No Skin in the Game

The task force charged with reviewing how school board members are appointed may be deep in collective experience in policy issues but there is one voice that is missing—that of a parent with at least one child in county schools.

Of the , none have children who are current students in Baltimore County Public Schools. Just two—Del. Dana Stein and Sen. Bobby Zirkin, both Democrats—have young children who could one day attend county public schools.

"That's an interesting point, a good question," Del. Steve Lafferty, a Towson Democrat who co-chairs the task force, said after a .

"It's an excellent point but it's not about who is in the system but who is the future," Lafferty said, referring to Stein and Zirkin's young children.

The panel was created earlier this year by state legislators. The law creating the task force allowed for the appointment of four senators and four delegates, one member of the County Council and three members selected by the county executive.

There was no requirement that representatives from the PTA or other parent groups be appointed or that members have children in the schools system.

Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, co-chair and a lead Senate sponsor of the bill creating the panel, expressed surprise when asked by a reporter about the makeup of the group.

"I guess you're right," Klausmeier said. "I hadn't thought about it like that."

Klausmeier called the lack of a parental voice on the panel "an oversight."

Both she and Lafferty said none of the members of the county's House or Senate delegations have children in the school system.

"We're all old," Klausmeier joked.

Excused and Unexcused Absences

Three members of the commission were not in attendance for the first meeting.

Sens. J.B. Jennings, a Republican, and Delores Kelley, a Democrat, both had scheduling conflicts, according to Klausmeier.

Both sent aides who took notes during the meeting but did not participate in asking questions.

A third member, Democratic Del. Emmett Burns also missed the meeting.

"I have no idea where he is," Klausmeier said.

The commission meets three times including again Thursday and on July 25 before making recommendations by Oct. 1.

Under the Influence

Council Chairman John A. Olszewski Sr. said he's keeping an open mind about possible changes to the school board but said he isn't sure that just adding elected members will make a difference.

"Is it the board member or someone who has influenced the board member?" Olszewski said during Wednesday's meeting.

Olszewski believes the board has become less accountable over the last few years but that it was the result of being influenced by unnamed members of the schools system administration.

"These concerns," Olszewski said, "It's something that just didn't happen over night."

After the meeting, Olszewski put a finer point on his comments saying he believed Superintendent Joe A. Hairston holds tremendous sway over the appointed board.

"There's only one other individual," Olszewski said when asked by a reporter for some elaboration.

Did he mean Hairston?

"Yeah," Olszewski acknowledged.

For the record, Olszewski added that while he is keeping an open mind he does initially favor a system that would give the county executive the power to appoint school board members.

"When we have (school) budget responsibilities being shifted from the state to the county we should have the ability to put people in place," Olszewski said.

Rule 1300 Victim?

One can't help but notice the choice of meeting places for the 12-member panel is in county libraries, not area schools.

Klausmeier said the task force was not a victim of the schools system's controversial policy, known as Rule 1300, that has barred organizations from using schools for meetings.

The reason was much simpler, she said.

"It's summer and the schools are closed," Klausmeier said.