The Harford County Board of Education showed no support Monday night for a proposal to give the board final say in who gets the student seat on the board.
The proposal came from the student representative.
None of the board members made a motion to either approve or reject, and the plan to give the board the choice between two student government-nominated representatives died.
After a long debate on the issue at a meeting last month, the board?s lack of support came as no surprise even to representative Jennifer Cook, who made the proposal.
She wanted more input from experienced board members in selecting representatives, but they thought the privilege should remain with students.
Cook said the process, though unsuccessful, was beneficial.
“Although the students will be disappointed to hear that the legislation will not pass, they all learned a lot about how if you want to get something, you can do that,” said Cook, a Harford Technical High School graduate whose term as representative ends June 30.
She hoped her discussions with the board? and her “professional” manner ? would inspire future representatives to be more active.
Student representatives can question those coming before the board and sit in open sessions, but can only vote on issues with the board?s permission, according to county documents, and the proposal would not have changed representatives? responsibilities.
The Harford County Regional Association of Student Councils chooses junior nominees from each high school selected by their student government to serve their senior year, according to countydocuments.
“It?s been a great discussion, and I?m glad you and your colleagues learned a lot,” Board President Mark Wolkow said to Cook. “Who knows, maybe something will change sometime in the future.”
