Virginia Harrison, a Carroll NAACP member, will fill a county school board seat vacated after Jeffrey Morse resigned over his use of a racial slur.
“She?s had a long career of improving things between the races,” NAACP President Jean Lewis said.
“I have faith in the community. The community feels like there is change that needs to take place.”
Harrison serves as vice president and founding member of the Carroll Citizens for Racial Equality. She is also a member of the South Carroll Diversity Roundtable and the Carroll County Public School Regional Minority Family Forums.
She said she would assess the schools and their needs before getting specific about possible changes.
Lewis had talked with Gov. Martin O?Malley?s office several times about whom to appoint after Morse resigned two weeks ago because he had used the “N” word to describe a dark-colored rock that was making construction difficult at a school building site.
O?Malley?s selection of Harrison drew praise from other board members.
Lewis planned to help run a write-in campaign for Harrison to keep her seat on the board in the November election, confident voters would return Harrison for a full term.
Harrison, whose husband, Charles, serves as vice president of the Carroll branch of the NAACP, had been one of three candidates last year who could have filled a seat vacated by resigning board member Thomas Hiltz.
But O?Malley instead appointed Morse, a high school science teacher in Littlestown, Pa.
Superintendent Charles Ecker had favored leaving the seat empty until the election. He thought it would be unfair to make an appointee quickly acclimate to the position in time to face a difficult, write-in campaign because the deadline to add names to the ballot has passed.
Harrison was eager to take the position, however, and Ecker supported her.
“I didn?t want to put anybody at a disadvantage,” Ecker said. “I?m very pleased. She?s a wonderful person. I support her 200 percent.”
