Montgomery County voters elected Rita Montoya as the at-large Board of Education (BOE) representative, Natalie Zimmerman as the District Two representative and Laura M. Stewart as the District Four representative, Nov. 5.
The BOE consists of eight nonpartisan members — two at-large members, five district members elected by countywide voters and one student member chosen by MCPS students — each serving four-year terms.
The BOE staggers its four-year terms to maintain continuity in governance. This year, two candidates competed for the at-large seat, while four candidates competed for the District Two and District Four seats.
Attorney and former PTA president Rita Montoya defeated incumbent Lynne Harris for the at-large seat, winning 53.7% of the vote.
During her time on the board, Harris focused on ensuring all students see themselves and their experiences reflected in what they learn, while also gaining an understanding of the experiences of those in underprivileged communities.
Montoya says she plans to support student achievement through academic and extracurricular programs; protect students and staff from emotional health challenges, hate bias and violence; and rebuild trust in MCPS and the BOE through modeling strong accountability, leadership, oversight and transparency.
MCPS elementary school teacher Natalie Zimmerman defeated Brenda M. Diaz for the District Two seat, securing 55.4% of the vote.
Though candidates serve as non-partisan members, the Montgomery County Republican Party endorsed Diaz while the Maryland State Democratic Party endorsed Zimmerman.
Diaz’s campaign focused on supporting academic excellence, restoring safety in schools, empowering students, families and teachers, and ensuring responsible resource allocation through diligent oversight of schools in MCPS.
Diaz faced controversy after violating the county’s school board-approved mask mandate during the pandemic in Aug. 2021, by wearing a “very thin scarf” or nothing at all. MCPS suspended Diaz, which led to her resigning the following year. She came back in 2024 to run for the Board.
Zimmerman’s goals for the board are to push for transparency and trust with the public, increase student readiness for the workforce by focusing on data-driven practices and ensure all of MCPS feels supported.
Former MoCo Council of PTAs leader Laura M. Stewart defeated incumbent Shebra Evans for the District Four seat, capturing 58% of the vote.
As a board member, Evans committed to securing students’ accessibility to the resources and high academic rigor they need to thrive, regardless of where they live in the county, and bringing diversity to the school board.
Stewart’s top priorities are holding herself and MCPS accountable to taxpayers and the school community, rebuilding trust by collaborating to welcome differing viewpoints and emphasizing clear, accessible, honest and timely communication.
Melissa Kim — a former teacher, principal, district school leader, and deputy chancellor for DC Public Schools — also ran for the at-large position but did not advance past the primary. Kim valued ensuring that MCPS designs and executes an education program with student experience at its core, guaranteeing MCPS remembers people are the county’s greatest resource and delivers on smart governance and accountability. Kim wants to see this group work together to focus on what’s important and avoid distractions, she said.
“What I’d like to see from this group of leaders, in conjunction with our new superintendent, is figuring out how we work together for our priorities without getting distracted by the politics,” said Kim. “We need to put student experiences now at the center, finding balance for the immediate changes as well as future changes.”
MoCo360 reported that Stewart and her campaign director, Jared Galley, cheered and clapped as the initial results came in Tuesday night. Stewart covered her face in surprise, admitting she had expected to lose.
By 10:30 p.m., Stewart held a 16% point lead over Evans, a margin she maintained through the final vote count.
“I feel great,” Stewart said in an interview with MoCo360. “The margin was a little higher than I actually expected.”
The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) — a union representing over 14,000 educators, including teachers, school counselors, speech pathologists and media specialists — released a statement responding to the results.
“It was gratifying to see that Montgomery County voters understood the importance of electing new voices to the school board,” MCEA President David Stein wrote. “We need champions — like Natalie Zimmerman, Laura Stewart and Rita Montoya — on the school board who bring a commitment to greater transparency and oversight to the school budget and the budgeting process.”
