Recently Allegany County Commissioners President Michael McKay announced that the commissioners would be pursuing legislation to remove the position of county commissioner to the elected Allegany County Board of Education as an ex-officio member.
He cited that the time spent attending board of education meetings could be better utilized in other county endeavors.
Commissioner McKay also stated that “removing the county representative from the board of education would result in a strengthened relationship between the two government bodies and the board of education would benefit as well.”
I understand that county commissioners are appointed to numerous boards in a variety of capacities. I also concur that the elected commissioners are busy with many tasks that are related to the governing of the county.
However, the board of education is the largest percentage of the county budget in terms of fiscal allocation.
Additionally, the board, the county and the state are presently embarking on the construction of a new $40 million high school. I am trying to grasp how removing county representation from the BOE will improve communication between the two entities.
I respectfully disagree with Commissioner McKay that “it’s a flaw in the model” having a commissioner serve as an ex-officious member to the BOE.
I served on the BOE for six years and always appreciated the presence of a county commissioner at our meetings. The commissioners and county staff have been an important team member in many of the successes of the county school system.
The BOE and the commissioners may not always agree, but keeping that line of communication open and being accountable to the public are essential elements of effective government. During my six year tenure on the BOE, the county commissioners rotated as ex-officio members. There is no precedent that the commission president must be the appointed representative to the BOE.
I respectfully submit that instead of removing the position by legislation that the BOE and the county work out a more mutually beneficial schedule. I see no reason why a commissioner could not attend every other meeting, instead of every month, if their schedule prevents them from doing so.
Now is not the time to reduce public communication and accountability between governing bodies. It’s a hard sell for anyone to buy that removing a member from an elected board can actually improve communication.
I believe there are other solutions to this issue which should be explored before forging ahead with a legislative change to permanently remove the county commissioners as an ex-officio member to the elected board of education.
Tom Striplin
Mount Savage
Former elected Allegany County Board of Education member
Editorials
Commissioners should keep ex-officio seat
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Cashing in
As anyone who lives in the area knows, economic gains have been hard to come by in recent years. The opening of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort is one of the biggest boosts the region has seen in some time.
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
When I read the Cumberland Times-News Editorial this morning, Friday, May 17, entitled, “Outrageous,” I laughed like a kid at a birthday party!
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What are chances this much money will be spent on road?
I was intrigued by cost data summarized in reporter Kathy Mellott’s recent article, “Completing southern link of U.S. Route 219 said to be best use of highway funds,” which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News on Tuesday May 14 (Page 1A).
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School board should be doing better job with less money
The Allegany County Teachers Association (ACTA) board of directors recently submitted a letter to the editor asking the Allegany County commissioners to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year (“Commissioners should fund school board request,” April 29 Times-News).
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Better ‘Click It’
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They do bite
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Stop buying licenses; let them find the money somewhere else
A few months ago, I received two cards from the National Rifle Association. These were dealing with a legislative alert.
They asked that I should contact Sen. George Edwards and Delegate Kevin Kelly concerning the anti-gun legislation. -
Strength of gun laws is not reflected in grisly statistics
According to the FBI’s uniform crime reports, California had the highest number of gun murders in 2011 with 1,220, which makes up 68 percent of all murders in the state that year and equates to 3.25 murders per 100,000 people.
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An old story
What for years has been an on-again, off-again battle over funding between the Allegany County Commissioners and the Allegany County Board of Education seems to be growing even uglier.
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‘Forgotten warrior’ not forgotten
The Korean War is often called “The Forgotten War.” My generation remembers the Battle for LZ X-Ray at Ia Drang, The Tet Offensive, and Khe Sahn of the Vietnam War.
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