BERLIN- Local voters returned longtime incumbent Sara Thompson to the Worcester County Board of Education this week.
In just the second time she’s faced a challenger, the 22-year veteran of the school board retained her District 3 seat in Tuesday’s election. Thompson received 51.6 percent of votes cast while opponent Francis Gebhart received 47.6 percent of votes.
Thompson, who was originally appointed to the board before it became an elected body, says this will likely be her final term.
“I’m very excited about being re-elected,” said Thompson, a longtime substitute teacher. “I just want to continue doing what I’ve been doing. I want to continue making sure this is an excellent school system.”
Gebhart congratulated Thompson and thanked her for her many years of service.
“I was not surprised it was a close race, and have always been ready to accept the outcome either way,” he said. “I do feel, however, that the system requiring running as a non-partisan was a detriment to the voters getting who they would have chosen had they had that information.”
In addition to Thompson, incumbent Barry Brittingham was re-elected Tuesday, as he faced no challengers for his District 2 seat. In District 5, previously represented by Jonathan Cook, who opted not to run for reelection, Ocean Pines resident Elena McComas narrowly defeated Tom Terry for the position. McComas received 2,041 votes (51.2 percent) while Terry, a former member of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors, received 1,926 votes (48.3 percent).
“My initial reaction was shock,” McComas said. “I was running against a very well-known person in our community. I’m thrilled though.”
McComas said she spent 30 years teaching in Maryland as well as in California. Upon retiring to Ocean Pines, she was eager to stay involved in education.
“Worcester County is an excellent school system but we have challenges,” she said. “Those are the things I wanted to address.”
In addition to managing the role of technology and ensuring students and teachers are adapting to ever-changing standards, McComas says she’d like to help the school board improve communication with the community. She said that was a concern shared with her as she campaigned for the school board position at local events.
“We need a bit more communication between parents and the school board and the community,” she said, adding that she planned to hold town hall meetings to share information with area residents.
