noting that the board’s closed door
meetings on the issue were creating suspicion. “The credibility of this body
should not be treated this way.” He expressed regret for the conflict that had
arisen over the decision to change the way teachers were compensated for extra
duties. “Perhaps our approach has been wrong. Maybe we have lost our
perspective.”
Although John did not serve a
second term on the board, in May 1977 he was appointed to a Blue Ribbon
Commission charged with studying how the school board “is managing its time,
relating to the public and using school staff.” The school board selected
eleven citizens for the panel, with John named chairman.
John’s experiences are a reminder
of the importance of local government officials. We tend to take school board
and city council elections for granted; they seem less important than state and
federal elections. However, these bodies administer our tax dollars and
determine how essential services are administered. The conflicts the school
board faced while John was running for and serving in office show how the
decisions made by local officials have real world consequences that provoke
strong passions.
Note: When John began writing his memoirs, he stated that he
would talk about his service on the school board. Sadly, he never had the chance
to write about that period. He brought his memoirs to an abrupt conclusion when
he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. It would have been wonderful to read
his personal perspective on running an election campaign and the issues the
board faced.
Sources:
The News.
Frederick, Md. Issues: Dec. 14, 1970. Dec. 21, 1970. Nov. 2, 1970. Nov. 4,
1970. Feb. 12, 1971. March 4, 1972. May 19, 1977.
Baltimore Sun.
Baltimore MD. Issues: Dec. 21, 1971. May 27, 1972.
