Cheryl E. Pasteur (born 1948/1949)[1] is an American politician. She is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 11A in Baltimore County. She previously served on the Baltimore County School Board from 2018 to 2022.

Cheryl Pasteur
Pasteur in 2024
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 11A district
Assumed office
January 11, 2023
Preceded byLisa Belcastro
Personal details
Born1948 or 1949 (age 74–75)
Political partyDemocratic
ResidencePikesville, Maryland
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)
Morgan State University (MS)
ProfessionTeacher
WebsiteCampaign website

Education and career edit

Pasteur graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English education in 1971. She later attended Morgan State University, where she earned a Master of Science in urban education in 1975.[2]

Pasteur is a former teacher at Lake Clifton Eastern High School and Old Court Middle School as well as a former principal for Old Court Middle School and Randallstown High School. From 1983 to 1988, she worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[3] Pasteur retired from teaching in 2012.[4]

Involvement in politics edit

In November 2018, Pasteur was elected to the Baltimore County School Board in Councilmanic District 2, receiving 66.1 percent of the vote in the general election.[5] In December 2019, Pasteur challenged incumbent board chair Kathleen Causey in the election for chair of the Baltimore County School Board. Pasteur received six votes for the chair position, while Causey received five. Despite this, Causey continued to serve as the board's chair, as board policy requires a candidate to receive seven votes to become chair.[6] In December 2021, the school board selected Pasteur to serve as its vice chair.[7]

In June 2019, Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Miller Jr. and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones named Pasteur to serve on the Blueprint for Maryland's Future Funding Formula Workgroup.[8] In January 2020, the Baltimore County School Board voted to endorse the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission.[9]

In February 2022, Pasteur filed a declaration supporting a lawsuit challenging Baltimore County's new council districts for diluting the power of Black voters.[10]

Pasteur resigned from the school board on February 11, 2022, to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 11A.[11][12] In June 2022, Governor Larry Hogan appointed retired middle school teacher Felicia Stolusky to serve the rest of her term.[13][14] Pasteur was the only candidate to run for the district.[15]

In the legislature edit

Pasteur was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023.[16] She is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.[17]

Controversy edit

In 2012, the Maryland State Department of Education opened an investigation into Randallstown High School, where Pasteur was a principal at the time of the investigation, after two anonymous sources reported cheating on state testing. A confidential report obtained by Project Baltimore in May 2020 found "improbable gains" on the state assessments of sixteen students at the school, resulting in two school employees being banned from future state assessments. Pasteur says in the report that she was "unaware of any testing improprieties", but two witnesses told state investigators that she was aware of the cheating.[18] Pasteur announced her retirement weeks after Randallstown High School was reported for allegedly cheating on state testing, and she officially left the school weeks before the results of the investigation were released.[19] Pasteur responded to the Project Baltimore report in a radio interview in June 2020, confirming some of the reported details but denying that she was connected to the alleged cheating or that she retired to "slip out" of the investigation.[20]

Electoral history edit

Baltimore County School Board District 2 Election, 2018[5]
Candidate Votes %
Cheryl E. Pasteur 23,584 66.1
Anthony Miles Glasser 11,770 33.0
Write-in 306 0.9
2022 Maryland House of Delegates District 11A Democratic primary results[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cheryl E. Pasteur 4,556 100.0
Maryland House of Delegates District 11A election, 2022[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cheryl E. Pasteur 10,290 98.34%
Write-in 174 1.66%

References edit

  1. ^ Bowie, Liz (November 6, 2018). "Baltimore County voters elect school board members for first time". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Members – Delegate Cheryl E. Pasteur". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Respers, Lisa (August 25, 1995). "New principal plans tough approach". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Mims, Courtney (December 21, 2018). "Meet new Baltimore County Schools Board Member, Cheryl Pasteur". WMAR-TV. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Baltimore County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Boteler, Cody (December 5, 2019). "Divided Baltimore County Board of Education fails to elect new leadership; incumbents retain positions". Capital Gazette. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  7. ^ Reed, Lillian (December 8, 2021). "Baltimore County school board taps Julie Henn, Cheryl Pasteur for chair, vice chair". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Gaines, Danielle (June 5, 2019). "Workgroup for State Funding Formulas Named". Maryland Matters. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  9. ^ Bowie, Liz (January 21, 2020). "Concerns aside, Baltimore County school board votes to support Kirwan recommendations". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Leckrone, Bennett (February 10, 2022). "In Redistricting Lawsuit, Baltimore County Argues New Map Doesn't Dilute Black Votes". Maryland Matters. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Reed, Lillian (February 11, 2022). "Cheryl Pasteur resigns from Baltimore County school board, announces candidacy in General Assembly race". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  12. ^ Montcalmo, Chris (February 11, 2022). "Vice chair Cheryl Pasteur announces resignation from Baltimore County Board of Education". NottinghamMD.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  13. ^ LeBoeuf, Sabrina (June 23, 2022). "Baltimore County Public Schools swears in board member to fill vacant seat". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  14. ^ Montcalmo, Chris (June 3, 2022). "Retired BCPS educator appointed to Board of Education of Baltimore County". NottinghamMD.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  15. ^ Gaskill, Hannah (July 29, 2022). "Wins, losses and close calls among Baltimore City and County General Assembly races". Capital Gazette. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "Cheryl E. Pasteur, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. March 15, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  17. ^ Gaines, Danielle E. (January 5, 2023). "Jones announces new Democratic caucus, committee leaders for 2023 General Assembly session". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Papst, Chris (May 18, 2020). "State Report Links BCPS Board Member to Alleged Cheating Scandal". WBFF. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  19. ^ Papst, Chris (May 27, 2020). "BCPS Board Member Announced Retirement Weeks After Alleged Cheating Tip". WBFF. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  20. ^ Papst, Chris (June 8, 2020). "BCPS Board Member Calls Alleged Cheating "Sloppiness"". WBFF. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  21. ^ "2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2023.

External links edit