Montgomery County Candidates for Board of Education Respond on Wi-Fi in School Health Issues

Candidates for Board of Education responded to Dr. Powells inquiry about their interest in "curbing the mandatory irradiation of our children in the MCPS schools." 

October 28, 2016 Letter from Ronald Powell PhD

Dear Colleagues,

Please share this message with anyone you wish who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.

You may know that the current policy of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is that all students must submit to mandatory irradiation by the radiofrequency/microwave radiation emitted by Wi-Fi, wireless laptop computers, cell phones, and cell towers if present on school grounds, throughout their many years of schooling, or forfeit their right to a free public education.  As far as I can tell, this mandate applies to Special Needs Children as well as to other children.  Also, teachers and staff at the schools must submit to such irradiation to work in the schools. 

However, the international biomedical research community has shown that such radiation is harmful to health in multiple ways.  But the MCPS managers have ignored the extensive evidence of this fact, despite the pleas from concerned parents and the written solicitations from leading scientists around the world to stop the irradiation.

We have a chance to change this tragic state at the upcoming General Election on November 8.  In that election, three of the eight seats on the Montgomery County Board of Education will be filled, providing an opportunity to elect new members who are sensitive to the concerns about the impact of such mandatory irradiation on the health of our children, and who will bring those concerns before the Board.  (The other five members are serving terms that extend beyond this General Election and thus will continue as members.)

For each of the three seats for which candidates are being considered, two individuals are competing.  Here are the three seats and the candidates competing for each one, as they appear on the ballot for all registered voters of Montgomery County, Maryland.  Shown also are their responses to my inquiry about their interest in curbing the mandatory irradiation of our children in the MCPS schools.  My inquiry was made either at the time of the Primary Election or just recently:

Candidates for Board of Education - One "At Large" seat

Jeanette Dixon - Responded with interest about the mandatory irradiation of our children.  Ms. Dixon provided the response given below at the time of the Primary Election and granted her permission then to quote that response:

"Dear Dr. Powell---thank you for sending this information along and educating me on the urgency of this issue not just in MCPS but all over.  As a 16 year breast cancer survivor I am concerned about carcinogens and anything that would put the health of others, especially our students and staff at risk.  I think we can fund our technology initiative so that our students can  have the skills they need to be competitive in the 21st century but we can and should do so in a manner that does not put their health at risk.  If I am elected to the BOE I will bring up, and seek to educate the larger MCPS community and work towards the replacement of the wireless wifi systems in MCPS. It seems to me this is a no brainer.  You should know that when I say I will do something I follow through.  

Best regards,

Jeanette"

Phil Kauffman - Did not respond.  He is the incumbent.

Candidates for Board of Education - District 2

Brandon Orman Rippeon - Responded with interest about the mandatory irradiation of our children.  Mr. Rippeon provided the response given below, which is quoted here with his permission:

"Good morning Ronald.

I agree with your position. This is a topic I too have been concerned with for many years. There are also cell phone towers placed at MCPS locations (the leases on these towers are a big revenue source for MCPS and another example of the school system putting dollars before the health of the students).

If elected I would work to institute the necessary changes to protect students' health.

Yours,

-br"

Rebecca Smondrowski - Did not respond.  She is the incumbent.

Candidates for Board of Education - District 4

Shebra Evans - Did not respond.

Anjali Reed Phukan - Responded with interest about the mandatory irradiation of our children.  Mr. Phukan provided the response given below, which is quoted here with her permission:

"I completely agree with you.
I will vote conservative, but I think the solution others will go for will be having some wi-fi free schools where kids with relevent diagnosis or doctor vouchers be allowed to attend. Maybe even voucher schools.
WiFi is everywhere, even my house and I don't even have TV, cable, internet, or phones (the electric company uses it for the thermostat for energy savings days and such).
I will vote no on cell phone towers on MCPS property for sure."

Summary

In summary, Jeanette Dixon, Brandon Orman Rippeon, and Anjali ("Anj") Reed Phukan responded with interest about addressing one or another of the aspects of the mandatory exposure of our children to radiofrequency/microwave radiation from the wireless technologies used in our schools.  If elected, they will all be new members of the Board of Education.

The other three candidates did not respond to my inquiries.  Two of the three who did not respond are incumbents:  Phil Kaufman ("At Large") and Rebecca Smondrowski (District 2).

The views of all of the six candidates on the ballot about a variety of other issues relating to our schools may be important to your choice.  Please see pages 18-20 of the League of Women Voters' Guide for questions posed by the League and the responses provided by the six candidates: 

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lwvmc/pages/1/attachments/original/1475091539/Online_GeneralVG_weblinks.pdf?1475091539

Composition of the Montgomery County Board of Education

The Board has eight members.  All eight serve on a non-partisan basis.The eight current members of the Board of Education are described here:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/members/

Five members of the Board of Education are associated, one each, with the five districts into which the County is divided.  Those five districts are shown on the map provided here:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/Resources/Files/pdfs/maps/BoardofEducationDistricts2012.pdf

Each of the five members associated with a given district must live within the district that he or she represents.  The seats occupied by members from District 2 and District 4 will be addressed in the upcoming election.

The Board also has two members that represent the entire County.  They are the "At Large" members.  One of the "At Large" seats will be addressed in the upcoming election.

Finally, the Board has one student member.  That seat will not be addressed in the upcoming election.

All Board members are elected by all registered voters living in Montgomery County.  That is why all registered voters in Montgomery County will be voting for the members for District 2, District 4, and the one "At Large" seat in the upcoming election.

Documentation of the health risks of the wireless technologies used in the Montgomery County Public Schools

For documentation about wireless devices, including Wi-Fi, in schools, please see attached document.
Message to Schools and Colleges about Wireless Devices and Health

For documentation about cell phones and cell towers, please see attached document.
The Health Argument against Cell Phones and Cell Towers

Thank you for listening.

Ronald M. Powell, Ph.D. 

See all of Dr. Ronald Powell's letters at this link. 

https://www.scribd.com/document/291507610/Documents-on-Wireless-Technology-and-Health-by-Ronald-M-Powell-Ph-D