In a tight race, Carroll County school board candidates George Maloney and Eric Weber squeaked by to compete in the general election.
Maloney and Weber brought in 10.32 percent and 10.66 percent of the vote, respectively, edging out competitors Dan Dekowski and Ernest Sharff, who took in 5.47 percent and 4.19 percent, respectively. These percentages are based on the unofficial results that have yet to include the absentee and provisional ballots.
Weber and Maloney will join incumbents Gary Bauer and Patricia Gadberry, Barbara Shreeve and Dave Roush to compete in November for three school board seats.
“I was a little surprised I didn?t do better,” Maloney said, adding that the close race with Weber means he will have to step up his campaigning.
Maloney said his strategy of spending less than $100 on the campaign “came up a little short,” and he now plans to order some signs. Maloney and Weber seem to have similar supporters, Maloney said, such as those who want a new high school in Mount Airy.
Weber said he waged a campaign using less than $1,000, but plans to step it up to gain another 6 to 8 percent of the vote.
Weber said he would expand his reach beyond the South Carroll and Mount Airy area. One of his major campaign issues has been the need to address the sub-par facilities at South Carroll High School and the overcrowding at Mount Airy Middle School.
“Now that I am in the big race, my volunteers and I are going to go out and really start working the entire county to drum up the support,” he said.
Challengers Roush, Gadberry and Bauer also have identified school facilities as a key issue in the campaign, citing South Carroll High.
“We need to build more schools and more classrooms,” Roush said. “We need to modernize and expand existing facilities, and take care of what we?ve got.”
In his campaign, Maloney said he is pushing for union apprenticeships in technical trades for high schoolers who might not chose a four-year college.
But this position might mean an uphill battle for the school board seat.
“That?sprobably my primary motive for doing this in the first place,” he said. “It will hurt me.”
