Howard County School Board Election 2024: Meet Andre Gao

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Residents will vote this fall to elect new members of the Howard County Board of Education. Patch invited each candidate running for a seat on the school board to complete a questionnaire about their campaign priorities, their views and themselves. Below you'll find the unedited, verbatim responses from Andre Gao, candidate for HCPSS Board of Education District 1.

Early voting runs from Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 and Election Day is Nov. 5. More information about voting locations, registration, mail-in ballots and dropbox ballots is posted here.

The Howard County Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Five members are elected by district and two members are elected at large. Here are the people who filed for candidacy with the State Board of Elections for the Howard County Board of Education.

District 1
Andre Gao, Ellicott City
Meg Ricks, Ellicott City

District 2
Larry Doyle, Columbia
Antonia Watts, Elkridge

District 3
Jolene Mosley, Columbia

District 4
Julie Kaplan, Fulton
Jen Mallo, Columbia

District 5
Andrea Chamblee, Clarksville
Trent Kittleman, West Friendship

What is your name? Andre Gao

What position are you running for? HCPSS Board of Education District 1

What ways can people contact you with questions? On my campaign website, gao4hcboe.org, I have lots of information about my campaign goals and also a dedicated page to email me any questions or inquiries people may have. I also am frequently active on my Facebook which can be found on my site.

Campaign website? My campaign website is gao4hcboe.org. If people would like to follow the campaign more personally they can visit my Facebook page with the username “Andre Gao for HC BOE District 1,” which is linked on my website.

Age as of election day? 64

Place of residence? Ellicott City, MD

Family members? I have three children who attended Howard County public schools.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? o, nobody in my family has worked in politics or government before.

Education? PhD's in Physics and Economics

Occupation? Economics Research Manager

Previously held elected or appointed political positions? None

Why are you running for office? I decided to run for the Board of Education because I am passionate about serving my community. As a board member, I will have access to the resources and support to accomplish my goals, which will improve our public schools and provide our students with the best education for the future.

As an economist, I know that the future of our country runs on the success of our current students – our next generation. As an immigrant who came to the U.S. in search of opportunity and a better education, I know the importance of education in achieving your dreams. Finally, as a parent of three children who attended Howard County public schools, I know how much it means for our students and their families to have a quality and reliable school system to lean on.

I am known by others as a problem solver, a patient listener, a go-getter, and an accountable leader at work and in my community. On the board of education, I will put my passion and skills into working for the future of our students, families, teachers, and schools.

What are your top 3 priorities? My top three priorities as a board candidate are to strengthen the school system’s operating budget, improve the quality of our students’ education, and provide a safe and welcoming environment for students.

What do you believe is the most important issue facing the school board? Everything in our school system requires funding to sustain, but we are currently facing budget cuts and a severe lack of capital investment in schools across our county.

For instance, our music programs in elementary, middle, and high school were threatened to be downsized or, worse, cut. Many of our schools are due for major maintenance / renovation because of overcrowding, cockroach and rodent infestations, dysfunctional ventilation / air conditioning, and even cracks in walls and roofs. However, our school system is not able to source the funds for these projects.

Thus, I believe that the most important issue facing the school board is the lack of a spendable budget for our school system. With better funding, our school system will be able to provide quality teachers, education, and various arts and inclusion programs. We could fund renovations and solve our overcrowding issues. In short, an optimized budget would provide our students a better experience and school environment, boosting their enjoyment and success in school.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? I think what I have that other candidates do not, is a long and involved career in the financial industry dealing with economics analysis and involving budget and money. In addition to my career of 30 years in the field of economics, I have also served my Church as the treasurer for well over a decade.

In our school system a major recurring issue over the past years has been budget mismanagement and delays in providing the adequate funding for the long overdue school maintenance and renovations all across the county. With my skills, I will be able to make effective and tangible improvements for our school system through its finances.

Moreover, I greatly value the importance of education as it was what allowed me to immigrate to the U.S. and start a life here with my family. I believe that I possess the necessary qualifications and values to help provide students with a safe and high-quality learning environment.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)? A very obvious way in which the current board has failed the community is the constant delays/postponements of previously planned capital investment for many of the schools in our county. Across the board we have seen schools continuously encountering overcapacity issues where portable classrooms become the long term fixtures, students cannot go to bathrooms, and have no time to eat lunches due to very long cafeteria lunch lines. Despite Howard County being one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S, it has repeatedly failed to provide adequate renovations and improvements to both the school building themselves and the programs of the schools.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? Through my long time managerial career in the financial industry, and my experience as the treasurer for my church, which handles hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, I believe that I am in a good position to help address the aforementioned school system issues. I believe that these qualifications are something unique that I bring to the board which no other board member possesses. Of course, my professional history is not the only thing which drove me to run for the Board of Education. I deeply value the education system as it is the gateway for both my children and for the children of the county to enter their adult life with the knowledge and life skills to become successful and respectable members of society.

How will you handle LGBTQ+ and racial issues brought before the school board? The goal of the school board is for our students to succeed in school. This requires our students to feel comfortable in their classes and among their peers, no matter their race or sexuality. When gender and racial issues are brought before the school board, we need to take action to support our students and prioritize collaboration and harmony among the members of our schools. If there are ongoing hateful actions made toward certain races or gender members, our school board can ask the school system to implement programs or seminars to educate students on inclusion and the importance of treating everyone equally. This is especially important among our younger students, who are more impressionable and should learn these values early on.

How will you handle book-banning issues brought before the school board? It is important to decide on the removal of books on a case-by-case basis. To accomplish this, I believe we should establish a working group to handle the literature provided to our students, both in class and in school libraries. We want our students to have access to a well-rounded education and include a wide range of differing viewpoints and perspectives across various time periods and cultures. However, literature included in schools should always be age appropriate and should never explicitly promote hate or violence. In all, our students should be conscious and informed about the world and its history.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I want voters to know that I want to make a difference for their children and their community. I want to improve our schools’ education and environment, and as an economics research manager, I have the finance and leadership skills to do so. I will work for our students’ success, through budgeting, infrastructure investments, inclusion programs, food safety, quality teachers and curriculum, and special education and accessibility.