AI & School Safety: BOE Candidate Brett DiResta Lays Out MCPS' Biggest Issues

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Ahead of the primary elections in June, Patch has invited candidates running to represent the region on the Montgomery County Board of Education to complete a questionnaire touching on a variety of key issues.

Candidate responses will be published verbatim in the run-up to the primaries on Tuesday, June 23.

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Questionnaire responses for Brett DiResta, who is running to serve as the 3rd District school board member, can be found below:

Name: Brett DiResta

Age: 54

Hometown: Bethesda, MD

Do you have any previous political experience? If so, please state and explain how that experience will influence your time on the Montgomery County Board of Education if elected.

Politics has been my career for three decades. I worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer for then-Congressman Chuck Schumer, and after helping him win his Senate seat in 1998, I launched my own political consulting firm — which I've run for over 25 years.

In that time, I've helped elect Democratic candidates across the country, including leaders right here in Maryland like former Senator Ben Cardin.

Those experiences taught me something essential: promises are easy; delivering on them is hard. Real results require coalition-building, sustained effort, and the willingness to compromise without losing sight of your goals. Having worked in both the legislative and electoral arenas, I understand not just how policy gets made — but how it gets passed.

That's the experience I'll bring to the Board of Education: the practical knowledge of how to work across differences, build consensus, and fight effectively for the families of the Third District.

What do you believe is the single-most important issue facing voters in the district you’re looking to represent? How do you intend to address those issues?

District Three faces many of the challenges confronting MCPS broadly — stagnant test scores in some schools, and troubling incidents of violence and bias in too many others. But the most urgent issue is one we can see with our own eyes: our facilities are failing our children.

Two of our high schools — Walter Johnson and Winston Churchill — are operating above 100% capacity. North Bethesda Middle School is as well. The consequences are real: overcrowded classrooms, kids learning in portables, and buildings in disrepair.

This is unacceptable.

If elected, I'll attack this problem on two fronts. First, I'll push County officials aggressively to authorize the bonds needed to fund repairs and new construction. Second, I'll demand smarter spending. If MCPS is planning to build six new schools, the Board should be negotiating bulk contracts — leveraging that volume with construction firms, lenders, and materials suppliers to drive down costs. That's not a novel idea; it's how smart organizations operate.

Our kids deserve schools that are safe, modern, and built to support learning — not crumbling buildings that signal to families that their children aren't a priority.

How do you differ from other candidates running against you?

A Board of Education seat sits at the intersection of three worlds: community, education, and politics. I believe I'm the only candidate in this race with genuine experience in all three.

Community. My family has lived it. I spent a decade coaching Little League. My wife served as a county cluster coordinator and a PTA President at Cabin John Middle School. I was appointed to the Nominating Committee for the Board of Trustees of Montgomery College. This isn't a résumé item — it's 20 plus years of showing up.

Education. For 15 years, I've taught students from four universities, including both graduates and undergraduates. I know what it means to write a lesson plan, compete with a room full of phones for attention, and grade papers at midnight. I also know the difference between feeling supported by an administration and feeling completely on your own. That perspective matters.

Politics. Three decades in elective politics is a genuine asset for an elected position. I have relationships across this county and this country. More importantly, I know how to build coalitions — between allies and rivals alike — to turn good intentions into actual results.

Most candidates bring one of these. Some bring two. I bring all three.

How would your work experience benefit the goals/objectives you’ve outlined in your campaign and/or the office you’re seeking?

Every role I've held has prepared me for this moment in a specific, practical way.

My three decades in politics taught me that good ideas die without the relationships and skills to push them through. The facilities crisis won't be solved by good intentions — it will be solved by a Board member who knows how to work with County officials, negotiate with stakeholders, and hold budget conversations with people who have competing priorities. I've spent my career doing exactly that.

My 15 years in higher education give me credibility in the room when curriculum, staffing, and academic standards are on the table. I'm not an outsider learning the language of education — I've lived it.

My decades of community involvement mean I already know the families, the schools, and the stakes. I'm not arriving to introduce myself. I'm arriving to get to work.

Campaigns make promises. The Board has to keep them. The gap between those two things is where most elected officials fall short — and it's precisely where my background is strongest. I know how to build coalitions, leverage the relationships, and do the unglamorous work of follow-through.

On Day One, I won't need a learning curve. District Three families have waited long enough.

What is your opinion of the work being done by the current officeholder, and how will you improve on it?

