February 08, 2008|By John-John Williams IV | John-John Williams IV,Sun reporter
Seven candidates are vying for three open seats on the Howard County Board of Education, and the process begins with Tuesday's primary election. Citizens will be allowed to vote for up to three candidates in the nonpartisan election. The top six vote-getters will move on to the Nov. 4 general election.
Current board members Ellen Flynn Giles and Janet Siddiqui are running for re-election. Ellicott City's Allen Dyer and University of Maryland student Di Zou, both of whom campaigned unsuccessfully in 2006, are running again. Newcomers include Diane Butler of Ellicott City, Faenita Dilworth of Columbia and Betsy Grater of Ellicott City. Ruth Haxton Huffman, a mother of two from Clarksville, withdrew from consideration in December. Chairman Diane Mikulis decided not to run.
The Sun asked each candidate to respond by e-mail to two questions in 250 words or less (as of press time, Zou had not responded). The questions were:
1. What distinguishes you from your opponents?
2. What is the greatest need facing the school system?
Diane Butler
Diane Butler, 53, is vice president of the St. John's Lane Community Association.
Butler's background includes being a former PTA officer and fundraiser coordinator; founder of Eagle Reader, a reading program for at-risk elementary pupils; membership on boards that advocated for school issues in Tracy, Calif.; United Way Howard County Infill Committee member; and four-time president of the St. John's Community Association.
What is the greatest need facing the school system?
The ability to give every student an excellent education, in a safe environment, whether that be by closing the achievement gap, getting help for at-risk students as early as kindergarten, setting up vocational training programs, challenging our very brightest children, putting sports back in middle schools, or starting an International Baccalaureate program for our most advanced high school students.
Every child deserves the best education we can give them. To compete in a global market we must improve our math/science/technology component at every school, not just our new ones, and at every age level. We need to develop student/parent/teacher partnerships through neighborhood schools with core feeder systems. Every homeowner should know which school core system their house is in. Our redistricting policies are inane and disrupt our neighborhoods. We can never be a "green" county as long as we are setting a poor example for our children ecologically, every day, as we bus them all over the district.
I also see a need to narrow the gap between our administrative salaries and our teachers' salaries, as well as a need for a more open relationship between the citizens and the school board. Because of my experience here and in other parts of the country, as a city and community leader for the past dozen years, I will bring a different perspective to this school board. I have participated in other school systems and can bring some fresh ideas to a very closed, static board.
Faenita Dilworth
Faenita Dilworth, 51, is a consultant with Mary Kay Inc.
Dilworth's background includes working with the Black Student Achievement Program under the supervision of Gloria Washington-Wallace; and serving on the PTA, where she created outreach and after-school programs.
What distinguishes you from your opponents?
My diverse perspective and my ethnicity distinguishes me. I have the same vantage point as many of our children in the achievement gap. We should optimize our existing partnerships and create greater engagement with parents and schools to educate each child fully - academically, physically, emotionally and behaviorally.
What is the greatest need facing the school system?
Education excellence for all students. Although Howard County schools are ranked seventh in the country, and first in Maryland, many of our children are left behind in the achievement gap. There is a need for more emphasis on the "middle child, the child in the gap" to have more tools to advance.
We must find a way to educate each child so there is truly no child left behind. We must make sure that each school has the same superior standards, more teacher diversity in the elementary and middle school levels and intervention specialists for students with unique needs.
Betsy Grater
Betsy Grater, 74, is a retired bed-and-breakfast owner.
Grater's background includes being a former teacher, kindergarten through third grade; elected to school board in Raleigh, N.C., in 1971; development coordinator for Maryland Committee for Children; past co-president of the League of Women Voters.
What distinguishes you from your opponents?
