Student Member

Having a father in the United States Air Force has forced Cole Rosenberg to adjust to new surroundings. Moving eight times can do that. "I've gotten good at making friends from the activities I'm involved in," said Rosenberg, a junior at Hammond High School in Columbia. "I remember the names and faces and build relationships from there. " Rosenberg wasted little time building relationships since moving into Howard County last summer. He became active in student government functions and in sports, and decided to run for the 2012-2013 position of student member on the Board of Education.

Three students remain in the running to be named the 2008-2009 student member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education after a panel whittled the list from five nominees. The finalists, all juniors, are Shelby Heinecke of Annapolis High School; Collin Wojciechowski of Chesapeake High School and Jarrett Ley of Severna Park High School. The board's student member is elected by the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils and appointed by the governor. The student member serves a one-year term during his or her senior year and is one of the few in the nation with full voting rights.

John A. Olszewski, a Sparrows Point High School senior and the student member of the Baltimore County Board of Education, might be forced to continue lobbying for full voting rights from his college dorm room. Change won't occur soon enough for Olszewski. A vote on the matter by the school board is at least two weeks away. Introduction of legislation to change current law, which relegates the student member to an advisory position, pending special permission, would have to wait until early next year.

When students vote this week for their representative to the 2007-2008 Board of Education, they will be making history. Whichever candidate wins -- Atholton High junior Osama Eshera, Reservoir High junior Andrew Gavelek or Reservoir High sophomore Sarah Singer -- he or she will become the first student member with partial voting rights. "I am so excited about voting rights for the student member of the board," said Singer. "In Howard County, the Board of Education is the focal point of improving education, and student voting rights will give students a true say in their education.

Supporters are more confident than ever that there will be a student member with voting rights on the Board of Education. "We're one step closer," said school board member Mary Kay Sigaty. "We should have the policy in place May 25. I feel we are moving in a logical direction." The board was scheduled to vote Thursday night on a policy that would enable the 2007-2008 student member to have partial voting rights. Although that was delayed, members made modifications to the policy and voted to allow the student member to vote on land transfers, bids, and contracts -- rights that were not requested by the school system's student representation committee.

The nonvoting student member of the Baltimore County school board may get a real vote to cast next year.Bucking opposition from the board's adult majority, the county's delegation in the House of Delegates approved legislation yesterday that would grant the student member limited voting rights.If approved by the Senate delegation, the measure would be virtually certain to be enacted as a courtesy to the local delegation.That would make next year's student member the first to be able to cast a vote since students were first named to the school board in 1980.

Terry R. Gilleland of Linthicum, a former student member of Anne Arundel County Board of Education, has been appointed to fill a District 32 vacancy on the county's Republican State Central Committee. Gilleland replaces Michael W. Burns, a former delegate and state party official who resigned from the committee effective March 1. The committee chairman, Robert A. Costa, said Burns noted personal and professional considerations in a letter of resignation. The new member is an account manager for Prometric Inc., a computer-based testing company, and expects to receive a master's degree in business administration from the University of Baltimore in May. He served as student member of the school board in the 1994-1995 school year and, among his political activities, ran as a candidate for the party's state central committee in 1998.

Governor appoints Allisen HaworthGov. William Donald Schaefer has appointed Allisen Haworth of Millersville as the student member to the St. Mary's College of Maryland Board of Trustees.A graduate of Severna Park High School, Ms. Haworth is a psychology major at the college and an active member on the school's student community service organization. She also was the winner of the Governor's 1993 Volunteer Service Award in the college category.Ms. Haworth has served on the executive board of the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils and as the student member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.

Student member named to college board of trustees Severn resident Lynne Edwards recently was named by Gov. Parris N. Glendening to a one-year term as the student member of the Anne Arundel Community College board of trustees. Edwards, who is studying to become a home health care nurse, has worked with developmentally disabled adults since 1994 and this past semester was a student government liaison for returning students. Edwards is an instructor and van driver for Opportunity Builders Inc. As a student member of the board, Edwards will attend all meetings and vote on each board action.

THE ISSUE: Jeff Lasser, the student member of the Howard County Board of Education, and other student leaders are lobbying the school board for partial voting rights. Lasser casts an opinion vote, which is recorded in the minutes but does not count. Last week, Lasser presented a proposal that would grant the student member the right to vote on all issues except the budget, disciplinary personnel matters, school boundaries and closings, and collective bargaining. The five-member school board wants to hear from voters about the prospect of essentially adding another voting member to its ranks.