The second installment of a two-part post previewing D.C.’s race for the newly reconfigured Board of Education. Read the first part here.

There are several competent and articulate candidates running in tomorrow’s D.C. State Board of Education race. But what to make of this discouraging run-on sentence of gibberish and doubletalk taken from the District of Columbia Voter’s Guide?

The statement of candidate that declares my information deemed necessary to protect the qualified experiences of/and the integrity for the School Board’s Participation are the 10 years of experience Teaching in the Public Schools and the priorities which process the structure of qualified participation to support the focus of the school’s mission and accomplishments that defend the appropriate education-with rights to an adequate education.

That excerpt, from Ward 8 State Board of Education candidate Chanda McMahan, is an entertaining gem from the board race. Some argue the race is a low-stakes election for nine restructured positions with limited authority on the school board. Others have embraced the new design, which releases the board of the responsibility of day-to-day operation of schools. Candidates range from seasoned incumbents to incoherent newcomers. For many voters, all they’ll know about the candidates are what each says about themselves in a voter guide or two, though some candidates haven’t offered up any info at all. And because it’s a nonpartisan election, voters won’t have the option of just connecting the arrow for their favorite party.

Photo by dcJohn