Effort to Roll Back Recent Howard County Board of Education Election is Undemocratic

Like thousands of jurisdictions throughout the country, Howard County recently held an election for its school board, resulting in the election of Dr. Linfeng Chen of North Laurel and Jacky McCoy of Columbia to four-year terms as at-large members on the county Board of Education (BOE). It is doubtful, however, that other communities have seen state lawmakers react by proposing legislation rolling back the outcome of the November 8 election.

 

Specifically, Howard County Senator Clarence Lam and Delegate Courtney Watson have put forward a bill decreasing Dr. Chen and Ms. McCoy’s terms to two-years. That provision is part of broader legislation – Howard County 10-23 – that reduces the number of elected BOE members from seven members to five and granting authority to the Howard County Executive to appoint two members, based on recommendations from the county’s legislative delegation, beginning in 2024. Under the measure, three of the elected members would be chosen by state Senate districts as opposed to the current system of election by each of the five councilmanic districts and two members would be elected at large or countywide. (The Howard County BOE also has a student member that sixth through eleventh graders elect but the pending bill does not affect that position.)...

Guest Post: Effort to Roll Back Recent Howard County Board of Education Election is Undemocratic - HoCo Watchdogs