As the Howard County Board of Education weighs a proposal to grant partial voting rights to the student board member, the five-member group wants to hear from taxpayers and voters at a public hearing scheduled for Oct. 27.
Currently, student board member Jeff Lasser has an opinion vote that's recorded but does not count.
Lasser, a senior at Atholton High School, said an official vote would add weight to a student's perspective.
Last week, school board members peppered Lasser with questions and concerns about his proposal that would allow the student member to vote on all issues except the budget, disciplinary personnel matters, school boundaries and closings and collective bargaining.
Lasser stood ready with answers and suggestions during his presentation Thursday. He was aided by Centennial High senior Josh Michael -- another student leader and student member of the State Board of Education -- and supported by more than four dozen high school students at the board meeting.
A serious concern, voiced by board member Patricia S. Gordon, involved accountability. Gordon noted that many of the school boards in the state that have student members with voting rights are appointed, while the Howard County school board is an elected body.
Since she is held accountable by taxpayers and voters, Gordon questioned who would hold the student member accountable.
"My concern is that there would not be that responsibility -- a student board member is on the board for a year and makes decisions that are in place for a number of years," she said, noting that the selection process for a student member is not as rigorous as for adult members.
In Howard County, student board members are elected by middle and high school students. Candidates are vetted by the Howard County Association of Student Councils.
Among Maryland's 24 school systems, all but Kent County have a student representative or member sitting on local school boards. But only five local boards grant student members some type of voting privileges, according to the State Department of Education.
Anne Arundel County's student member can vote on all matters, while those in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's counties have limited voting rights. The student member on the State Board of Education also has partial voting rights.
Of those jurisdictions, only Montgomery County's school board is elected. (Prince George's County board, which became an appointed body in 2002, is set to return to an elected body next year.)
