Anne Arundel County Delegation approved a compromise bill UNANIMOUSLY. The bill allows a majority of the school board to be elected for the first time.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Delegate Schuh
March 11, 2013 (410) 841-3206
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY DELEGATION UNANIMOUSLY
APPROVES ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEASURE
Annapolis, MD – The Anne Arundel County Delegation on Friday, March 8th voted in favor of a bill sponsored by Delegates Steve Schuh and Tony McConkey to alter the composition of the Anne Arundel County School Board. House Bill 703 converts five appointed Anne Arundel County Board of Education positions to elected positions over a period of time.
Currently, the Anne Arundel County School Board is entirely appointed. This is very unusual both on the national and state levels. Nationally, forty-four states have all-elected or nearly-all elected local county school boards. The other six states have some elected and some appointed local county boards; generally, these six States have appointed boards only for their large, urban (and often troubled) school districts. It is highly unusual for a suburban and rural jurisdiction with a good school system (like Anne Arundel County’s) to have an appointed school board.
In Maryland, there are eighteen county Boards that are comprised entirely by elected members, and there are two Counties that have a hybrid of appointed and elected Board members (Harford and Caroline). Only Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Wicomico County have wholly appointed school boards.
Delegate Steve Schuh remarked, “This bill is the product of many years of work and refinement. I am delighted that the bill enjoyed bi-partisan and unanimous support within the County Delegation.”
Delegate Tony McConkey stated, “The members of the local Anne Arundel County school board should be directly answerable to the voters of our County, not to the Governor of Maryland.”
Delegate Schuh further remarked, “House Bill 703 restructures Anne Arundel County’s school board into a hybrid elected-appointed board. As such, it represents the best of both types of boards and is a model for the rest of the State.”
Additional information regarding House Bill 703 is accessible through the Maryland General Assembly’s website, http://mlis.state.md.us.
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