Howard School

Donald Penn Hall Sr., a longtime Howard County elementary school principal who was an active member of Crossroads Church of the Nazarene, died May 6 of cardiomyopathy at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The Sykesville resident was 75. The son of a postal worker and a homemaker, Mr. Hall was born and raised in Danville, Va., where he graduated in 1952 from Danville High School. He was a 1955 graduate of Holmes Bible College in Greenville, S.C., and earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1967 from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Cyberbullying became a problem for tech-savvy students well before adults — particularly parents and teachers — knew much about it. For the past decade, that's where Sameer Hinduja has come in. Hinduja is the co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center at Florida Atlantic University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. On Thursday, he visited Howard County for two anti-bullying seminars hosted by the school district and its council of PTAs. As part of the county schools' professional development day, Hinduja conducted a presentation for student service personnel, including counselors and psychologists, Howard school officials said.

Howard County police charged a Columbia man Monday with assaulting a student on the campus of Long Reach High School in Columbia on March 21. Donnell Maurice Vannison, 40, of the 8500 block of Tamebird Court, faces second-degree assault and disorderly conduct charges. He was released Monday after a court appearance and is scheduled for trial on June 6. Vannison, wearing a ski mask, entered the school property at about 2:20 p.m., police said. He approached a 16-year-old male student and struck him with a blow that grazed the boy's face.

Elkridge will get a new elementary school for the 2013-2014 academic year now that the sellers of a 10.1-acre site on Ducketts Lane have settled a dispute in court. The Howard County school system was supposed to close the deal with Ducketts Ridge LLC in October, but a shareholder refused to release a lien to the sellers. The $2.64 million deal was put on hold, leaving the school system without property needed to alleviate overcrowding in the northeast and causing the system to file a lawsuit in December.

Howard County school board member Allen Dyer testified Friday in the case brought by the board to remove him, stating that despite being at odds with some fellow members he has "contributed to a better board of education. " The Howard school board requested in June 2011 that the state board remove Dyer in a resolution that accused him of such infractions as breaching confidentiality requirements, undermining the board's function and bullying. Throughout the administrative law hearings, Dyer has contended that the grounds for dismissal are vague and without merit.

An administrative hearing to determine whether Howard County school board member Allen Dyer should be removed from the panel opened Monday with Dyer questioning fellow board member Frank Aquino for about three hours. Aquino had drafted the resolution the Howard school board approved in June asking the state school board to oust Dyer, accusing him of such violations as breaching confidentiality requirements. The state school board sent the matter to the office of administrative hearings.

After a period of transition that saw its longtime school superintendent retire and infighting among school directors, members of the Howard County school community are hopeful that the new board members will work well together as they shape the county's education policy. With incumbents Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Flynn Giles gaining re-election on Tuesday, the school board now has six members with at least two years' experience. And its lone newcomer, former teachers union president Ann De Lacy, has more than 30 years' experience in the school system.

Name: Stephen C. Bounds Age: 45 Residence: Woodbine Occupation: Attorney Experience and affiliations: Member, Howard County School Board, six years, chairman in 1998; director and chairman of Legal Services Administration; Maryland Association of Boards of Education; Howard County Spending Affordability Committee; Howard County Recreation and Parks Board member; Alternative Education Workgroup, Maryland State Department of Education, work group member;...

Solar panels under construction at a long-capped landfill in Howard County will soon be used to offset energy costs at a nearby elementary school. The county began installation of the solar arrays this week at the former New Cut Landfill, an 83-acre tract in Ellicott City that shut down operations more than 30 years ago. Officials expect the $462,000 project will be completed in about eight weeks and the panels will begin drawing energy from the...

Oral arguments in the Howard County school board's case against board member Allen Dyer ended Wednesday, with administrative law judge Douglas Koteen setting the close of the case for Sept. 6, the due date for final written arguments. The school board on June 9 of last year requested that the state board of education remove Dyer, accusing him of such transgressions as breaching confidentiality requirements and bullying. The state board referred the matter to the office of administrative hearings, where 10 days of hearings began in May. After the final written arguments, Koteen has up to 90 days to submit a recommended decision to the state board and both parties.