Calvin Ball nominates Robyn Scates of Elkridge for vacant Howard County school board seat

Feb. 23—Howard County Executive Calvin Ball on Thursday announced a pair of county educational appointments, nominating Elkridge resident and attorney Robyn Scates to fill the vacant District 1 school board seat and appointing Yousuf Ahmad as senior adviser for education policy and performance.

"I remain committed to working with our education partners to provide an unparalleled educational environment for all of our students and educators," Ball said at a news conference in front of the George Howard Building in Ellicott City. "I know that both Robyn and Yousuf share this vision and they will be excellent partners in our efforts to continue Howard County's reputation as home of one of the very best school systems in the nation."

The announcement follows the Feb. 1 resignation of District 1 school board representative Christina Delmont-Small, who left to pursue a full-time education policy position. Ball said he would file a resolution Thursday for Scates' appointment. The County Council may vote on the nomination at its April 3 legislative session.

If approved by the council, Scates would serve the rest of Delmont-Small's term, which expires in December 2024. School board members are paid $16,000 annually.

"I am very excited about this opportunity to work with the Howard County Board of Education to drive the vision of ensuring the academic success and social emotional well-being for each student in an inclusive and nurturing environment that close opportunity gaps," Scates said.

In addition to running the private Scates Legal Group, LLC, Scates works as a professor and academic adviser at Morgan State University in Baltimore, her alma mater. She has lived in Elkridge since 2007 and her two sons graduated from Howard High School.

Scates has held a variety of education-related positions during her career, including executive director of the Maryland Legal Services Program, Maryland Department of Human Services, where she helped represent youth and vulnerable adults in the states; leadership positions with the College Summit, Inc., a nonprofit working to increase college enrollment; and as a behavior guidance counselor for the Baltimore City Public School System.

Scates was one of 14 applicants that the county executive considered for the school board position.

"Robyn demonstrated a strong belief in our public school system, an understanding of government budgeting and a sincere focus on improving the educational opportunities and outcomes for students of all ages, incomes and abilities," Ball said. "I'm confident that Robin will be a responsive, thoughtful and dedicated public servant on the Howard County Board of Education."

Scates said she moved to Howard County for its public schools and hopes to serve as a strong voice for District 1 constituents, if confirmed to the board.

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"Looking at the history of the school system, I don't see that in our district that our [Elkridge] voice was really heard," Scates said. "I want to really get to know the residents and go and talk to them to see exactly what concerns them. This appointment, as I see it, is not about me and what I personally think."

Ball also announced Thursday he had appointed Ahmad as senior adviser for education policy and performance, a new position created to assist with implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future legislation, which invests $3.8 billion statewide in public education reform during the next decade.

"As we're looking at the Blueprint, how are we effectively using taxpayer dollars to ensure that we are creating the best teaching and learning environment, not just overall, but for all?" said Ball, who added that Ahmad would also work with the County Council and community members to review the school board's recent operating budget request.

The Blueprint is divided into five programmatic pillars with the first three — early childhood education, high quality teachers and college and career readiness — being major drivers of the school system's proposed 2024 operating budget.

Ahmad will begin his position Monday, and his annual salary will be $127,886.

He previously served as executive director for the Office of Government Affairs, Education Policy, and External Relations at the Maryland State Department of Education, where he coordinated policy and regulatory development and implementation. He also focused on drafting legislation that supplement priorities of the Blueprint.

"Working for MSDE, I had firsthand experience in implementing [the Blueprint] at a statewide level, overseeing the budget processes, how we have to plan for future allocations," Ahmad said. "I'm looking forward to bringing that here so we can get out of working in silos [...] as we get through this 10-plus year implementation."