Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Ellen Flynn Giles
Ellen Flynn Giles is a former at-large representative on the Howard County Public Schools Board of Education in Maryland. She was first elected in 2006. Giles lost in the primary election on April 26, 2016.[1]
Biography
Giles earned her bachelor's degree in French language and literature from Agnes Scott College. She is an editor and analyst for McGraw Hill Financial. Giles has served as a PTA member at all of the schools attended by her four children.[2][3]
Elections
2016
A dispute over the Howard County Board of Education's decision to renew the contract of Superintendent Renee Foose in February 2016 defined the race for three out of seven board seats. All three seats up for election in 2016 were held by board members who approved a four-year contract for Foose. The superintendent faced scrutiny from local groups and state officials over a perceived lack of transparency into district decisions. A swing of all three seats from incumbents to challengers interested in reforming board policies created a majority that does not favor Foose's proposals.
The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on April 26, 2016, with the top six vote recipients advancing to the general election. Incumbents Ann DeLacy, Ellen Flynn Giles, and Janet Siddiqui filed for re-election. They faced challengers Corey Andrews, Marcelino Bedolla, Kirsten Coombs, Vicky Cutroneo, Christina Delmont-Small, Mavis Ellis, Robert Wayne Miller, and Pravin Ponnuri in the primary. Siddiqui, Coombs, Cutroneo, Delmont-Small, Ellis, and Miller ran in the general election. The primary resulted in losses for DeLacy and Giles, opening board seats taken by opponents of Superintendent Foose in November 2016. Coombs, Delmont-Small, and Ellis won election with Siddiqui finishing in fourth place.[1]
Results
| Howard County Public Schools, At-large Primary Election, 4-Year Terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kirsten Coombs |
17.59% | 34,200 |
| Christina Delmont-Small |
15.25% | 29,654 |
| Mavis Ellis |
12.64% | 24,571 |
| Janet Siddiqui Incumbent |
12.12% | 23,564 |
| Vicky Cutroneo |
8.85% | 17,200 |
| Robert Wayne Miller |
7.16% | 13,916 |
| Corey Andrews | 6.73% | 13,087 |
| Ann DeLacy Incumbent | 6.25% | 12,158 |
| Ellen Flynn Giles Incumbent | 5.84% | 11,355 |
| Pravin Ponnuri | 4.71% | 9,157 |
| Marcelino Bedolla | 2.85% | 5,548 |
| Total Votes | 194,410 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Howard County," accessed April 26, 2016 | ||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Janet Siddiqui Incumbent |
22.1% | 68,400 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ann DeLacy |
16.7% | 51,661 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ellen Flynn Giles Incumbent |
16.4% | 50,908 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bob Ballinger | 15.3% | 47,350 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Gertler | 14.9% | 46,256 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jackie Scott | 14.3% | 44,177 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 1,221 | |
| Total Votes | 309,973 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential General Election Results," November 28, 2012 | ||||
Campaign themes
2016
Giles answered the following questions from the League of Women Voters:
| “ |
What qualifications and experience do you that qualify you for a position on the Board of Education? Analyst and editor in the energy and environmental policy & finance sectors. Serving on community boards of directors: Friends of the Library, Arts Council. Volunteer judge for MESA, Battle of the Books, STEM Fair, Middle School Debate, and the 5th Grade – We the People program. 30+ years advocating for education on budget, curriculum & policy as part of PTA and CAC. Mother of four AHS graduates. What do you feel are the most important issues the Board will face in the next 2-3 years? Secure adequate funding – Diversify and grow our workforce – Develop relevant curriculum to prepare students to build their futures – Close the achievement gap – Repair public trust and increase community engagement – Improve access to public information and increase transparency – Expand student opportunities for experience-based learning – Add classrooms to meet continued enrollment growth What will need to change in Howard County Schools to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that was signed into law in December 2015 to guarantee all low income and minority students are taught by qualified teachers? Currently HCPSS meets this ESSA standard. Our responsibility is to ensure that we support teachers with professional development and classroom resources – current and relevant for 21st Century learners – so they remain at the top of their profession. The ultimate objective, however, is to ensure that these students have access to all classes – Honors, GT & AP – in each school and at each level. As a Board of Education member, how would you ensure that the public has access to accurate data about the number and reasons for suspensions by race, gender, disability, and sexual identity? All Maryland school systems collect and report suspension data annually to the MD Dept of Education for publication on the MSDE website. HCPSS staff also issues a public report to the Board. Unfortunately, the Board cannot authorize individual reporting of data in some of the areas requested, since these categories are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). What policies or procedures would you support to respond to citizens’ concerns and complaints? Redefine Ombudsman position to better connect the community with information and support. Revise Family Involvement Policy 10000 to include procedures to improve system response to concerns. Promote a simplified process for request and delivery of public information. Expand current Coffee & Conversations to provide additional opportunities for communities to speak directly with the Board. In an increasingly digital world, how do we provide resources for students who may not have access to computers at home? Student access is supported by loaned technology in school. Outreach by the BOE’s Bright Minds Foundation delivers refurbished computers along with basic instruction to families lacking computer access. Software options to convert surplus HCPSS computers to cloud-based systems would make more hardware available for distribution: partnering with the county to provide WiFi completes the package. What should be the role of the School Board members when environmental issues on school property could cause health issues for our students and staff? For example, the recent mold problem at Glenwood Middle School. In response to recent environmental concerns, new Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Procedures, developed with the community are now in place. These cover monitoring, reporting, investigating and remediating any issues and communicating the action steps to the public. When informed of any such issue, a Board member should refer the matter to the new HCPSS IEQ Coordinator for investigation. [4] |
” |
| —Ellen Flynn Giles (2016), [5] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Ellen Flynn Giles' 'Howard County Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maryland State Board of Elections, "Howard County 2016 Presidential Primary Election Local Candidates List," February 10, 2016
- ↑ Howard County Public Schools, "Ellen Flynn Giles," accessed April 14, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Ellen Flynn Giles," accessed April 14, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ellen Flynn Giles for Board of Education, "League of Women Voters," accessed April 14, 2016
| 2016 Howard County Public Schools Elections | |
| Howard County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Ann DeLacy • Incumbent, Ellen Flynn Giles • Incumbent, Janet Siddiqui • Corey Andrews • Marcelino Bedolla • Kirsten Coombs • Vicky Cutroneo • Christina Delmont-Small • Mavis Ellis • Robert Wayne Miller • Pravin Ponnuri |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
