Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Harford County Public Schools board waives public comment, moves to closed session over candidate qualifications
Loading...
Summary
The board voted April 7 to waive public comment for a brief open-session item and then entered a closed session to discuss qualifications of potential candidates, citing §3-305(b)(1) of the Maryland Code. Attendance and brief votes were recorded on the public record.
The Harford County Public Schools board on April 7 voted to waive public comment for a limited open-session item and then moved into a closed session to discuss the qualifications of potential candidates, citing §3-305(b)(1) of the General Provisions Article of the Maryland Code.
The chair opened the meeting and asked Miss Rallo to take roll call. The clerk recorded that Perry, Norkaitis, Miller, Hahn, Bruce, Alvarez, Vice President Sewell and President Page were present; McVicker was noted as absent. The chair said the open session’s purpose was to consider action regarding a potential closed session and that the board first needed to decide whether to admit public comment. "The chair will entertain a motion to waive public comment in its entirety in light of the limited nature of this open session," the chair said.
A speaker recorded in the transcript as the clerk voiced support for waiving public comment. The chair called for those in favor, and affirmative responses were recorded on the public record. The chair then explained the legal basis for the proposed closed session, saying the board sought to "preserve the privacy and confidentiality of information regarding qualifications of potential candidates related to the discussion pursuant to section 3‑305(b)(1) of the General Provisions Article of the Maryland Code." After the clerk moved to close the session — "I move to close the session" — a second was noted and affirmative responses were recorded. The board then moved to closed session.
The public record in the open session included the roll-call attendance, the board’s reliance on §3‑305(b)(1) for the closed-session purpose, and the motions to waive public comment and to close the meeting. The transcript does not record full roll-call votes by name for the motions; only affirmative voice responses were captured in the public portion of the record. No further action or outcome on appointments or candidate decisions was disclosed in the open session.
The board proceeded to closed session; no additional public meeting schedule or outcome was specified on the record.
