HAGERSTOWN, Md. –– At a recent public comment session, staff from Washington County Public Schools and union representatives spoke up about worker safety, pay and the state of older schools. One teacher also praised the district’s new cell phone rules for improving classrooms.
People discussed incidents like reported assaults on school transport staff and asked the board to support a Bill of Rights for Education Support Professionals. The Teachers’ Association also called for ongoing funding for older school buildings.
Bus driver raises concerns about employee safety
Vanessa Wood, a school bus driver, asked the board to review how the district handles cases where students hurt employees, especially when those students receive special education services.
Since starting as a bus driver in December 2025, Wood has seen several incidents involving transportation staff. She explained that federal law requires students with disabilities to get a free appropriate public education. While she supports these protections, she also thinks the school system should consider the safety of staff who work with and transport these students.
Wood said that bus attendants have been hurt with injuries like black eyes, concussions and pulled muscles. She described a case where a student broke an attendant’s hand, which kept the employee from finishing the school year and led to a workers’ compensation claim. Wood said the student stayed on the bus after the incident. She also mentioned other times when employees were bitten, hit or had their hair pulled.
Wood asked the board to look at injury records for transportation staff, teachers and paraprofessionals, and to consider more steps when student behavior puts staff at risk. She linked workplace safety to hiring and keeping employees, especially bus drivers and attendants. She said transportation workers need safer working conditions and fair pay. The WCPS Transportation Department helps students and keeps schools running.
Support professionals seek Board of Education resolution
Kathy O’Reilly, who leads the Washington County Educational Support Personnel group, also spoke about working conditions. She asked the board to officially support the Maryland State Education Association’s Education Support Professionals Bill of Rights.
O’Reilly said the effort began in 2022, when support professionals across Maryland were asked what they needed to make their jobs sustainable. The process included surveys, polls, and 13 listening sessions with hundreds of support staff from around the state, including one in Washington County.
O’Reilly said employees often mention the need for a living wage, affordable health care, secure retirement, safe workplaces, reasonable workloads, paid leave, job security, and chances for promotion when they talk about their jobs. “What this amounts to is that they want all workers to be able to look forward to fairness, dignity, and respect,” she told the board.
O’Reilly said that 550 support staff in Washington County have signed the Bill of Rights and that meetings have been held at every WCPS work site to support it. She made it clear that supporting the document does not mean agreeing to a union contract or promising to spend money right away. Instead, she asked the board to recognize how important support staff is to running schools and to accept the document’s principles.
Teachers association calls attention to aging facilities
Another main topic was the condition of school buildings. Carol Mowen, president of the Washington County Teachers Association, called for ongoing investment in building, repairing, and maintaining schools as the district plans for the future. Mowen mentioned old heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment and other maintenance issues teachers reported. She said that several air conditioning units from the early 1990s at North Hagerstown High School will be replaced.
Mowen said teachers have raised ongoing concerns about HVAC systems, air quality, pests and slow responses to maintenance issues as part of the teachers’ association’s campaign for safe and orderly schools. She thanked the maintenance staff and administrators for handling work orders but said that ongoing problems need more than just single repairs. She believes the district needs long-term planning, enough staff, and steady funding to solve bigger issues.
Mowen also referred to earlier testimony before the Board of Education about the age of school buildings in Washington County. That testimony said many buildings were built in the 1970s or earlier and have not been fully updated. She urged board members to keep pushing for funding for school construction and renovation projects at both the local and state levels.
Criticism over political activity
Some public comments focused on topics other than employee working conditions.
Ethan Lohen criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and teachers’ unions, and made several claims about education, American culture, crime, literacy, and other social issues.
At the same time, Roger Stenersen, communications director for Rising to Learn, brought up concerns about political activity and Board of Education policy.
Stenersen said that an “orange ballot” campaign broke Board Policy KHC and specifically claimed that board member Michael Guessford violated it with his social media posts about oranges and his campaign messages.
Stenersen argued that the issue was not whether Guessford could support candidates, but whether his actions as a board member followed board policy. The board did not confirm the allegations or Stenersen’s view of the political messaging as official findings during the meeting.
Teacher says cellphone rules are changing classroom culture
Public comments shifted when Pam Abston, a teacher at Williamsport High School, praised the Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Gary Willow for introducing a new cellphone policy.
Abston, who is also vice president of the Teachers Association, said the new rules have made it easier for teachers to teach and for students to focus. She said students now have less screen fatigue and fewer social media problems in class. While not every issue is solved, she said the change has made a big difference in classroom culture.
Abston said she has seen a 90 percent drop in discipline and student engagement problems in her class since the changes, based on her own observations, not district-wide data. She credited Dr. Willow and district administrators for asking teachers and the teachers’ association for input when making the rules.
Abston said the new policy has improved teaching and lowered teacher stress. “I am very grateful that Dr. Willow has arranged the focus groups and has been inclusive,” she said, adding that district officials listened to teachers during the process.
Board member Darrell Evens said that earlier visits to schools showed similar results. He said visits to North Hagerstown High School, Northern Middle School, and Fountaindale Elementary showed less disruption from mobile phones than expected. He admitted the rollout is not perfect and asked teachers and staff to keep giving feedback to help make improvements.
Willow later welcomed the positive feedback, saying the district has not made the cellphone changes perfectly, but things have improved thanks to students, parents, and staff.
The district’s Public Information Office has posted a summary of the June 2026 cellphone policy survey online.
