A bill that would return the Harford County Board of Education to its roots is up for a hearing today, with legislators and school officials hoping it will be their best chance at reform.
The bill, introduced by Del. Pat McDonough, would recreate the group of parents, businesspeople and civic leaders that once recommended potential school board members, who are then nominated by the governor. On Thursday the rest of Harford?s delegation lent it their support, giving it a slightly better chance of passage as the legislative session enters its final weeks.
“What happens with local bills this late in the session is that they get lost in the shuffle,” said Kathy Carmello, facilitator for government relations with Harford County Schools. “Sometimes they just die, unless a sponsor stays on top of it.”
Formerly known as the Permanent Nominating Caucus, the group effectively disbanded after the governor stopped choosing from among its nominees ? ending citizens’ input into who gets to sit on the appointed school board.
McDonough, R-District 7, is pushing the legislation as a companion to or compromise with bills that would make certain members of the school board elected. Attempts to do so in Harford, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties have all faced stiff opposition.
“This will at least give us a safety net while we work through the politics of an elected school board,” said Del. Barry Glassman, R-District 35 and chair of the Harford delegation.
In addition to representatives of groups such as the county PTA, the teachers’ union, the Farm Bureau and others, amendments Thursday added one parent from each of the council districts to the PNC. The group of 15 representatives will organize a nominating procedure for interested residents to participate in.
Glassman said he wanted to ask voters if they’d support an elected school board through a “straw poll” question on the next ballot, but his attempt failed with a 4-4 tie vote among Harford?s delegates.
