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
Opinion
Commissioners should keep ex-officio seat
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Maryland has stopped being “The Free State”
I am a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and, last but not least, the National Rifle Association. I am a yearly member of the American Legion.
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Outrageous
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
This amounts to spying on an American news organization — common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press. -
Save the Bridge Program
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It’s good to be the queens
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Harper just needs to stop scoring the wall
• Happy birthday, Brooks Robinson. No. 5 will be 76 tomorrow.
Remember, in the words of Gordon Beard, “Brooks Robinson never asked anybody to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore people name their children after him.” -
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Since the consolidation of Bruce and Valley high schools the town of Westernport rapidly deteriorated from what was once a quite respectable community to a community in a decline in residents, and along with that came a collapse in local government due to lack of knowledge and bad decisions that set the town of Westernport back 60 years.
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Financial gutting will damage school system
I am writing in response to the Allegany County Commissioners’ efforts to cut local education spending to the lowest possible level allowed under state law.
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Cemetery organization plans events to mark Memorial Day
This upcoming Memorial Day marks the 30th anniversary of the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization (CHCO).
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Rowley proof of experience breeding opportunity
When Bob Rowley learned of the fund-raising efforts to help provide Fort Hill football player Zac Elbin the opportunity to play in the Down Under Bowl this summer in Australia, it became a mere reflex for him to make a significant contribution on Elbin’s behalf. For while very few area high school football players have followed in his footsteps, Rowley, the former Fort Hill great from the late 1950s, had certainly walked in Elbin’s, having faced similar circumstances following his senior year in high school. And thanks to the support of the community, Rowley says he was able to realize an opportunity of a lifetime.
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Better fix it
The West Virginia Division of Highways should not give up on improving safety at the intersection of U.S. Route 220 and Stoney Run Road in Keyser merely because the intersection does not meet the state’s criteria for a traffic signal.
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Maryland has stopped being “The Free State”
