Harford lawmakers have disavowed any support for a plan to retain an appointed county school board.

When Del. Mary-Dulany James introduced a bill formalizing the nomination and appointment process for Harford County’s school board, the other delegation members created a new procedure to emphasize their opposition to it.

“I think we should send a letter to the chairman stating explicitly that we did not support it,” said Del. Rick Impallaria, R-District 7.

Impallaria said he feared the House Ways and Means Committee would see that the bill affects Harford County and think it had passed with the whole delegation’s support.

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James, D-District 34A, sponsored the proposal for a small group choosing school board nominees after the delegation rejected it 2-6. The same six delegates voted for a House bill that would have school board members elected by County Council district.

From now on, bills that go to committee without the full support of the delegation will be accompanied by a letter spelling out the vote so committee members won’t misinterpret the delegates’ position, said delegation Chairwoman Susan McComas, R-District 35.

James said she supported the new procedure. “I never would go before the committee and represent anything other than it being brought forward on my own name,” she said.

Del. Donna Stifler, R-District 35, said the delegation had “damage control” to do because some officials had already gotten the impression the entire delegation supported James’ bill.

Mark Wolkow, past president of the school board, sent members of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee a letter urging the timely defeat of the elected school board bill and hoping the delegation could build support behind the nominating commission. The delegates worried Wolkow had implied they were all already behind the commission, Stifler said.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com