In Harford County, where growth has led to an increase in minority students, the school system has launched an affirmative action plan to keep pace by hiring more African-American teachers.

The three-year plan, unanimously approved by the school board recently, outlines initiatives such as providing tours of the county for prospective hires and partially reimbursing black teachers who relocate for moving expenses.

While the dearth of black teachers has been prevalent statewide -- both Howard and Carroll counties have contended with the issue recently -- Harford County officials said it is especially problematic in their area, where growth is a major issue.

"We are going to have more minority children in the system, and I really think we need to have more minority teachers," said Eugene C. Chandler, the only black school board member, who headed the committee that made the recommendations. "I think students need to see people that look like them."

According to school system data, 5 percent of the system's 2,600 teachers are minorities of all backgrounds, while 13 percent of the 38,948 students are black. Of 268 new hires this school year, 248 are white, 15 are black, three are Hispanic and two are Asian.

School board member Karen L. Wolf said officials originally crafted a plan to attract more minority teachers -- not just African-Americans -- but were advised by their lawyer that they could only target those groups with historical evidence of discrimination.

Two lawsuits in Harford County, in the 1960s and 1970s, were resolved in favor of black teachers who alleged bias in hiring.

"The basis of an affirmative action plan is it has to be documented by the court that there was a disparity," Wolf said. "We need to attract the cream of the crop, which would mean good black teachers and others."

But in a county where teachers recently complained about substandard pay scales, that can be difficult. Many counties aggressively court African-American teachers, and officials said money sometimes can be the deciding factor. Harford ranks 17th of 24 school systems in teacher pay in the state.

"The salary is a very important issue," said Laura Copeland, president of the Harford County Education Association, the teachers union. "If you are in demand, then you have a tendency to go where you will be paid well."

Chandler, a former president of the county chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the Harford plan includes working with local businesses and real estate agents to provide incentives for new teachers, such as rent reductions and "welcome wagon" packages of foods and services.

Chandler said the plan also focuses on getting teachers into areas such as North Harford and Fallston, which have the fewest black teachers, and into schools such as George D. Lisby Elementary at Hillsdale in Aberdeen. That school, named for a former black school board member, has no black teachers.

Gladys Pace, principal at Aberdeen Middle School, said she is pleased with the county's efforts to hire more black teachers.

"When I am interviewing, I am always pleased to hire a minority teacher, but more importantly, I want to hire a good teacher," said Pace, who is black. "We want the best for our students."

Other counties have stepped up their minority recruitment efforts as well. Baltimore County seeks candidates at historically black colleges. In Cecil County, minority candidates are given a two-day tour of the county to help make them familiar with the area.

"There is also a mentorship program for teachers and a blue-chip recruitment program that we work with our business partnerships on," said Karen Emery, spokeswoman for Cecil schools, where minorities represent 4.2 percent of the staff of about 1,100 teachers.

Still, area school systems have continued to endure criticism over the issue of minority staffing. Last year, a local NAACP chapter criticized Howard County schools for what it said was a failure to hire enough black staff members.

In Carroll County, a consultant was hired in September by the school board to increase the less than 2 percent of minority teachers among the district's 1,648 instructors.

Some in Carroll County feared that Carroll's attempts would be hampered by a recent controversy over the board's decision to require students to attend school on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, a decision that was reversed.

Phyllis Black, the consultant hired by the county, said she must also battle misperceptions that Carroll is unwelcoming to blacks.

At Aberdeen High School, LeRoy Jones, an African-American teacher, said he does not believe that a reputation for racism is keeping black teachers from coming to Harford.

"I don't think [young teachers] give us much thought at all," said Jones, a history teacher who has taught in Harford since 1970. "But the [black] teachers I talk to here feel quite at ease."

Pub Date: 3/15/99