David C. Drys

Running for school board in St. Mary's County District 4

How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?

46

Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?

Program manager.

What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?

Graduate degree, University of Maryland University College.

Why are you running for the school board?

To ensure every dollar collected is put to good use supporting the students and improving the quality of education they receive.

What makes you a good candidate for the board?

With over 10 years of program management with the Navy and Department of Defense, I have managed billion dollar budgets and hundreds of people to deliver complex solutions to the military members of this country. The current Board of Education lacks this skill and doesn't understand how to get value for the taxpayer money they are entrusted with, as shown with the latest Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program scores.

What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?

Building a budget that works within the tax base in St. Mary's and ensures the students receive the greatest return on that investment.

Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.

Theodore Roosevelt. He was able to use the bully pulpit to move the progressive movement to the mainstream and enact real change for the state of New York as well as the country at a time when this nation was more divided than we are now.

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 think the idea behind the Blueprint is great and support everything in it. My concern is how it is being funded, especially for St. Mary's, and rolled out. I don't think the current Board of Education understood what they supported or how all these things were going to be paid for, as shown by the 2024/2025 budget that was over the top line number and therefore required taxes to be increased.

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?

Yes, I do. Students are in the classroom to learn. Cellphones can be a great tool for that, and a policy should look to find the right balance of security for the students, parents and staff along with prioritizing the limited time in the education day.

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?

No, I think there is more that can be done with the current budget, and one of the first things I would do is request a meeting with the deputy superintendent and the safety and security officer to understand their plan to improve.

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?

Yes, if there is a concern about a book I feel each member of the decision-making group, the Board of Education, should read the book and discuss the concern with all parties involved. The decision should be made in public with input from all sides based on the content and the targeted age groups.

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?

Parents should have the option to know what is going on with their children while at school. Unless there is a law that prohibits the parents from being informed, on the issue of preferred pronouns or any other topic, the default answer should be to inform the parents.

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