Julie Yang has been an outstanding Board member — a genuine leader who represented District Three with intelligence, dedication, and integrity. She set a high bar; improving on her record won't be easy. But I'm not running to be Julie Yang 2.0. I'm running to be myself — and to bring a distinct set of strengths to the seat she's vacating.

I believe I can make a difference at the intersection of politics and policy — leveraging my experience to actually move the needle on the issues that are most important to District Three families.

That means fighting aggressively for the bonds and funding needed to fix our overcrowded, crumbling schools. It means building coalitions — inside the Board and across County and State government — to turn priorities into action. And it means pushing for greater flexibility, giving schools and the families they serve more say in how they're administered, rather than having every decision handed down from above.

Ms. Yang leaves big shoes to fill. I intend to fill them — in my own way, with my own tools, and with the same commitment to this community she has shown.

What is the biggest issue facing Montgomery County Public Schools? How would you address it?

Frankly, it isn't a single issue. Over the past decade, MCPS has declined across multiple fronts — stagnant test scores, crumbling buildings, hate-inspired incidents, and a troubling rise in school violence. Addressing one without the others isn't leadership. That's why I'm running on a four-part platform.

Return to Good Governance. MCPS has lost the discipline of doing the basics well — vetting employees, maintaining infrastructure, and keeping students safe. My first priority will be restoring that discipline through audits, meaningful oversight, and frankly, some common sense.

Reduce Class Sizes. Research consistently shows that smaller classes produce better outcomes. Yet MCPS has allowed high school classrooms to swell to 32 students. I will prioritize recruiting, training, and deploying new educators to bring those numbers down to a level where real teaching — and real learning — can happen.

Embrace AI Intelligently. Artificial intelligence isn't coming — it's already here, probably even in our classrooms, whether we plan for it or not. I want MCPS to be an AI-forward school system, preparing students to work with these tools thoughtfully, without becoming dependent on them.

Make Our Schools Safe. Hate incidents and violent episodes have become far too common across the county. I will work within the school system and with outside partners — l mental health organizations, community groups, and law enforcement when appropriate — to reverse this trend and make every MCPS school a place where students feel secure.

Our kids deserve a school system that's governed well, staffed adequately, future-ready, and safe. That's the MCPS I intend to help build.

A student brings a gun/weapon to campus without setting off any red flags. What security measures would you advocate for to prevent such an incident?

This is every parent's nightmare — and for too many MCPS families, it's become a reality. Recent incidents at Wootton and Watkins Mill High School make clear that our current approach to school security isn't working.

The answer isn't a single sweeping mandate. MCPS is the 14th-largest school district in the country, spread across a geographically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse county. A one-size-fits-all security policy isn't just ineffective — it can be counterproductive.

Here's what I'd advocate for instead: equity in funding, flexibility in implementation.

The Board should ensure every school has equitable access to mental health professionals and consistent staff training, including restorative justice practices. That's the baseline — non-negotiable and uniform across the district.

But how schools deploy those resources should reflect their specific needs and communities. Older, more physically vulnerable buildings may require additional security personnel or infrastructure upgrades. Schools with particular community concerns may need different intervention models. The people best positioned to make those calls are the ones closest to the problem — staff, students, and families.

One thing must remain consistent: the student code of conduct. Rules and consequences should be applied equitably across every MCPS school, without exception.

Safety isn't one-size-fits-all. But the commitment to keeping every child safe absolutely is.

Do you believe schools need stricter security measures? Metal detectors? Move away from CEOs and revert to SROs? Explain.

As I argued in my previous answer, I don't believe there's a one-size-fits-all solution here — and that principle applies directly to this question.

Newer high schools may already have secure physical infrastructure and well-trained Community Engagement Officers who are the right fit for their environment. Forcing a different model on a school that isn't asking for one is a waste of time and resources.

But older buildings — with outdated layouts, weaker access controls, and greater physical vulnerabilities — may genuinely need upgraded equipment, stronger locks, and the broader authority that School Resource Officers provide. The CEO vs. SRO debate shouldn't be an ideological fight. It should be a practical conversation, driven by the specific needs of each school community.

The Board should empower individual schools — with input from staff, students, and families — to determine what security model is appropriate for their building and their community.

Proper funding combined with real flexibility doesn't just improve security. It also improves accountability. When schools have genuine ownership over their safety decisions, they can no longer simply defer to — or blame — central office.

