Howard County Board of Education candidate Marcelino Bedolla lauds Gov. Martin O'Malley's recent appointment of Ellicott City attorney Ricardo Zwaig as the first Hispanic judge in Howard County and the first Hispanic male judge in the state. He says that it reflects Maryland's growing Hispanic population, a presence he says he would like to see extended to the school board.

"My heritage is Hispanic, and the Hispanic population is growing in the county as it is throughout the country," said Bedolla, 73, a Columbia resident and former Baltimore City schoolteacher who said that county residents foster the same vision and hopes for a quality school system regardless of color or background.

"Anything we would do for one group of kids would carry over to another group of kids," Bedolla said. "I would be a voice not just for Hispanic students, but all students. As we look to have more male teachers to serve as role models in the classroom for the kids, I think that's also true not only for teaching positions but also for the Board of Education and in government in general."

Though Bedolla taught science for about a dozen years at Southwestern High School, his children, all adults now, attended Howard County schools. He currently has a grandchild attending Bellows Springs Elementary School in Ellicott City.

He said that having been a teacher, he understands many of the challenges that teachers face in and out of the classroom.

"It gives me a sense of the need for communication between the principal, the school, the administrative staff and the teachers," he said.

Bedolla, a former Marine, was born and raised in the Detroit area. This is his third run for the school board.

Some in the county say that Bedolla's presence in the field is a positive step in the school board campaign.

"This is his third attempt at running, and in his last two attempts there was a very small Hispanic population, and the support they gave him was good, but the other candidates had a larger voting edge," said Murray Simon, co-founder of Conexiones, a Howard County-based nonprofit advocacy group that helps underserved youngsters complete high school.

"This time he should have much stronger support," Simon added. "He's a good candidate. In my personal opinion, even if he's not elected to the board, his presence in working toward the board is a plus factor in terms of underserved ethnic groups."

Bedolla was recently endorsed by the Howard County Education Association, which he said reflects how his positions on what ails the school system resonate with the teachers union. He champions such issues as protecting student services during the current economic crisis as well as establishing more communication between school officials and the community.

"One of the things that made me decide to run is the lack of transparency on the school operating budget," Bedolla said. "It's done by program and not by schools. I think that in order to see and ensure that each school is getting the support and funding that it needs for programs, we have to be able to identify what the school is getting to make sure that those needs are met."

Bedolla said that the county must guard against anticipated revenue shortfalls because of the sagging economy and work to maintain its current level of education for all of its students.

"My feeling is that we have to protect the classroom," he said. "We have to continue to support the services that all of our students need. We can't just start cutting here and there."

Bedolla is among 11 candidates vying for four seats in the primary, which will be held Sept. 14. The general election is Nov. 2.

joseph.burris@baltsun.com