On Dec. 8, four members of the Howard County Board of Education — Frank Aquino, Sandra French, Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Giles, made a major, anti-child centered decision that this community should be aware of. Their decision to not allow redistricted fifth graders to finish at their current elementary schools clearly delineated who on the board cares about the students of this county and who does not.
On the other hand, Brian Meshkin, Allen Dyer and Cynthia Vaillancourt are to be commended for seeing through the bureaucracy and making the child-centered choice by voting to allow those students to remain.
Mr. Aquino was worried about the precedent this would be setting for future redistricting.
Dr. Siddiqui's and Ms. Giles' terms of office expire in 2012. If they choose to run to be for the Board of Education again, be sure not to vote for them if you think the board should put students first.
Laura Munns
Ellicott City