Poll: Board of Education Candidates

The election is less than two weeks away, do you know which candidates you will support for Howard County Board of Education?

Poll: Who Do You Support for Board of Education?

Talk about your top pick for school board in comments or vote in our poll.

  There are six candidates running for three seats on the Howard County Board of Education this year. So far the candidates have discussed the issues the county's schools face at two forums, which you can read about here and here. In addition, each candidate has posted on their websites where they stand on important issues such as redistricting, equity across schools, technology, open enrollment and much more. Find that information by clicking on the candidates' name below: Bob Ballinger - Staffer for Congressman Joe Pitts, of PA, from Ellicott City. Ann De Lacy - Retired teacher, former president of the Howard County Education Association, from Columbia. David Gertler - Technology executive, from Ellicott City. Ellen Flynn Giles - …

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Board of Education Candidates to Square off in Second Forum on Thursday

Questions will center around overcrowding in schools.

  The Greater Elkridge Community Association (GECA) is scheduled to host the Board of Education candidates for a forum on Thursday in Elkridge that revolves around overcrowding in Howard County Public Schools. GECA wrote in an announcement for the forum that a redistricting plan to fill a new elementary school on Ducketts Lane in Elkridge to alleviate overcrowding is not a long-term solution. "Now is your chance to meet the Board of Education candidates, who we will elect in November, and ask them tough questions about how they plan to solve these problems," wrote GECA in the announcement. Patch will be liveblogging from the forum on Thursday evening. The forum will start at 7 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 6274 Montgomery Road, Elkridge…

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Low Turnout for Primary Election

Voters were trickling in at five primary locations in Columbia.

Only 39 voters had strolled into the polls at Harper's Choice Middle School by 11 a.m. on Maryland's primary election day. At Long Reach High School, one of the largest precincts in the city, the number was only marginally higher--127 voters as of 11 a.m. Despite a loaded Board of Education field and a chance to participate in an ongoing Republican presidential primary, Maryland voters have not rushed to cast ballots in Tuesday's primary election. "Turnout has been horrifyingly bad," said Mike Holt, an election judge posted at Long Reach High School. At Longfellow Elementary School, 63 voters as of 12:37 p.m., judges were happy to get a break from a slow day to talk to a police officer and a reporter. The judges checked to see if the …

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