Bokee undecided about requesting recount in narrow school board race

Josh Bokee, a candidate for the Frederick County Board of Education, narrowly missed out on one of three open seats and said on Monday he had not made a decision on calling for a recount.

Jaime Kiersten Brennan, Janie Monier and Colt Morningstar Black are the three apparent winners of the school board race. Bokee had 53,189 votes — 133 fewer than Black, who had 53,322.

The margin was close enough — not greater than 5% — that Bokee could request a recount under Maryland law within three days of certification. If the margin of difference between the two candidates in question is less than 0.25% of the total votes cast for those two candidates, the county covers the cost of the recount.

The margin of difference between Black and Bokee as of Friday, after all votes for those candidates were counted, was 0.12% of the votes cast for the two candidates.

The board originally was scheduled to certify the results on Friday.

But the board finished processing votes on Friday and took Saturday and Monday to assign all of the write-in votes to candidates.

Anthony Gutierrez, election deputy director for Frederick County, said on Monday night that that the certification is now scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

In an interview earlier on Monday, Bokee said he was "still waiting for the results to be certified and has not made any decisions as of yet."

After all votes were counted, the totals for the six candidates on the ballot were:

* Brennan — 55,334

* Monier — 54,975

* Black — 53,322

* Bokee — 53,189

* Chad King Wilson Sr. — 48,857

* Veronica D. Lowe — 41,189

There also was one registered write-in candidate, Heather Fletcher. Results posted on Monday night showed that Fletcher received 21,185 write-in votes.

Board members serve four-year terms.

The three seats became open when three incumbents — Sue Johnson, David Bass and Jason Johnson — didn't seek reelection.

Monier, Bokee and Wilson were endorsed by FCPS employee unions and were considered the "apple ballot."

Black and Brennan campaigned together, and with Fletcher.

A super PAC called Marylanders for a Safe Future — which received money from the Maryland State Education Association — spent just under $27,000 in online advertising on Oct. 8 to support the campaigns of Bokee, Wilson and Monier.

The super PAC also spent about $28,000 in online advertising to oppose Brennan and Black, according to online campaign finance filings.

Marylanders for a Safe Future spent money in Frederick, Howard, Carroll, Washington, Anne Arundel, Cecil, Calvert, Montgomery and Prince George's counties to either support or oppose school board candidates.

An opposing PAC, the 1776 Project PAC, also spent money in Maryland but did not give support to any Frederick County board candidates.

In 2022, the 1776 Project PAC spent over $24,000 on printed brochures and online advertising in support of three Frederick County school board candidates — Olivia Angolia, Cindy Rose and Nancy Allen, all of whom ran as part of the Education not Indoctrination slate.

Nancy Allen was the only member of the Education not Indoctrination slate to be elected to the board in 2022.

The three winners of this year's school board election are scheduled to be sworn in on Dec. 3.

In an interview on Monday, Brennan said one of the first issues she plans to tackle is the budget, as the board is already beginning its budgeting process for fiscal year 2026.

She said she also plans to address student proficiency, which goes hand-in-hand with the budget.

"How are we spending our money, and are we investing it in things that enhance student performance?" Brennan asked.

She added that she "can't wait to get to work for our parents and our families and our students."

Black said he wanted to look for ways to improve school safety, including making sure students and families have the correct information from community alerts.

He said he would start with a broad overview of school safety, then pinpoint places where issues occur in order to spot patterns or trends.

"If our kids aren't safe at school, parents aren't going to want to send them," Black said. "I think that that's absolutely imperative."

Reached by text message on Monday, Monier responded at 6:40 p.m. that she didn't have time to talk until later Monday night.