Meg Ricks

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Meg Ricks

Nonpartisan

Howard County Public Schools Board of Education District 1

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

0

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Brigham Young University, 2003

Contact

Campaign website

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Meg Ricks is a member of the Howard County Public Schools Board of Education in Maryland, representing District 1. She assumed office on December 2, 2024. Her current term ends on December 4, 2028.

Ricks ran for election to the Howard County Public Schools Board of Education to represent District 1 in Maryland. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Ricks completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Meg Ricks earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 2003.

Elections

2024

See also: Howard County Public Schools, Maryland, elections (2024)

General election

General election for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education District 1

Meg Ricks defeated Andre Gao in the general election for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Meg Ricks (Nonpartisan)	51.0	15,671
		Andre Gao (Nonpartisan)	48.5	14,904
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	155

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,730
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education District 1

Meg Ricks and Andre Gao defeated Pravin Ponnuri in the primary for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education District 1 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Meg Ricks (Nonpartisan)	48.4	5,657
✔		Andre Gao (Nonpartisan)	29.3	3,417
		Pravin Ponnuri (Nonpartisan)	22.3	2,608

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,682
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ricks received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Ricks's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.

• Howard County Education Association

2022

See also: Howard County Public Schools, Maryland, elections (2022)

General election

General election for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education At-large (2 seats)

Jacky McCoy and Linfeng Chen defeated Dan Newberger and Tudy Adler in the general election for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education At-large on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Jacky McCoy (Nonpartisan)	27.6	53,800
✔		Linfeng Chen (Nonpartisan)	26.5	51,541
		Dan Newberger (Nonpartisan)	26.0	50,636
	Submit photo	Tudy Adler (Nonpartisan)	19.4	37,812
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	1,016

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 194,805
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education At-large (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the primary for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education At-large on July 19, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Newberger (Nonpartisan)	19.7	19,997
✔	Submit photo	Jacky McCoy (Nonpartisan)	18.4	18,690
✔		Linfeng Chen (Nonpartisan)	15.3	15,507
✔	Submit photo	Tudy Adler (Nonpartisan)	12.7	12,912
	Submit photo	Susan Dreisch (Nonpartisan)	10.2	10,353
	Submit photo	Monique Richards (Nonpartisan)	9.9	10,025
	Submit photo	Julie Hotopp (Nonpartisan)	7.4	7,514
		Meg Ricks (Nonpartisan)	6.4	6,465

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 101,463
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Meg Ricks completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ricks' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a parent of three, an education advocate, a community leader, a preschool educator, and a tireless community servant. I have served on local PTA executive boards for 12 years (5 as president) and was a National PTA Grant winner. This year I had the opportunity to establish the county’s newest PTSA at Guilford Park High School and serve as its first President. I served for three years on the board of the PTA Council of Howard County. I am currently serving as a co-chair of the Board of Education’s Operating Budget Review Committee. I have been a Girl Scout troop leader for over 11 years and have volunteered several years at Howard County Girl Scout Day Camp as well as at the Columbia Mall Sleep In. I am a founding board member of the Elkridge Community Alliance. Before joining the staff at East Columbia Preschool, I also served on its parent board. During the summer of 2020, I helped establish and run HoCo Summer Fun 4 Kids which collected and distributed toy and activity packs for children weekly at multiple locations. I also volunteer, along with my children, for a local cat rescue.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Growing up in a family that struggled to make ends meet, benefitting from programs like free and reduced price meals (FARMS) and the generosity and support of amazing people, including many of my teachers, who connected me to opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise, inspired in me a life-long commitment to helping others.
• As my children entered the school system, that commitment was channeled into supporting and advocating for our schools. I learned all that I could about our school system and how to advocate for our needs. I have testified many times before the Board, the County Council, and the County Executive in support of our schools. I also learned by actively participating in HCPSS policy review committees and for the last two years on the Board’s Operating Budget Review Committee, which I currently co-chair. I have a deep knowledge of and experience with our school system and what it is currently facing which will allow me to hit the ground running as a new Board member.
• Those familiar with my leadership have described me as fair, calm, and level headed. I strive to be a good listener and believe in the power of consensus building and creative problem solving. I have experience working with people with different views and backgrounds, and I thrive in this type of work. I have followed and participated in the work of the Board for over 14 years and am ready to bring these needed skills to the Board.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Fully funding our schools

Improving Special Education and training for all staff
Increasing access to mental health services
Addressing school overcrowding and deferred maintenance in our schools
Developing long term plans for both our operating and capital budgets
Addressing achievement gaps and disparate outcomes
Improving staff workload and preventing burn out
Increasing community engagement and outreach

Promoting transparency and restoring trust in HCPSS

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, authenticity, thoughtfulness, humility, intelligence, empathy, collaboration, creativity and innovative thinking

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Coming from a ‘bi-partisan’ family, I have a lot of experience respectfully defending my positions, considering different viewpoints, and finding common ground. I’m a creative problem solver who brings people together.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Education Department Intern at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. It was just for the summer after I graduated from high school.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

HCEA, The People’s Voice Ethics Ballot

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Meg Ricks did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2024 Elections

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