Monday, April 16, 2012
Incoming Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dallas Dance deserves the chance to prove himself and mend fences with the community for the failings of his predecessor.
As a parent of a student attending a Baltimore County public school, I was very interesting in seeing who would ultimately be selected to succeed outgoing Superintendent Joe Hairston. My deepest desire, which was certainly shared by most other stakeholders of the school system, was that he or she would be replaced by an individual who was open to new ideas, valued dialogue with others and listened to the opinions of citizens at-large. While the academic statistics of the Hairston era have been commendable, his record in the areas noted above could not have been worse. By most accounts, with the selection of Dr. Dallas Dance to become our new superintendent, effective July 1, 2012, we may very well have found the "anti-Hairston." Unlike …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Now that a new superintendent has been selected, there is no reason to delay approval of this important legislation.
Legislation is presently being considered by the Maryland General Assembly that would change the selection process for members of the Baltimore County Board of Education. Bills proposed by State Sen. Bobby Zirkin and members of the Baltimore County House Delegation would transform the governing body from a 12-member appointed board, including one student member, to a 10-member board consisting of nine nonpartisan elected board members and a student member. Thus, rather than school board members being selected by the governor of Maryland, the individual citizens of Baltimore County would be empowered to make these crucial choices. At hearings on these two bills held during February of this year, it was suggested by some that now was not the…
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Supporter of hybrid school board proposal says nothing will be learned by waiting.
UPDATED (3:58 p.m.) — Sen. Kathy Klausmeier and Del. John Olszewski Jr. introduced bills today that would create a task force to examine how to fill future vacancies on the Baltimore County school board. The task force would consider alternative methods of selecting school board members. They could be elected, appointed or a hybrid of the two. The county may also return to using nominating conventions. The governor now appoints the members of the school board. Some legislators say a change is needed because the school board has become less responsive and less accountable to the public. Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat, was not immediately available for comment. Olszewski said the idea is to get interested groups together to discuss the …
Paul Amirault
6:58 pm on Monday, April 16, 2012
As the Treasurer of the Perry Hall Recreation Council, I welcome Mr. Dance to show us what he has got. If he is another bureaucrat who lacks simple common sense like his two predecessors, may his term be very short. If not, welcome to Baltimore County and please listen to the people who pay your salary. We simply deserve it. more ›