Updated (7:28 p.m.)— This story was updated to reflect new information about the day the bill will be voted on and to correct the number of government appointees.
A bill proposed by Anne Arundel County state delegates seeks to change the composition of the county’s Board of Education from one that is appointed to a hybrid board that would be mostly elected.
The board currently has nine members. Eight are appointed by the governor and the ninth is a high school student elected by student government representatives.
House Bill 367, sponsored by Delegate Steven Schuh (R-Anne Arundel 31st District), could pave the way for a new, hybrid board. The revised board would consist of three members appointed by the governor and five elected by citizens in each legislative district in the county.
The 15 Anne Arundel County members of the House of Delegates will meet at 9 a.m. Friday to present the amendment to House Bill 367. They were scheduled to vote on the item, but due to absences, the vote has been postponed until next week.
The revised bill proposes a hybrid board to replace the appointed board over time. If the bill becomes law, the current appointed members would complete their terms, and then be replaced by elected members, who would serve no more than two four-year terms.
The original bill called for only two at-large elected members.
Julie Dettor, the education advisor for the Broadneck Council of Communities, has testified before delegates on the bill before. Dettor said she believes the bill has bi-partisan support, and is hopeful this will pass through the full house and senate.
If the amendment is approved next week, it will move on to the house’s Ways and Means Committee before being presented to the full Maryland House of Delegates.
The Anne Arundel County Delegation meeting will be 9 a.m. Friday in room 142 of the Lowe House Office Building at 6 Bladen Street in Annapolis.
(Email response to me from Steve Schuh) Thank you for contacting me regarding an elected Anne Arundel County School Board. I share your support for an elected school board and have advocated for such a change since my election to office in 2007. As you know, the Anne Arundel County School Board is entirely appointed. This is very unusual on both the National and State levels. Nationally, forty-four states have all-elected or nearly-all elected local county school boards.
It is important that Anne Arundel County residents have a direct say in the school board member selection process. Thank you again for your email. Best, Steve
“The distribution of resources is more equitable with an elected school board as opposed to an appointed one.” A University of Illinois Study “Should Chicago Have an Elected Representative School Board? A Look at the Evidence; A Collaborative for Equity and Justice in Education” found: “A board that is representative of the community it serves and directly accountable to the public would be a significant step toward a more inclusive process of decision making to improve education for all students.”
From: Mosier, Bob Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 1:14 PM Principals: At its July 13, 2011, meeting, the Board of Education adopted a revised policy regarding the Countywide Citizen Advisory Committee. For your information, the policy and its accompanying regulation (along with the application for Executive Committee positions) are attached to this email. Of note, the policy and regulation address the existence of a countywide CAC and no longer mandate a school or cluster CAC. However, it is expressly stated that nothing in the policy or regulation forbids the creation or existence of school or cluster CACs. The newly constituted CAC will have a 29-member Executive Committee, with two representatives from each cluster (one from elementary schools and one from secondary schools) in addition to two at-large members and three designees of other organizations. It is critical that the Board, which will ultimately select the members of the Executive Committee, have a good group of applications from which to choose. Dr. Maxwell has emphasized the need for principals to help ensure that dedicated individuals “without an axe to grind” or a personal agenda apply for Executive Team positions. If you have such individuals who have been involved at your schools, please encourage them to apply for these positions. A screening committee will review the applications and the Board will select members, most likely at a meeting in November.