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Board of Education Member · District 1 · Baltimore County · 2026 Primary
Members of the Board of Education oversee the local public school system by setting educational policies, approving the annual operating budget, and hiring the superintendent. They make key decisions on matters such as student curriculum, school boundaries, and the maintenance of school facilities. This office is important because its members determine how tax dollars are spent to support student learning and the overall quality of schools in the community.
View all candidates in this raceLisa A. Mack is a 60-year-old resident of Catonsville seeking election to the Baltimore County Board of Education in District 1 as a non-partisan candidate. Mack was first elected to the Board of Education in 2018 and served until 2022. She retired from Verizon in 2007 after serving 28 years as Director of Wholesale Markets and has worked in education since 2009, teaching English at CCBC and serving as a Standardized Patient at UMD and JHU since 2016. Her educational background includes an AA from CCBC earned in 1996, a BA in Human Services Administration from College of Notre Dame in 2000, and dual MAs in Management and Finance from College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 2006. Mack argues that many decisions made by the county school board prioritize the interests of the county over those of its students and teachers. She specifically criticizes a philosophy she observed while teaching where students were moved to higher grades simply for showing up, which she claims has inflated graduation rates at the expense of actual education.
Education Quality
Mack argues that students are being moved through grades without mastering core skills like writing paragraphs or essays, leading to uneducated graduates despite passing placement tests.
“There are many decisions that have been made by the county school board that appear to be made in the best interest of the county and not in the best interest of its students or teachers.”
Student Placement
She questions how high school graduates pass placement tests using 6th grade curriculum when they cannot write basic essays.
“I was appalled to learn that each and every semester thousands of students, the vast majority recent graduates of Baltimore County high schools, had not learned enough to pass the CCBC placement test that used 6th grade curriculum.”
The Baltimore Sun Election Guide profile presents Mack as a non-partisan candidate running against Matt Gresick in District 1. The article details her extensive educational achievements and professional history with Verizon prior to entering the teaching field. It highlights her critique of the current school board's approach to student placement tests and graduation metrics, noting her concern that thousands of high school graduates lack basic writing skills.
“In fact, how did those students make it to high school since writing paragraphs and creating essays is part of the elementary school curriculum?”
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