School Board Honors Students, Discusses Student Voting Rights

Harford County students not on want their voices to be heard but also to count.

Although there is a student representative to the , that representative does not have any voting power. This is something students hope to change.

"We think, as the students of Harford County, that it's important the voices of the students are not not only heard, but also can be acted on," Tony Cofrancesco, student representative to the board, said Monday before the meeting.

At Monday's meeting Cofrancesco addressed the board about the voting issue. The matter is expected to be on the Dec. 19 agenda for a vote.

The meeting starts at p.m. in the A.A. Roberty Building, 102 S. Hickory Ave. for the full agenda.

8:38 p.m.: The meeting was adjourned.

8:34 p.m.: Six Harford County students were selected to serve as pages during the Maryland General Assembly, Tomback said.

8:33 p.m.: Tomback said 13 Harford County teachers have recieved national board certification.

8:29 p.m.: “If I can just urge everyone to look in the moment at what we’re trying to do with partial voting rights,” Anthony said. “I know full voting rights sounds scary, but that is not what we’re after.”

8:28 p.m.: While the board may approve, that doesn’t necessarily mean the legislature will, Frisch said.

8:27 p.m.: “I have to say I don’t always go directly to my student member on issues as I do with my other colleagues on the board”, Kirchnavy said. She said voting rights would make it more necessary to include and seek the student representative’s opinion.

8:25 p.m.: Kirchnavy said before the legislation was crafted she was part of discussion about what could or could not be voted on by students. “The thing that I think it would bring to this board is accountability,” she said.

8:25 p.m.: James Thornton complimented the students on their presentation and said he is in favor and looks forward to voting in the affirmative.

8:23 p.m.: “I’m not sure there’s the same push going on in other counties that don’t have partial voting rights as there is here in Harford County,” Anthony said.

8:21 p.m.: Cassandra Beverly asked if there are any issues that have been encountered in the counties that have partial voting rights. Anthony said he has heard it’s like a hump to get over, that there are concerns beforehand, but afterwards everyone involved wonders why they hadn’t done it before.

8:19 p.m.: Reynolds asked how many other districts have student representatives with partial voting rights and how successful those have been. Anthony said seven counties have at least partial voting rights and every county that has partial rights are voting for full.

8:18 p.m.: “In my mind there’s no non student-centric decision made here,” Wheeler said.

8:17 p.m.: Tomback said he will poll the superintendent student advisory board on the matter at Leonard Wheeler’s request.

8:15 p.m.: "There is knowledge that you will never have and that is knowledge of what is actually going on in our classrooms, in our hallways," Christina said. She said everyone on the board has great knowledge and passion for education.

8:13 p.m.: "What I, what the student representative, can offer is a level playing field," Anthony said.

8:11 p.m.: Perspective and connection to students are both major reasons the student representatives should vote, Anthony said. The student representative is also the only member who has a peer to peer relationship with students.

8:10 p.m.: Anthony said said he does not feel the number of voting members issue is big enough to exclude student members from having a vote.

8:09 p.m.: An even number of members on the school board is not a new issue, Anthony said, adding it is also an issue in other areas.

8:08 p.m.: The candidates have to go through a series of recomendations, provide a resume and an essay and then be selected as a candidate to run in the election.

8:07 p.m.: These students can also inform fellow students on the issues.

8:06 p.m.: "We get the best of the best from Harford County," Anthony said. He said these students will be well-prepared to handle the pressure and responsibility involved in the position.

8:05 p.m.: The board will always have the option to exclude student board members from closed sessions.

8:04 p.m.: The election process will also change. Students grade 6-12 will also vote on top two candidates following the standard election process.

8:02 p.m.: Partial voting rights limits the material students have a right to vote on, so it is limited only to issues that directly impact them. Budget, school boundaries, appointment of the superintendent, collective bargaining and expulsion would be excluded from student voting.

8:01 p.m.: From there the legislation goes to the Maryland delegation then on to the state senate.

8:00 p.m.: Anthony said the process starts with student support, which was evident tonight, the second step is the Board of Education's support.

7:59 p.m.: Christina said they have started a letter writing campaign involving all students writing to legislators to show the importance of the issue.

7:58 p.m.: Christina McIntyre said for the past two years they have obtained support from the school board and in 2010 were very close to having the bill passed when it passed through the house, but on the senate.

7:57 p.m.: Anthony thanked the board for the opportunity to speak and for meeting with him before this meeting to discuss the issue.

7:56 p.m.: Anthony Cofrancesco and two other students begin presentation to the board to ask for the board's support of partial voting rights.

7:55 p.m.: We are very concerned about widening opportunities not just for students, but for all our students, Tomback said.

7:54 p.m.: Superintendent Robert Tomback said we are looking at more concurrent college and high school opportunities for students in local high schools and the public school system and Harford Community College are working together on that.

7:51 p.m.: Frisch asked if it was possible the county was picking up the cost for these courses if students are not. Lawrence said he would get back to him.

