Cassandra "Cassi" Sung is running for Montgomery County Board of Education District 3 in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The nonpartisan seat is also sought by Sally A. McCarthy.

Asked why she is running, Sung said in our questionnaire: "I am running because every family deserves to be heard, and too many feel they are not. I am a mom with a daughter in kindergarten and a son who will start MCPS in a few years." She added that "the 2025 Supreme Court ruling on opt-outs from LGBTQ+-inclusive instruction pushed me to step up, because every student deserves to feel safe and represented at school."

Candidate information

Age: 39

Residence: Potomac

Family: "I live in the Potomac with my husband, Kevin, an MCPS graduate, and our two young children. Our daughter just started kindergarten, and our son will join MCPS in a few years. We are a multiracial family, and that shapes how I think about representation and belonging in our schools."

Education: "I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a minor in Communication from Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania."

Occupation: "I oversee the implementation and enablement of experience software at Holland & Knight, an international law firm, where I integrate data from multiple firm systems so people can find and use it to make better data based decisions … My background is in data, systems, and large-scale organizational operations …"

Prior office: "I have not held elected or appointed office. I have served as an Election Judge in Montgomery County and completed the She Should Run Local Leader Lab, where I earned a Certificate of Leadership."

Experience and public service

Sung said she has served as co-facilitator of the Chamber of Mothers DC Area Chapter, where she said she advocated for "maternal health, affordable childcare, and paid family leave." She also said she co-led her former law firm's allyship committee, according to our questionnaire. This is her first run for office.

On the issues

What sets her apart: Asked about critical differences between herself and other candidates, Sung said: "Many good ideas stall because no one tracks whether they were carried out. I will push for outcomes tracking that revisits prior Board decisions and publishes results publicly." She said she takes "a data-driven approach to funding, supporting need-based allocation so resources reach the students who need them most."

Budget transparency: Asked what changes she would make to rebuild trust in the MCPS budget, Sung said: "Financial information is usually shared at every meeting, but it is buried in attachments most parents never have time to read. I would start with a public budget tracker that ties spending to the Board's stated goals, in plain English."

She said she would "add an outcomes-tracking system that revisits past decisions, measures whether commitments were met, and reports results publicly, without adding more student testing."

Property taxes for school funding: Sung told Rockville Patch she believes the board must demonstrate all other avenues have been exhausted before asking homeowners to absorb a tax increase. She said she supports exploring facility rentals, public-private partnerships and grant funding as alternatives.

Declining enrollment: Sung identified declining enrollment as the biggest issue facing MCPS, according to her Rockville Patch responses. She distinguished between demographic-driven declines requiring long-term planning and trust-driven declines requiring immediate attention.

School safety: In her Rockville Patch responses, Sung said she does not support expanding School Resource Officer presence in MCPS. She said she prefers mental health counselors and restorative practices.

Endorsements

Sung has been endorsed by the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund as a Gun Sense Voter candidate, according to Blue Voter Guide.

Sung's responses are drawn from our candidate questionnaire and other published candidate responses. Questionnaire answers are presented in the candidate's own words and have not been edited.