Frank Aquino, 50, an Ellicott City lawyer, succeeded Diane Mikulis as chairman of the Howard County school board in December.
A county resident since 1994, he has been a school board member since December 2006.
Previously, he served as the board?s vice chairman. His term expires in 2010.
He spoke to The Examiner about major issues facing the school system.
Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City is in need of renovations to its interior mechanical equipment, lighting, partitions and plumbing, to name a few items. Are conditions at the school as bad as everybody says?
I have personally toured Mount Hebron, and the school is in need of improvements, as are most of our older facilities, and that is why the board has included the Mount Hebron renovation in next year?s proposed capital budget.
The school system confirmed 11 cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus last year. At the advice of the health department, it stopped reporting MRSA cases in mid-November unless cases suggested an outbreak. Did the school system adequately respond to MRSA in schools?
I was extremely impressed with how quickly and thoroughly school staff responded to the MRSA situation.
The national attention was actually good, because it increased public awareness.
This year, the superintendent?s proposed 2009 fiscal year capital budget is $118 million ? an increase fromthe $80.6 million approved last year. Capital budgets mostly include money for school construction projects. What projects should absolutely be funded in the next capital budget?
As a practical matter, capital projects likely to be funded by the county are those where new construction or renovations have already begun, and those where the [school system] has already made a financial investment in the project.
