Two years ago, Republican state Sen. Barry Glassman submitted a bill to create a fully elected board. But opponents, including a spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, voiced concern that such a board might end up lacking minority representation.
Members of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee amended the bill, calling instead for the state's first blended board, said Democratic Sen. Joan Carter Conway, the committee chairwoman.
"The amendment fixed the diversity problem, but it would still allow the taxpayers to have their say," Conway said.
"It's a unique compromise that could end up as a test case in Maryland," Glassman said. "It could become a model for the rest of the state."
Washington had a blended school board as recently as 2007, although that was only a temporary measure as the district tried to phase in an all-elected board. The experiment ended when Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and the City Council took control of the failing school system.
The Harford County Council, several PTAs and the Edgewood Community Council have voiced support for an elected board.
Cindy Mumby, a PTA officer and the mother of a Harford County student, saw potential implementation problems as less important than the chance to give citizens input into their county's educational system.
"Appointed officials are so separated from the people they serve," she said. "The appointment process is inappropriate if the goal is creating a partnership between the public and their leaders."
Interim schools Superintendent Patricia Skebeck says she is taking no sides on the issue. Although the current system has produced "thoughtful, concerned" board members who do their job conscientiously, she said, she expects a partially elected board would do much the same.
"Either way, it's our job to work with whomever we get, and that's what we'll do," Skebeck said.
PICKING THE BOARD
* Elected in 18 Maryland counties: Allegany, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne, St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington and Worcester
* Appointed by the governor in five counties: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Harford and Wicomico
* Jointly appointed by the governor and the mayor in Baltimore City
Source: Maryland Association of Boards of Education
