Mathew Drayer
Running for school board in Queen Anne's County District 2
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?
38
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Peraton, system engineer; East Coast Mortgage, mortgage loan originator.
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Master’s degree in accounting, American Military University.
Why are you running for the school board?
I truly believe today’s youth is the pillar for our country’s future. That starts with a strong education at all levels. As a parent, we all want the absolute best for our children and their education. I am running to help ensure the educators in our county have all the tools to ensure top notch academic success for those who matter most, the STUDENTS.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I have experience working on and building government programs, to include writing policies and procedures, developing budgets and leading various teams of all sizes. Combining this experience with the right purpose of creating the best education possible for the students can be a very strong foundation for success.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
BUDGET!!! I want to sit down and go line by line by line by line and see exactly where the shortfalls are and what we can do to remedy the situation. Having educators take furlough days not only affects their families but the reason we are all here, the STUDENTS.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
There is no specific individual. It is every individual contributing to society and willing to help their communities in a positive manner.
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.
I believe every child, no matter who you are or where you come from, deserves the right to the best education possible. In order to provide the best education, we need strong educators to make that happen. Without experienced educators, one of the pillars isn't complete, causing a weakness in the education system.
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’m old school; I don’t understand the need for cellphones in an educational environment in the first place. A student is in school to learn, not play on their phones.
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?
This is a massive concern across the entire nation. Our children’s safety should be a top priority. Working with local law enforcement is a start, but the world is evolving every day. We must educate ourselves on future threats and be proactive on building plans to mitigate those threats.
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?
The books being presented in a library should be age-appropriate. The teachers and parents should be aware of what books are available to and being presented to the children. If there is a conclusion that a book is not age-appropriate, then it should be removed.
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?
This is a situation of parental rights. There is no issue with the student using their pronouns. The issue is the school actually having a policy to purposely hide something from the parents. This isn’t the school’s decision to make. This is the parents’ right, and it is between them and their child.
