Wednesday, November 7, 2012
The former teacher also says redistricting process is 'broken.'
Ann De Lacy has a lot of questions about the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS), and she plans to bring them all to the table as a newly elected member of the Board of Education. “I will continue to work very hard to make sure that things are open, public and that we have a truly world class school system for every single student in Howard County,” she said Wednesday morning. “I’m going to ask tough questions and expect honest answers.” In a race that at times saw candidates separated by less than one percent, De Lacy came in second place, with 16.6 percent of the vote. Incumbents Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Flynn Giles came in first and third place, respectively. Coming in fourth was Bob Ballinger, with 15.35 percent; David Gertler…
Ann De Lacy will join Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Flynn Giles on the Howard County Board of Education.
Incumbents Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Flynn Giles will return to the Howard County Board of Education next year Joining the board will be Ann De Lacy, a Columbia resident, retired schoolteacher and former president of the Howard County Education Association. At midnight, with 111 of 111 precincts reporting, Siddiqui lead the group with with 22.02 percent of the votes. De Lacy came in second with 16.64 and Giles with 16.43. In a close race, challengers Bob Ballinger, David Gertler and Jackie Scott were all within just over one percent of each other with 15.35, 14.95 and 14.23 percent, respectively. This article has been updated to reflect the final vote count.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Results from the Howard County Board of Education Race with all 111 precincts reporting.
More than 16 percent of registered Howard County voters cast a ballot before the General Election during early voting, according to the State Board of Elections, but with three open spots on the Board of Education, this contest starts out Tuesday morning wide open. The primaries saw low voter turnout – even lower than the traditionally meager primary turnout. In Howard County just about 19 percent of registered voters went to the polls to vote in the primaries, that’s versus 43.9 percent in the 2008 primary election. Close results in the BOE primary (two of the candidates were within tenth of a percentage point during the primaries) mean it’s anyone’s guess which three candidates come out victorious … and the vote count may take a while …
Monday, October 22, 2012
Several local organizations and bloggers have made endorsements to candidates running for Board of Education this year.
Howard County voters will have to pick three candidates from a field of six for Howard County Board of Education in November. Patch has posted an informal poll where voters can find more information about each candidate. Below, we've organized candidate endorsements from leading voices around the community. We'll continue to update this article as more endorsements for candidates are made. Howard County Education Association - Union representing more than 5,000 teachers and school staff in Howard County. The union's president, Paul Lemle, wrote in an email confirming the organization was sticking with the candidates it supported in the primary. "They were the best candidates in the field then, and they remain so. They are all …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Howard County Board of Education candidate David Gertler wants to help students with science, math and technology homework.
David Gertler announced he will be hosting science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) discussions with parents and homework help for students in science and math as part of his campaining efforts for a seat on the school board. Gertler, who owns a technology consulting business, said "I think this is a great way to help our students with their math and science homework and hopefully inspire them to pursue careers in those fields." The Ellicott City resident said he chose the tutoring approach over conventional campaigning such as door knocking and standing on the road waving in order to give back to kids. "Even if I lose," said Gertler, "I can look back and say, 'look what my friends and I did, we helped kids with math and science. I…
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Renee Foose says she's establishing environment of transparency, efficiency in Howard County.
Transparency is one of the first orders of business at her new job, according to the new superintendent of the Howard County Public School System. To gain what she called a “higher level of accountability” and a “higher level of service to schools,” according to the Howard County Times, Renee Foose, 45, is creating the office of accountability within the school system. Through Aug. 2, the school system is seeking applicants for its new position of Chief Accountability Officer. The officer will produce an annual accountability report and oversee applied research, program evaluation, student assessment, internal auditing operations and technology operations and support, according to the job description. The salary range is $105,536 to $192,…
Monday, July 9, 2012
Final arguments in the Howard County school board's case against Dyer are scheduled for Wednesday.
Testimony continued Friday after a judge Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss the charges in the hearing to remove Allen Dyer from the Howard County Board of Education, the Howard County Times reported. The Baltimore Sun reported that during Wednesday’s testimony, Dyer responded to individual accusations laid out in the complaint, filed by the Board of Education in June of 2011, which sought to have Dyer removed by the state from his position on the Board. Included in the accusations were charges that Dyer had breached confidentiality rules and that his repeated lawsuits against the Board had made it difficult for the Board to function. The suit also alleged that he used his position to “threaten, bully or embarrass other members of the …
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Dyer, known for suing the board, is now suing individual members.
Allen Dyer is headed back to court. According to the Baltimore Sun, Dyer had four members of the Howard County Board of Education, on which he sits, served with a civil complaint just before recess at Tuesday evening’s board meeting. According to court records, the complaints -- against Frank Aquino, Sandra French, Ellen Flynn Giles and Janet Siddiqui – were filed with the Circuit Court on May 9. Dyer told the Sun that he waited nearly two weeks to have them served because it was convenient having all four together at once. The complaint accuses the four of violating Open Meetings Act requirements in sevaral instances during the search for a new superintendent, according to the Sun. Dyer has made what some have called a career of suing …
Friday, April 6, 2012
With the field winnowed down, voters can assess the remaining six candidates.
Maryland’s primary has come and gone, and focus can now turn toward the general election. Here in Howard County, our candidates for Board of Education have been winnowed from 14 to six—Ann De Lacy, Jackie Scott, David Gertler, Janet Siddiqui, Bob Ballinger and Ellen Giles. We’re halfway through the Hunger Games, with the initial skirmishes over and the obvious pretenders ousted from the race, so it’s time to turn a tougher eye on the remaining candidates. Most importantly, the general election will have a Damoclean sword hanging over it that was largely ignored in the primary—the looming teacher pension shift. Shifting half the cost of teacher pensions from the state to the counties is now virtually assured, although the budget is not yet …
Sunday, April 1, 2012
From murder trials to speed cameras -- here's what Patch covered in Howard County this week.
Mistrial Declared in Wael Ali Twin Murder Case After a week and a half of testimony and 20 hours of deliberation, the jury was unable to decide whether Wael Ali killed his twin brother Wasel on a secluded pathway in Columbia. Cherry Blossoms 'Snow' in Howard County Watch this video of cherry blossom petals filling streets and ditches in Howard County. Speed Camera Update It's been four months since Howard County's two mobile speed cameras began issuing $40 citations. The program has netted $196,073 and more than 3,600 citations have been issued. School Board Hopefuls Question Superintendent Search Candidates for the Howard County Board of Education said the current board lacked openness in its process to appoint a new Superintendent of …
Mary Z
10:24 am on Monday, November 12, 2012
It doesn't sound like anything was said against DeLacy, just the idea of shuffling kids based on income. I actually like the idea of basic education principles being brought back to the classroom. As far as redistricting though, let's solve the problems, not just re-shuffle them. You want to see improvement? Don't just mix the low test scores in with the high test scores - all that will do is … more ›