Issues and Announcements

School Board Member Donna Brightman Seeks Four-year Term

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (Dec. 3, 2007) – Donna L. Brightman, who has served on the Washington County Board of Education since May of this year, announced today her intentions to seek a four-year term.

Mrs. Brightman was named by Gov. Martin O’Malley to fill the unexpired term of W. Edward Forrest, who had resigned his seat on the seven-member school board in April, when a promotion made it necessary for him to do additional business travel.

“I have found my experience on the school board very rewarding,” said Mrs. Brightman, who lives in southern Washington County. “The challenges of our school system are many. I feel I can continue to contribute positively to the process.”

Mrs. Brightman serves on the board’s Finance Committee and Facilities Committees, is the BOE liaison to the municipalities and the county Planning Commission and represented the school board on the Excise Tax Task Force. She also currently serves as the chair of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) Task Force for the Washington County/Hagerstown Chamber of Commerce.

One of the biggest challenges facing the county school system, according to Mrs. Brightman, is that of transparency. “I feel fewer of our meetings should be held behind closed doors. Only those directly concerning personnel, land acquisition and some legal matters should be discussed in executive session.

 “Citizens need to know more about how our schools are being run and how we are spending their tax dollars.”

  She is also concerned about the effects of growth on the county's schools. “This is a critical time as Washington County continues to grow,” she said, adding that “quality of life is more expensive to fix than to protect.”

    She continues to be concerned about “the piecemeal approach to land use policy in this county which forces the school system to resort to redistricting, limits options as to how we deal with overcrowded schools, and affects our ability to deliver educational programs equitably throughout the county.”

Other important issues facing the county school system include:  the annual budget process, the newly-mandated high school assessments, and recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers.

A professional in the custom design build landscaping business, Rivers Edge Landscapes, Mrs. Brightman has been involved in education issues in Washington County for more than 20 years.

She has served on the Home Rule Task Force, served as Washington County legislative liaison to the Maryland PTA and advocated for a Council of Governments. She also has served on the school board’s Facilities, Enrollment and Advisory Committee (FEAC) and chaired the Boonsboro High School’s Citizens Advisory Committee. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors of the Antietam Creek Watershed Alliance.

Mrs. Brightman and her husband Courtney Hirsh have two children, Reid and Turner, both of whom graduated from Washington County public schools; both now attend college.

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