Month: October 2022

As a Board of Education member, I promise to advocate for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and resilience in the year-to-year operating budget (money in the classroom that pays for salaries, educational material, transportation, etc.) Our taxpayer dollars (County, State, and Federal) should be used wisely and support teachers and students in the classroom.

I was a member of the Operating Budget Review Committee for HCPSS this year and my analysis is that we simply can do better by reducing administrative costs, BOE costs, device costs, and transportation costs (walkers should always walk to school without being transported further than necessary from their community).

I will also work to get funding back to the Long Range Master Plan to build HS #14, expand existing buildings, and renovate older buildings (I heard so many complaints about the buildings of Oakland Mills High School, Oakland Mills Middle School, Centennial High School, Dunloggin Middle School, Jeffers Hill Elementary School, etc).

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For those of you that like numbers:

Howard County (Government) FY 2023 Operating Budget: $2,028,757,540

FY 2023 Howard County Funding to HCPSS $ 675,576,796

FY 2023 MD State to HCPSS: $ 321,081,146

Other funds: $ 35,790,673

Total HCPSS FY2023 Operating Budget $1,032,448,615.00

For Details:

HCPSS 2023 Budget : Approved FY 2023 Operating Budget (hcpss.org)

Capital Budget FY 23 Board Approved Capital Budget – May 26, 2022 (hcpss.org)

Every child is unique; every child has the right to learn.

Education should not be a factory assembly line; one size does not fit all. We must identify what makes each child unique in their learning and meet them there with the resources necessary to succeed.

Fostering student achievement requires a multi-pronged approach. It starts with well-trained, qualified teachers and aides in the classroom paired with small class sizes and is followed by early identification of learning differences and identification of solutions that work.

Finally, the approach requires placing additional resources into a school when needed, adding in mental health professionals, and providing an inspiring safe, stable, in-person learning environment.

As a community, we have benefited from practices of inclusion and from our diverse population. Everything in the adult world is global; our children have the benefit of learning from a diverse group of peers and that diversity is seen in every school in our county.

As your Board of Education member, I promise to not only look at the data but listen to the teachers and ask the question, “How does this change a policy or a recommendation to ensure the best quality of education for all children?”

Join the thousands of Howard County parents and residents who support his campaign. If you are looking for an independent voice on Board of Education who will put your kids and their educator’s interests first, please share this video with your friends and neighbors!

Follow him on Facebook at DrChen4BOE and visit his campaign website Chen4BOE.org to make contributions and sign up as volunteers. His grassroots campaign needs your help! You can make a difference!

Better Education for All! Vote for Chen!