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Howard County (5 centers)

1. Bain 50+ Center 5470 Ruth Keeton Way Columbia, 21044
2. Gary J Arthur Center [in Glenwood] 2400 Route 97 Cooksville, 21723
3. Meadowbrook Athletic Complex 5001 Meadowbrook Lane Ellicott City, MD 21043
4. North Laurel Community Center 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road Laurel, MD 20723
5. St. John Baptist Church 9055 Tamar Drive Columbia, MD 21045

• Vote ON ELECTION DAY

The State Board of Education recently appointed Interim Superintendent, Carey Wright, to be the permanent Superintendent of the State's Public School System.

In addition to her laser focus on teaching all kids to read, Wright announced the formation of a task force to design a new accountability model that will give parents a clearer idea of just how their students are doing.

Wright pointed to the current "star" ratings according to which 76% of Maryland's schools received at least three out of five stars on the Maryland Report Card while only 23% of students scored proficient in math and 47% scored proficient in English language arts on a statewide standardized test.

"That doesn't ring true," Wright said. "you can't have three-quarters of your schools being rated as excellent, if you will, and then not seeing student achievement almost commensurate with that."

Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of our Howard County parents, the County Council has agreed to fund the budget in the amount requested by the Board of Education. Although that amount is still less than what is needed, it funds many of the things that were originally cut in the superintendent's proposed budget, and it does serve to highlight the importance of being involved.

Below are some of the issues we were asked about on questionnaires and in forums. Here are my answers to some of those important issues.

ISSUE: REDISTRICTING

ANSWER: The purpose of any redistricting is to balance out the numbers of students among schools that are overcrowded and those that are under capacity. My two most important considerations in designing new districts are: (1) move the fewest students possible, and (2) preserve community integrity.

ISSUE: SPECIAL EDUCATION

ANSWER: Ideas that might help.

Despite our efforts, HCPSS is failing to provide a good education to our special ed students. We need to:

1. Undertake Strategic Planning. Another crucial step, which our Interim Superintendent has recommended, is to involve all stakeholders in a genuine effort to devise a strategic plan that will examine all facets of our special education efforts including looking for answers that have worked in other counties or states. 
2. Share Health Costs with the County. A significant part of the special education budget goes to employing health care professionals. Health care is the responsibility of the state and county governments. It is time to talk with the County Council about assuming certain of the special education health care expenses that are currently funded in the education budget. It is possible that there may be economies of scale found in combining these services. 
3. Shift the “Burden of Proof.” For several years, our formerly bipartisan Howard County delegation unanimously approved, and the BOE has supported, a bill to shift the burden of proof from the parents to the school system in cases where the parents feel they must take HCPSS to court to get satisfaction. These cases are almost unique to decisions involving IEP (Individual Education Plans). When parents know they can afford to challenge such decisions, the issues tend to get resolved without legal recourse, saving both the parents and the school a good deal of money. 

ISSUE DISCIPLINE

ANSWER: 

• Restorative Justice is an important first step in addressing bad behavior, but, currently, many students continue to act out even after going through the restorative justice process.
• It is important to hold students accountable and to be sure they understand the impact of their behavior on others.
• Use creative efforts to construct consequences that students will respect enough to change their behavior

ISSUE: EQUITY

ANSWER:

• There is no education “equity” as long as higher-income families can take their children OUT OF FAILING SCHOOLS, while families with lower income DO NOT HAVE THAT OPTION! 
• There is no choice for such students to escape an environment in which they cannot learn, because Maryland opposes helping lower income families afford an alternative. 
• An equitable “place” for students is a school that creates such an environment without focusing on group identity. 
• Bullying and hostility against any student because of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or political views are met with clear, simple, escalating consequences that actually stop such behavior.
• The current system provides preferential treatment for certain groups based on the belief that by doing so, it will make other groups more aware of and accepting of their differences. 
• But children realize the unfairness inherent in “picking favorites.”
• Rather than promoting acceptance, this practice often produces the opposite result.

ISSUE: CONSTRUCTION OF NEW SCHOOLS & MAINTENANCE NEEDS

• Prince Georges County recently used a Public Private Partnership to build six brand new schools in just three years. Although P-3s do not come without concerns, they address the one thing that we most desperately need: building schools quickly.

o With a more dependable path for funding school construction, the Board should have more funding for maintenance that would allow them to create an objective 5-year plan identifying priorities that do not change from year to year. 

o Reinstatement of the 25% rule for prevailing wage as it pertains to school construction can further reduce the construction costs by 15%-30%.

• It is also important to create objective measures for determining maintenance priorities and stick to them

ISSUE: TRANSPORTATION

ANSWER:

• Revoke the policy of requiring young students, particularly preschoolers, to walk up to a mile to school, and revoke the policy of requiring any student to have to walk more than a mile; one mile is consistent with best practices. 
• Adopt a policy to favor local bus contractors whenever possible and offer them the same higher wages HCPSS reserved for the California contractor, Zum. 
• Carefully study the option of owning our own school buses, taking into consideration the costs involved in housing, maintaining, and servicing them to see if it is materially more cost-effective than outsourcing.

ISSUE: THE BLUEPRINT

ANSWER:

• I served in the Legislature during passage of the blueprint. Then, as now, cost was the primary concern.
• Local school systems across the state are finding it difficult to meet the matching funds required by the Blueprint.
• In Howard the Blueprint has added, significantly, to our current budget needs at a time when our revenues have fallen. 
• Financing is an issue the counties must address, together, with the state to determine how to implement the plan without creating financial crises. 
• Importantly, discuss with the state the requirement that local systems implement Blueprint programs exactly as set forth, when counties may already have similar, successful programs. 
• An alternative approach would be for the state to “certify” a county program that is an adequate alternative for meeting the Blueprint plan.  
• One concern particularly for District 5 residents is that the Blueprint greatly expands efforts to redirect funds from wealthier counties to those with less wealth. Although most people living in Howard County want to help others, eventually, the amount of money redirected will be so large that Howard may not be able to afford to provide the kind of education we expect, regardless of the wealth of its citizens

ISSUE: ACHIEVEMENT GAP

ANSWER:

• By stating the goal as “closing the achievement gap,” we are using words that guarantee failure. 
• Human history abounds with evidence of group differences, caused by an assortment of factors. 
• Suppose we focused on closing the achievement gap between white students and Asian-American students. 

o The likelihood of this happening is minimal, at best.

o The major difference causing Asian students to scholastically outperform every other group is being raised in a culture that highly values education and raises its children to work harder in school on a level not seen in other cultures. 

o What assistance could the schools provide to help white students achieve at the level of their Asian classmates? 

o Can the school override a child’s lifetime of embracing parental culture, character, religion, and morality? 

o Ultimately, regardless of how much effort and expense went to raising the achievement level of whites, the simple truth is that closing the achievement gap would have to include lowering the achievement level of Asians. 

• To achieve the same outcomes, no one can excel