Board's timing poor, but intentions good

The differences of opinion over the O'Rourke contract amendment have been blown completely out of proportion.

O'Rourke obviously wanted to stay in Howard County. The Board of Education obviously wanted to entice him to stay, rather than having him search for another job before his contract expired.

So, the security of the amendment was arranged.

To be sure, the timing of O'Rourke's request was poor. And, the former Board was naive to close a meeting simply because it had the power to do so. But Board personnel actions are not decided by plebiscite, and the Board did nothing beyond its power, except possibly record a vote in technical violation of a muddled set of open meeting statutes.

So, before we destroy our ability to attract excellent people to our schools, let us tone down the rhetoric, and show one another the common courtesy each deserves.

John W. Kyle

Ellicott City

Redistricting leaves community in pieces

On Friday I had a sleepover for my son's 10th birthday with fifteen boys. Many thought me crazy to do it, but I've known these kids and their parents for five years. They've played soccer together, been at each others' houses multiple times, gone to camp and school together, and grown up as a happy little gang. They can walk to each others' house, and they spend their summers at the same pool, a pool we can walk to.

We are part of a wonderful neighborhood, and my children have benefited greatly from it.

But, thanks to the mangled wisdom of the Howard County School Board, it will all come to a crashing halt. Starting in sixth grade half of my kid's friends will be whisked away to a different middle school.

Three years later our kids will be bused to a distant high school, further separating them from their friends. The neighborhood will in effect be dismantled, and my kids will have to begin the most difficult part of their lives without the comfort and stability that has graced them so far.

I am not a supporter of the naive belief that social engineering is necessary to maintain equality between the Howard County schools. Despite what real estate agents promulgate and despite meaningless statistics of standardized tests that obfuscate the truth, all Howard County high schools are similar for academically minded students. But the school board continues to break apart neighborhoods to maintain some vague equality among the schools in a way that defies all logic.

Clearly, what the children of our neighborhood have lost far surpasses what any of them may gain. I moved to Howard County and specifically to my house both for the schools and for the sense of neighborhood I perceived here. But I would not recommend it to others.

Schools are bigger then SATs and MSPAPs. They are places for children to grow. To be peeled away from their neighbors and friends at this juncture provides children with the wrong lesson, and sends them on life's journey without the security that would only serve to enhance their precarious adventure.

The Howard County School Board needs to sit back and rethink its sullied wisdom. Kids who live down the street from each other, who are placed on the same teams and activities from a young age, who are allowed to grow up together need to be kept together.

There is nothing more important that that. All other issues of districting need to take a back seat to that one simple truth. Friends are too precious to be discarded.

Andy Lazris

Dorsey Hall, Columbia