Black hopes to advocate for parents, improve technology programs
Leading up to the Nov. 5 general election, The Frederick News-Post is doing podcast interviews with candidates for the Frederick County Board of Education.
Six candidates are on the ballot for three open seats on the board.
Colt Morningstar Black, a candidate for the Frederick County Board of Education, said he would expand technology programs and advocate for parents' rights in Frederick County Public Schools if elected to the board.
Black is the director of Black's Funeral Home and the Acacia Society in Sabillasville. He is also an elected member of the Frederick County Republican Central Committee.
In a podcast interview with the News-Post, Black said every person has a right to be themselves and believe in what they want to believe in.
He said school is not supposed to be political, and can be a place that is just about learning for everyone.
"Parents have the right to ensure their values are being met with their students at school," Black said. "I think that we need to look about getting back to the basics to ensure that we're not supplanting what parents are teaching their kids at home."
In 2022, a challenge of 35 books in FCPS libraries was brought to the board to determine if the content or themes were too graphic for school libraries.
After nearly a year, a reconsideration committee composed of teachers, students and parents found that one book should be removed from all FCPS libraries, and that two books should be removed from middle schools but remain in high school libraries.
Black said he is not a fan of "book bans," but he would like libraries to have age appropriate content. He said books that are not academically relevant and contain gratuitous graphic and violent content should not be in FCPS libraries, but should remain in public libraries.
Black said in public libraries, parents can control what kinds of content their child has access to. He added that the reconsideration committee should not have met behind closed doors.
"It should be open to the public, it should be open to the news media, it should be open to recording, videotaping, the whole nine yards," Black said. "There is no reason to keep these type of things secret."
Black said another goal of his if elected is to expand technology programs in FCPS. He said the current programs offered at the Career and Technology Center in Frederick could be offered in other schools if existing spaces in schools were modified to accommodate the programs.
Black said college is not a viable option for every student, and more and more businesses are eliminating the need for a college degree.
"I think we need to keep up with the times and keep up with the trends and let our students know there's nothing wrong with being in a trade," he said. "There's nothing wrong with being in a 9-to-5 job that doesn't require a college degree, and I think we need to make sure that we're sending the right message to the young people here in our community."
The current board is working to create a districtwide cellphone policy for students in elementary, middle and high schools.
Black said cellphones can cause social problems or issues with academic integrity, but they also have benefits.
"The reason that most parents send their children to school with cellphones is for that safety factor," he said.
Black added a storage policy in the classroom could work as a solution, but he said it is dangerous to have cellphones locked in the front office or to not have them at all.
"We have to really strike a delicate balance there," he said.
Black said he has experience in the public safety sector and owns Blue Star EMS, a private ambulance service.
"Seeing safer, more vibrant schools for our students is something that is not only in my blood, it is in every fiber of my being," he said. "Not only just for my kids, but every student here in Frederick County."
The Maryland State Department of Education is working to craft a statewide literacy policy for students K-3. Black said the policy needs to be scientifically based in how the curriculum teaches reading.
"We need to go back to tried and true methods of reading because reading is absolutely paramount," he said. "Knowledge is power, and you get your power from reading."
Black added that the school district should not be afraid to intervene if a student is struggling in school because "by the time you actually are able to get those interventions, they're two or three grade levels behind."
In his podcast interview, Black also discussed the Remote Virtual Program at FCPS and the issue of overcrowding and aging buildings throughout the school district.
Besides Black, the other candidates on the ballot for school board seats are Josh Bokee, Chad King Wilson Sr., Jaime Kiersten Brennan, Janie Monier and Veronica D. Lowe.
