Del. McMillan to Chair Subcommittee Tackling School Board Member Selection

Anne Arundel Del. Herb McMillan (R-District 30) will chair a subcommittee that plans to review how local school board members are chosen.

McMillan was unanimously chosen as the Vice Chair of the Anne Arundel County House of Delegates during the body's first meeting of 2014. McMillan is a 1980 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and has represented Anne Arundel County on the House of Delegates since 2003.

“Delegate McMillan recognizes the critical role education plays in our society and the role that state government plays in supporting the efforts of the County Board of Education,” Delegate Steve Schuh, Chair of the county's House of Delegates, wrote in a prepared statement.

McMillan was also appointed as chair of the delegation's Education Subcommittee, which consists of Speaker Michael Busch (D-District 30), Delegate Pam Beidle (D-District 32), Delegate Bob Costa (R-District 33B), Delegate Ron George (R-District 30), and Delegate Cathy Vitale (R-District 33A).

This year the education subcommittee is expected to target challenges facing the statewide Common Core Curriculum, and the possibility of an elected school board in Anne Arundel County. 

The county's Board of Education is appointed by the governor from selections made by an 11-member School Board Nominating Commission.
Anne Arundel County's delegation have been considering legislation to make the positions subject to popular vote  since 2012, when proposed legislation failed to make ground.

Other appointments made at the body's premiere meeting of 2014 included Costa being selected as chair of the delegations Capital Projects Subcommittee, and Vitale appointed chair of the Alcoholic Beverages Subcommittee.