Paid for by Citizens for Colburn Committee. Authority John W. Phillips, Jr., Treasurer

Senate OK’s election of school board
Hearing on House version of Talbot bill set for March 10
By GREG MAKI
Staff Writer - Star Democrat
February 27, 2005

EASTON — The Senate has passed a bill that would allow Talbot County voters to elect the members of the school board.

Senate Bill 573, sponsored by Sen. Richard Colburn, R-37-Mid-Shore, was passed Tuesday by a 44 to 1 vote. Only Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller opposed the bill.

Colburn introduced the bill in response to a straw poll last November in which more than 75 percent of the voters were in favor of switching from gubernatorial appointments to an elected school board.

The House version of the bill, House Bill 119, sponsored by Dels. Jeannie Haddaway, R-37B-Talbot, and Addie Eckardt, R-37B-Dorchester, is scheduled for a hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 10 before the House Ways and Means committee.

The Talbot County Board of Education would have seven voting members elected from each election district. There also would be one non-voting student member from each high school.

At least one district would be required to have racial minorities as the majority of its voting age population. The districts also must be reasonably compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population.

Board members would have to live in the district they wish to represent. If a member moves out of the district, he or she may not continue on the school board.

The bill would establish the boundaries of the original districts. The districts would be redrawn after each census.

Whenever the boundaries are due to be redrawn, the Talbot County Council would have to appoint a redistricting commission that would include four people nominated by each political party that got at least 15 percent of the vote in the last general election and one additional person. Elected officials could not serve on the redistricting commission.

Elected school board members would serve four years, beginning Jan. 1 after their election. Voting members could not serve more than three consecutive terms.

The terms of the elected members would be staggered, with members from districts 1, 3, 4 and 7 elected in the 2006 general election, and every four years thereafter, and members from districts 2, 5 and 6 elected at the 2008 general election, and every four years thereafter. The governor would appoint someone to fill any vacancy.

A gubernatorial appointee would serve until the next congressional election. No appointed member would serve more than two years.
Thirteen of the state’s 24 districts currently have elected school boards. Cecil County will begin transitioning to an elected board in the 2006 election, and Prince George’s County will switch to an elected board following the 2006 election.