Delegate Says School Board Selection Process 'Antiquated,' Calls for Elections

Should Anne Arundel's Board of Education be appointed or elected?

New legislation was drafted this week in the Anne Arundel House of Delegates, co-sponsored by Del. Steve Schuh (R-District 31) and Tony McConkey (R-District 33A), to tackle that question.

The county's Board of Education is appointed by the governor from selections made by an 11-member School Board Nominating Commission. 

In a press release Friday, Schuh called the current system "antiquated" and said school board members should answer to voters, not the governor.

"It is undemocratic for the governor to determine who represents our citizens on matters that have a direct effect on our children's education," Schuh wrote.

The proposed legislation calls for a compromise in which five of the board's nine members would be elected from among the county's five legislative districts, leaving four appointed seats.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman Bob Mosier said the board has never taken a position on any legislation regarding how its members arrive on the board.

"[Superintendent Mamie J. Perkins'] position is that what matters is not the manner in which someone gains a seat on the board, but the passion and desire they have to improve our school system once they take their seat," Mosier wrote in an email to Patch.

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.