By Adam Pagnucco.
District 4 school board candidate Bethany Mandel has sent a robocall and text to county voters. These are the only mass communications in the school board race that I have seen other than at-large candidate Rita Montoya’s mailer.
First, here is a transcript of Mandel’s robocall from her post on X.
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Hello. I’m Bethany Mandel and I’m asking for your vote for Board of Education Montgomery County to put students first and restore your voice in our schools. You can press 2 now to opt out of future communications with us.
I’m running because Montgomery County Public Schools are in crisis. Students suffer because the current administration prioritizes their political agendas over learning. We need to bring academic rigor and safety back to Montgomery County Public Schools and their over $3 billion budget. I’m committed to advocating for these tough policies and common sense reforms we need to keep our kids safe and restore academic excellence to our public schools. Once in office, we’re going to expose every secret the school board has kept from parents and make sure every agenda item focuses on academics and not performative politics.
I’m Bethany Mandel and if you received this call, you can vote for me for school board right now at your early voting location. Everyone in Montgomery County can vote for safety and transparency in our kids’ education. I approve this message because [child’s voice] “It’s time for something different.”
Authorized by Friends of Bethany Mandel, Kara McNulty, Treasurer, 6672152059.
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Second, here are screenshots of her text.
In a press release, Mandel claimed that more than 100,000 voters received the call and/or text. She is running against incumbent Shebra Evans and long-time PTA official Laura Stewart. Dear readers, do you think Mandel can emerge from the primary? In school board elections, the top two vote-getters in the primary move on to the general election.