7:51 p.m.: "I am concerned because 40 percent of our students are going on to HCC and I want to be sure that is a smooth transition," Reynolds said.

7:50 p.m.: Lawrence said they are looking into a "2 plus 2" program that would allow students to get a high school diploma and associates degree in four years.

7:49 p.m.: "Do we have any plans to implement it in our other high schools," Reynolds asked.

7:48 p.m.: Those students are doing very well, Lawrence said.

7:47 p.m.: Reynolds said many of our students require remediation, and while there are transitional courses offered at some schools, is there anything to indicate these courses are effective.

7:47 p.m.: Attention to detail is part of decreasing the gap between certain schools.

7:46 p.m.: Hau asked if these include all students or only MAGNETS, Lawrence confirmed the statistics include all students.

7:43 p.m.: Lawrence said there are four clusters including science, business, health and human services and media and art that are identified as career concentrations that lead to career pathways.

7:41 p.m.: We’ll be able to look at comparative data not only from school to school, but also county to county, Lawrence said.

7:40 p.m.: National Student Clearinghouse is a non-profit that collects information about where graduates enrolled in college and is something Harford County Public Schools is involved in.

7:37 p.m.: Bill Lawrence presented on post-secondary education preparation.

7:36 p.m.: "I think we should give these students a hand, because how often do we see students come out to the Harford County Board of Education meeting," Anthony said.

7:34 p.m.: "In my opinion having a student voice and actually implemented is crucial," Victoria said. "Having our voice heard and actually counted is important to me."

7:33 p.m.: Victoria Henck, junior at C. Milton Wright, said she fully supports voting rights.

7:32 p.m.: "Having 40,000 voices implemented would be good," Drew said.

7:31 p.m.: Drew Becker, junior class president at North Harford High School, explained if you want the position you have to work hard. "That should rest fears that someone would get this power and abuse it," Becker said.

7:30 p.m.: Panache said a voting member gives constant flow of information and allows the board to know what needs to be fixed.

7:29 p.m.: Panache Mutombo from Patterson Mill High School is hoping to take Cofrancesco's role next year. "I also believe that setting up these partial voting rights give students confidence in how they deal with the board," Panache said.

7:28 p.m.: Maruice said giving a student a partial vote shows confidence in the student body.

7:27 p.m.: Maurice said he also understands in Harford County a tie vote ends a motion. As a voting member of the school board, he can see his involvement and can bring concerned students' positions to the forefront and be sure what they want is implemented.

7:25 p.m.: Maurice Harried, student member on the Baltimore City Public Schools, said having an even number of board members voting could be a problem, but in his time with Baltimore County, he has never seen an even number of votes on positive and negative sides of an issue.

7:24 p.m.: Anthony Cofrancesco, student representative, met with others to help select a student representative for next year. He has also been working on the  student voting rights presentation. He introduced fellow students who worked on that project.

7:23 p.m.: "The arts are alive and well," Kirchnavy said of the holiday concerts in local public schools.

7:20 p.m.: Alysson Kirchnavy, board member, congratulated all the student athletes. She also thanked David Jaffe for his years of service on the ethics panel. Kirchnavy attended several meetings including a legislative forum.

7:19 p.m.: Board member Joseph Hau said he attended the Edgewood High honor roll breakfast and was pleased to see a full room. He also congratulated all students who excelled this past quarter.

7:18 p.m.: Robert Frisch, board member, said there's more to a team than the scoreboard and congratulated Aberdeen for winning that award.

7:17 p.m.: Nancy Reynolds, board member, recognized juniors from Edgewood High School who are selling bricks to build an Afghan shelter.

7:14 p.m.: "This is the most sportsmanship awards we've had in a Fall season," Harford County Supervisor of Athletics, Ken Zorbach, said.

7:12 p.m.: The Edgewood High School Field Hockey team was recognized by the board with a sportsmanship award.

7:11 p.m.: The Edgewood High School boy's and girl's cross country teams was recognized as the first of the Susquehanna division's sportsmanship award winners.

7:10 p.m.: The Bel Air High School volleyball team was recognized by the board with a sportsmanship award.

7:09 p.m.: The North Harford High School boy's soccer team was recognized with a sportsmanship award.

7:09 p.m.: The Bel Air High School golf team was recognized with a sportsmanship award.

7:08 p.m.: The Havre de Grace High School Football Team was recognized with a sportsmanship award for the Chesapeake division.

7:06 p.m.: The Patterson Mill High School's girl's cross country team was recognized by the board with a sportsmanship award in the Chesapeake division.

7:05 p.m.: Fallston High School's boy's cross country team was recognized by the board with the sportsmanship award in the Chesapeake division.

7:02 p.m.: Fallston field hockey team was recognized for their interscholastic athletic championship. The team won the state championship. They were also recognized for sportsmanship in the Chesapeake division.

7:00 p.m.: Vice president Rick Grambo and Ronald Browning were excused from tonight's meeting.

Editor's Note: A previous version of the story stated the incorrect school district that Maurice Harried represents. He represents Baltimore City Schools.