If the Maryland State Board of Education does remove Dyer from his seat, the vacancy will have to be filled by an appointment from County Executive Ken Ulman.

Ulman said he was not surprised by the board's move, explaining that he has followed the frustration and concern felt by the majority of the board members. When a member of a board sues the board, it creates a dysfunctional situation, Ulman said.

Historically, Ulman said, the Howard board has worked together well.

"Citizens join in for the right reasons," he said. "They're elected to keep our school system a great school system, and a lot of us were sensing that may be breaking down on some level. I'm not surprised (the board) acted to preserve that — the high quality, the functioning board of education system."

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County Council member Mary Kay Sigaty, a former school board member, said she, too, was not surprised by the board's move. It's the responsibility of board members to act together, she said, and it's clear the board decided its work was being hindered by Dyer's actions.

"And watching, I would have to concur with that assessment," she said.

Dyer: 'It's crazy'

Dyer, however, lambasted the decision.

"It's unheard of," he said. "It's crazy to see them interfere with the relationship between voters and myself, because they have that same relationship."

Dyer's term is up in 2012, and he plans to run for re-election, he said.

Siddiqui said that while the board did have the option of waiting for voters to decide, it also had the option of asking the state to remove Dyer.

"The majority of the board felt this was the option to go with," she said. "I think whether or not we get to a position where the voters decide in the next election, (removing Dyer) may play out as well."

That decision should be left to the voters, Dyer said.

"It's up to the voters to let me continue or not," he said. "I place my faith in the voters, because my duty and obligation belong to them. My duty is not to my fellow board members, it's to the public. I'll be damned if I ever give that up. (The voters) can vote me out if they want. That's what they're there for."

Dyer said the current culture of the Howard board, one in which people "work together" like Sigaty and Ulman said, is one of "rubber-stamping."

"The idea of dissension is a new wrinkle in the Howard County Board of Education culture," he said. "The reaction is to get rid of dissension. People disagree. That's happened in the world before. Things work this way."

Dyer said he would not have voted out a colleague.

"It's hypothetical," he said, "and I don't know absolutely because I've never been in that situation, but I think if I were in the board majority, I would be not be asking the state board to remove a member. I don't see that happening. It's just not right."