De Lacy Says She'll Ask 'Tough Questions' as School Board Member

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…

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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 ›

Howard County Election 2012: Board of Education

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 …

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Howard County Board of Education Endorsements

Local organizations and people endorse candidates for board of education.

Board of Education Candidate Endorsements

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 …

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Judge Refuses to Dismiss Case Against Allen Dyer

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 …

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School Board to Formally Approve Superintendent

The Board of Education this week set to publicly offer Renee Foose the job.

  Nearly a year after Superintendent Sydney Cousin announced he would retire from the Howard County Public School System in summer 2012, the Board of Education will take a formal vote on his successor. The school system announced March 27 that it had offered the job to Renee Foose, deputy superintendent of Baltimore County schools. On April 7, school board member Allen Dyer released a letter from Maryland's superintendent, Bernard Sadusky, approving the contract for Foose. Her term will last from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2016, according to Sadusky's letter. Dyer, who lost his chance at re-election as a result of the April 3 primary, said that as of Saturday he has not been privy to the details of the contract. "The whole board will review…

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WATCH: Primary Voters Trickle into Polling Places

Although participation didn't compare to a General Election, candidates were out in full electioneering mode.

The Howard County Board of Education race is perhaps the most important race on the primary ballot for local residents, and Patch spoke to several voters, electioneers and candidates at Atholton High and Swansfield Elementary Schools in Columbia. Did you vote today? Is voting in the primary election important? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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School Board Hopefuls Question Superintendent Search

Two incumbents revealed information about process of selecting the school system's new leader.

Some candidates running for the three open seats on Howard County's school board said the Board of Education lacked openness in its decision this week to select Renee Foose, deputy superintendent in Baltimore County, as the new superintendent of Howard County schools. That contention was supported by at least one member of the current school board. “I am very pleased with the candidate we ended up with,” said incumbent Allen Dyer. “However, the process was fatally flawed." School board candidate Ann De Lacy agreed during a forum hosted by the Greater Elkridge Community Association on Wednesday. "I do have a problem with the transparency," she said. De Lacy and some of the 12 other school board candidates at the forum expressed concern that…

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Talk of New Superintendent Lights Up Internet

The congratulations were plentiful, but criticisms of the BOE's appointment of a new superintendent took center stage online.

The Howard County Board of Education (BOE) has chosen a new superintendent. According to a statement from the Howard County Public School System and BOE Chairperson Sandra French, Renee A. Foose will assume the superintendent position July 1. The announcement was sent at noon, about 12 hours after board members finished their deliberation, which included input from the community, according to board member Allen Dyer.  “I got home at about 12 a.m.,” he said. Howard County residents have taken to the Internet to discuss the appointment. Scores of "Congratulations" and "Look forward to working with you" tweets peppered Twitter, but elsewhere residents expressed concerns. One blogger questioned the announcement Monday of the other finalist, S…

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