Tammy Fraley
Running for school board in Allegany County
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?
52
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
cBEYONData, LLC. - Senior Systems Integration Specialist.
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Bachelor of business administration, accounting, Texas A&M of Commerce 1993 (formerly East Texas State University)
Why are you running for the school board?
I initially ran for the board as I wanted to be a part of making the educational system in Allegany County strong and impact the growing need to increase workforce development to keep the younger generation in our county upon graduation. Having served for almost eight years, I have found that my passion remains the same with only a slight variation. I want to help provide a well-rounded education and social upbringing of our youngest citizens so that they can be proud of where they came from and strive to give back to their community.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I have served as a local school board member in Allegany County for the past eight years. During this timeframe, I also served as a member of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, including as board president. I started my path in local boards because of the lack of parental input in my own children's education. I was frustrated with the lack of synergy across the state on the availability of resources.
Now with the Blueprint for Maryland's future coming to fruition, the opportunity is ripe for ALL to be part of the process that can change education across our entire county.
I have served in family engagement groups at my student's elementary and middle schools. I also serve within several local organizations, including the Salvation Army Advisory Board, LaVale Athletic Association, and was most recently appointed to the Allegany County Citizens Review Board for Children by Gov. Wes Moore.
I believe I am the best candidate for our area because of my willingness to engage at all levels. I believe there needs to be a voice for the parents of current students as well as future students. There also needs to be a voice of those "in the trenches" to include local business owners, community members, advocates for change, etc.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
In my opinion, the most important issue facing Allegany County school board is the employee morale and student/employee mental health support. There is a wealth of opportunity being provided at the state level to include grant funding and cooperation for the national center for student mental health that must be utilized by our county. We need to not feed into the stigma that if you ignore the issue, it will not exist.
I plan to continue to push for inclusion of the student voice in decisions as well as utilization of programs and practices outside of our current system. We must not assume that it will "correct itself."
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I truly admire Adrienne A. Jones as the first woman to serve as the speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. As I have delved further into the political world in Allegany County, I found that very few strong woman leaders emerged. When I started to attend conferences I found that a strong leader does not depend on their gender but on their ability to gather people to make a difference. Ms. Jones inspires me to keep pushing forward and not allow the nay-sayers to hold me back.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, is a 10-year plan that includes increased education funding to support early childhood education, increased teacher starting pay, college/career-readiness standards for high school graduates, and expanded services to multilingual and impoverished families, among other goals. Please tell us your views on the Blueprint and how it will affect your school district.
The Blueprint initiative to hire additional educators across the state to provide more individualized attention to students sounds great in theory, but the practicality of it is that there is a VERY limited pool of educators within the state of Maryland. In Allegany County, we struggle to have educators apply for positions due to the climate of employee morale along with the limited flexibility to adjust to various teaching styles. As a board member, I will continue to advocate for the educators to have a seat at the table with board members to ensure all concerns are voiced and addressed where possible.
I personally would like to see a stronger focus on the recruitment of support personnel to provide more to our students. The utilization of coordinated community supports will be critical to the success of our educational system in Allegany County.
Some school districts nationwide are placing new limits on the use of cellphones in middle and high schools. What do you think should be the policy on student use of cellphones in your district, and why do you support that policy?
I personally believe that student use of cellphones during the school day should be restricted, as it is only a distraction for the students. They utilize the phone for cheating in class. Also, I have seen several problems in school start with a post on social media or through bullying a student while it is filmed by another. As a school board member I would seek input from educators as to what they feel works best in a majority of situations, as they are the ones on the battlefield.
Are you satisfied with your school district's efforts to ensure the safety of its students? What, if anything, should be done to improve school safety in your district?
School safety within our county not only involves the physical aspects of the buildings but also the community surrounding them. I believe we must continue to pursue memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with local law enforcement agencies to have dedicated law enforcement officers assigned to specific schools. Additionally, there needs to be some coordinated support provided across all prevailing needs of not only the student body but that of the staff and administration.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries? If so, what kind of books should be removed, and who should make those decisions?
My position is that there should not be the absolute banning of books; however, there should be a policy on the age-appropriateness. There should always be alternatives for students whose parents/guardians request an opt-out of certain books. Our nation was built on the freedoms afforded to us, and therefore the public education system must provide opportunities for all voices to be heard.
Some school districts enact policies allowing transgender and gender nonconforming students to use their preferred pronouns while at the same time not informing those students' parents about that decision. What is your opinion of such policies?
I believe that a students' parents/guardians should be part of any decision made regarding their student. The school system is there to support general education of students and to prepare them for the outside world. There should be no policies in place that take away the parents/guardians right to be part of the process.