Every school deserves the tools it needs. Not the same tools. The right tools.

What is your stance on the "Save Wootton" initiative by community members?

After listening carefully to passionate parents on both sides, I support the Save Wootton initiative — and my reason is straightforward: student safety.

Modified Option H concludes that Wootton High School is no longer suitable for its current students and relocates them to the new Crown High School. Given the building's condition, that determination isn't unreasonable on its face.

What is unreasonable is what comes next. Modified Option H then proposes to keep Wootton open as a holding school for other high schools and middle schools undergoing repair or replacement.

That is an indefensible contradiction.

If MCPS believes Wootton is unsafe for its current students, it is unsafe for any students. If MCPS believes it can repair Wootton sufficiently to serve as a holding school, then it can repair it sufficiently for the students who call it home right now.

I understand the impulse to cut costs. But student well-being is not a line item to be negotiated. Either Wootton is a usable facility, or it is not. I will not support Modified Option H until the county resolves that contradiction — clearly, transparently, and with our students' safety as the first priority.

What will you do to ensure that concerns of parents and/or guardians of MCPS students are heard and addressed before a vote is held on any new business?

The current system — sign up to speak at a hearing, show up, and hope two minutes at a microphone makes a difference — isn't enough. For many working parents, it isn't even a realistic option.

I've spent 15 years as a professor, and one thing I've learned is that students don’t always communicate well in a classroom. On the other hand, they do well at office hours, one-on-one, without an audience, where people feel comfortable talking and asking questions. I intend to bring that same approach to the Board.

If elected, I will hold regular office hours across District Three, rotating locations so that geography isn't a barrier. Whether a parent lives in Potomac, Rockville, or anywhere in between, there will be a time and a place where they can sit down with their Board member and be heard — not as a two-minute public comment, but as a conversation.

I will also be reachable through email and other traditional channels. But face-to-face engagement isn't just more personal — it's more informative. You learn things in a direct conversation that you simply cannot learn from a written testimony or a show of hands.

The families of District Three deserve a Board member who seeks out their concerns, not one who simply makes room for them on an agenda. Before any significant vote, I want to be able to say — genuinely — that I've heard from the people it will affect most.

A 6% property tax increase was proposed for the fiscal 2027 budget to raise funds for schools. Homeowners are reluctant to pay more.

What is your position?

I do not support the proposed 6% property tax increase. The reasons go beyond the reluctance of homeowners to pay more.

First, the political support is not evident right now. Many of the most vocal champions of MCPS funding — including all three County Councilmembers currently running for County Executive — oppose this increase. When the people who fight hardest for school funding draw a line, that's worth noting.

Second, the timing is wrong. MCPS has just asked the county to approve a $2.7 billion capital budget. County residents are already being asked to shoulder a significant additional burden. Returning to the well with a property tax increase strains the goodwill, and the wallets, of the families we serve.

Third, the economic environment demands restraint. Government layoffs, sluggish growth, and persistent inflation are squeezing Montgomery County families right now. This is precisely the wrong moment to add to that pressure.

MCPS has received close to its full funding request in nearly every recent budget cycle. The answer to our schools' needs isn't another tax increase that divides the community — it's smarter spending, better negotiating, and finding efficiencies that stretch every dollar further.

Our teachers and students deserve the best. So do the taxpayers who fund them.

What other options would you consider to raise money that does not include raising taxes?

Before we talk about finding new money, we need to have an honest conversation about the money we're already spending.

Over the past decade, MCPS funding has increased roughly 50% — from nearly $2.5 billion in FY17 to a requested $3.78 billion in FY27. Over that same period, enrollment has slightly declined. We are spending dramatically more to educate fewer students, while test scores stagnate and buildings crumble. Montgomery County taxpayers are not getting an acceptable return on that investment.

That has to change — and it starts with the Board doing its job.

Rigorous audits. Honest program evaluations. A willingness to eliminate what isn't working and double down on what is. The next Board cannot simply rubber-stamp budget requests — it needs to stress-test every line item and demand accountability for outcomes.

I've run my own business for over 25 years. I know what it means to make a budget work when resources are constrained — to find efficiencies without sacrificing quality, and to make hard calls when the numbers demand it. That experience is exactly what MCPS needs right now.

The current trajectory is unsustainable. Our job isn't to spend more — it's to spend smarter. And I intend to make that case from Day One.