Capital Article

Furgurson III, E.B., Nominating commission leaving last mark on school board, April 15, 2016.

Snider Comment

“It is a long way between now and July of next year.”

I wonder if this argument to retroactively change the rules would hold constitutional muster. Would this be considered some type of ex post facto law, a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions that were committed before the enactment of a law.

“It’s almost a year-and-a-half away…”

13 months. Still long, but one-third shorter than claimed here. The biggest problem with gubernatorial appointments in the past has been making them AFTER the required deadline.

“legislation to require Senate approval of school board nominees appointed by the governor…was proposed this year, but set aside as a measure of good faith that the dust-up over the commission would work out.”

May be true but not the account I heard from a state legislator, who focused on the political risk if the senate at the last minute changed a bill already passed in the House.

“Current school board vice chairman Patricia Nalley, who spent a career in county schools as a teacher and principal at Davidsonville Elementary, has not seen politics affect decisions.”

Nalley is as political as they come, albeit not in a narrow partisan sense, to which I think she is referring when she makes this claim. It’s nine years late, but it would be interesting to finally get a report on how AACPS staff backed her campaign the last year (2007) the old system for electing school board members was still in operation. The press chose to ignore it or, more likely, didn’t know enough to ignore it. When she ran for a 2nd term via the SBNC, there was only one other person contending for the spot and it was a love fest–a very strange type of politics. Should that be viewed as beyond politics or the ultimate in politics? Hard to say.

P.S. The Capital removed this comment from its website.