Legislation moving through the Maryland General Assembly would change the process for appointing members to the Baltimore County School Board. If it passes, it would require that the state Senate approve appointments made by the governor.
The proposed change is opposed by the League of Women Voters, which called it insulting, and by an activist group that was created to advocate for a hybrid school board.
In 2014, over the objections of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, lawmakers voted to move Baltimore County to a hybrid, or partially elected, school board (currently all school board members are appointed by the governor).
That means that starting in 2018, seven members of the board will be elected, four will be appointed and one will be a student member. (The student is elected by other students, approved by the governor, and “has an equal vote to all other members but does not vote on the budget, boundaries or negotiations with the collective bargaining units,” according to BCPS spokesman Mychael Dickerson.) The governor will only be able to appoint people who were approved by a nominating commission made up of community stakeholders.
If the new legislation passes, there would be an additional hurdle: The governor’s nominees would be “subject to the advice and consent of the Senate of Maryland,” which is currently controlled by Democrats.
Del. Jones
The bill’s sponsor, Del. Adrienne A. Jones of western Baltimore County, testified Thursday in the House Ways & Means Committee that “this bill came about when I was trying to get information — to provide information to — the governor on a particular school board member and my request was not answered. … This would be a way for us to directly have say.”
Her brief testimony did not elaborate on this or identify the member. The video is available here, at the 2:54 mark.
Also testifying in support of the legislation was Abby Beytin, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO).
“We feel it is entirely appropriate for our state senators to have advice and consent authority over that [school board appointment] process,” she said. “While the governor is within his authority to appoint these positions, the Baltimore County senators are much more familiar and connected to people being appointed in our jurisdiction, therefore it is in the best interest of our children and the future of our county and we urge a favorable decision.”
The House bill was co-sponsored by Del. Stephen Lafferty, who represents Towson. He was not immediately available for comment.
The group Advocates for Baltimore County Schools, which fought for a hybrid school board, is opposed to the legislation.
In a letter to Baltimore County’s legislative delegation, they said that “adding a layer of senate authority as a gate-keeping measure, above the Nominating Commission, intentionally thwarts the non partisan appointment process. Legislators would have done well to consult with their constituents active on education issues before proposing this bill.”
The League of Women voters also submitted a letter to the Ways & Means Committee in opposition to the bill.
“The ‘Advice and Consent’ requirement would seem to be an insult to the citizens who will serve on the Nominating Commission. It infers that the citizens of Baltimore County are incapable of insuring that all candidates suggested would be well qualified to serve and, thus, would need further surveillance by the Senate,” the League said.
Although Del. Jones did not go into detail about her concerns regarding school board appointments and her office did not respond to a request for clarification, not everyone has been happy with some of Hogan’s recent appointments.
Some say Ann Miller is too conservative (read about that here), and it has been noted that June Eaton, a retired Catholic-school teacher, does not have experience with public education. In a story about her appointment, The Baltimore Sun wrote: “Eaton is not a registered voter, so she has no party affiliation. Asked if she had any public school issues that needed to be addressed, she said, ‘I really haven’t given it much thought. This is all new to me.'”