A discussion of concerning changes recently made to the Transportation Policy of the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) that has cancelled school bus service for thousands of students and how these changes are unsafe for students and families, inequitable, and harmful to the environment.
A brief discussion about how State Bill 10-23, a bill that proposes to have two members of the HCPSS Board of Education be appointed by the Howard County Executive from a candidate list provided by the State Delegation, is an example of the “Door in the Face” compliance technique that certain HCPSS Board of Education members are facilitating.
A critical opinion and historical perspective of a proposed State bill that will reduce the term of the newly-elected 2022 HCPSS Board of Education members, Dr. Linfeng Chen and Jacky McCoy, from four years (2022-2026) to just two years (2022-2024) and will also give the Howard County Executive the right to directly appoint two HCPSS Board of Education members every four years from a candidate list provided by the State Delegation.
Details, concerns and a call to action about a proposed State bill that will give the Howard County Executive the right to directly appoint two HCPSS Board of Education members every four years and will also replace the five elected Councilmanic District members with three elected State Legislative District members.
Issue #8 and 2022 Election Special Edition of the HoCo Watchdogs newsletter. This newsletter provides a concise list of articles, videos & social media posts for readers to stay well informed about important Howard County, Maryland issues such as public school policies, land use & development, and county governance.
A critical analysis of the recent decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals to uphold the constitutionality of a state law that authorizes a 16-17 year old student, elected strictly by 11-17 year olds, to serve on the Howard County Board of Education and cast binding votes on decisions that impact public school policies.
An overview of the unusually high election campaign contributions made by the HCPSS redistricting-focused “Polygon 147” Ellicott City neighborhood to The Calvin Ball Team in 2017 and why it is significant that they have made zero contributions to Ball’s campaign in this election cycle.
A brief discussion of some concerning examples of regional discrimination and biases that HCPSS Board of Education candidate Jacky McCoy has publicly demonstrated.
A Guest Watchdog reflection on the HCPSS Board of Education’s recent decision to change its opening statement for public forum to include rules that may violate the First Amendment and to cordon off the public meeting room dais with theatre-style ropes.
In light of new CDC suggested guidance on “Test to Stay” procedures, HCPSS can and should consider updating its Covid-19 policies to allow all asymptomatic students, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to undertake some variation of “Test to Stay” procedure instead of mandatory 10-day quarantine.