Most of the 14 people who testified at a public hearing last night supported an elected county school board.
One of the strongest proponents was County Councilwoman Maureen Lamb, a former school board member.
"I think the public is ready for it, I hope you're ready for it," Mrs. Lamb told the county's legislative delegation which sponsored the hearing. "My decision to support the elected school board came after the public lost its ability to participate in the process through the nominating convention. I am adamantly opposed to the council or the executive having the right to make the appointment. It's like having the fox watch the hen house."
Representatives of two school employee unions -- the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County and the Secretaries and Assistants Association of Anne Arundel County -- also supported an elected board.
"Giving the county executive the power to select members [of the board] would be like giving the president the power to appoint members of Congress," said John R. Kurpjuweit, the teachers' union president. "If you believe in democracy, if you support grass-roots involvement in important decisions, then this [an elected board] is the only road to take."
Della H. Glenn, a Harwood parent, said she feels that in the county, "at the present, our 'independent accountability' representatives are the newspapers and the Parent-Teacher Association. I appreciate both of them but would feel more confident that my interests are being best served if my 'independent representative' were an integral part of the decision-making process."
The hearing was sponsored by the county delegation to the Maryland General Assembly. The delegation is considering four bills that would affect the board.
Those who testified also supported a bill that would allow the public to decide in a March 1996 referendum whether seven of the eight board members should be elected. The bill is sponsored by Delegates Marsha Perry, Joan Cadden and Janet Greenip.
The eighth member of the board is a student, chosen in his or her junior year by the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils and who serves in the senior year.
Another bill calls for board members to be appointed by the county executive. County Executive John Gary was the only one to testify in favor of it.
And another bill would give the County Council the power to recall school board members.