Howard County Board of Education

What’s the job: Sets policy, hires the school system superintendent and approves the district budget. Some boards are fully elected, some are fully appointed and some are a blend of both. Terms vary by district.

Nonpartisan

Name: Mark E. Covington

Age: 63

Personal: Married with two children and four grandchildren.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, school health education, Towson State University; Master’s degree, administration and supervision, Bowie State University.

Experience: Public school Educator, 1986-2017, serving as teacher, school-based administrator and principal; professor at Loyola University Maryland, 2019-2024; Prince George’s County school representative working with the Wallace Foundation, 2012-2016; member of the Hickory Ridge Village Board since 2025; chair for the Howard County Public School System Community Advisory Council since 2025; member of the HCPSS Operating Budget Review Committee since 2025.

Questionnaire

Q: Do you think the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is helping or hurting school districts?

Q: Do you support restrictions on students’ personal devices, like cellphones, in schools? How much screen time should students be getting in class?

Q: Math test scores are low across the state. What do you think your district should be doing differently to improve math achievement?

Q: With public school enrollment trending down statewide, how would you approach the potential of campus closures and redistricting? And how do you think districts should be recruiting families back?

Q: Should parents have more influence in how school library books are selected? How would you change the system for book selection?

Name: Linda Frascarella

Candidate did not respond to The Banner’s voter guide questionnaire.

Name: Lanlan Xu

Age: 49

Personal: Married, two children.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, German language and literature, Peking University; Ph.D., German studies, Georgetown University; Ph.D., public affairs, Indiana University.

Experience: Vice president of Health Policy at KNG Health; previously held senior policy roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including deputy director at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and evaluation lead at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation; policy advisor and Mid-Atlantic Regional Co-Lead for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

Q: Do you think the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is helping or hurting school districts?

Q: Do you support restrictions on students’ personal devices, like cellphones, in schools? How much screen time should students be getting in class?

Q: Math test scores are low across the state. What do you think your district should be doing differently to improve math achievement?

Q: With public school enrollment trending down statewide, how would you approach the potential of campus closures and redistricting? And how do you think districts should be recruiting families back?

Q: Should parents have more influence in how school library books are selected? How would you change the system for book selection?