Council OKs nominating panel for school board

A resolution introduced by Councilman Richard Slutzky creates a seven-member committee of elected officials to interview prospective candidates for the Board of Education and make a recommendation to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s office. One board member is up for reappointment this summer, and another is retiring and must be replaced.

Councilwoman Mary Ann Lisanti and members of the Harford chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said they opposed the measure because it gives politicians, rather than voters, the power to make the recommendations to the governor.

“I’m not comfortable with a group of elected officials — like-minded elected officials, at that — deciding who to approve,” said Lisanti, a Havre de Grace Democrat.Slutzky, an Aberdeen Republican and council liaison to county schools, said the governor’s appointment office asks for letters of recommendation from the local government, and the committee would establish a fair means of meeting and weighing the candidates.

“I’m not comfortable making recommendations unless we know all the candidates,” he said.

The county’s representatives in Annapolis had failed in the last two years to switch Harford to a fully or majority-elected school board. And a bid to revive the “permanent nominating caucus” sent candidates before groups including the Chamber of Commerce, the NAACP and the teachers association.

Jerome Foster, vice president of Harford’s NAACP, said he opposed the committee because it would not accurately reflect the will of the voters or represent the demographic makeup of Harford.

“Do any of you really believe a person of color will be selected to fill that position?” Foster said.

Salina Williams, the board’s vice president and its only black member, is up for reappointment. Board President Tom Fidler is vacating the seat representing the Bel Air area.

The council approved the resolution by a 6-1 vote.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com