Gov. Martin O’Malley has appointed three people to the Baltimore County school board, according to a July 29 release from the governor’s office.

The new members are:

• David Uhlfelder, a certified public accountant and current chairman of the Baltimore County Workforce Development Council. Uhlfelder has served on parent teacher associations for Fort Garrison elementary, Pikesville middle and Pikesville high schools.

• James Coleman, a mathematics professor at Baltimore City Community College, where he has been listed as one of the college’s 10 best instructors.

• Valerie Roddy, an employee of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as an assistant director to the deputy secretary for public health services. Previously, she worked for various Baltimore County departments and also served as a legislative assistant to state Sen. Norman Stone from Dundalk.

The three new members succeed Donna Flynn, of Catonsville, who resigned because of job responsibilities that kept her from attending meetings; John Hayden, of Towson, who has served the two terms allowed by law; and Joy Shillman, of Pikesville, who has served one term.

A spokeswoman for the governor could not immediately be reached about where the new members live.

Catonsville resident Donna Flynn, who was appointed to the board July 1, 2007 by O'Malley, sent a letter to the governor saying her new job prevents her from regularly attending board meetings, according to school board President JoAnn Murphy, who lives in Parkton.

"Her new job responsibilities with the College Board made it impossible," said Murphy, who had been appointed as an at-large member by Gov. Robert Ehrlich in 2005.

Flynn did not return calls for comment about her decision. The College Board is a nonprofit membership organization that administers the SAT, among other assessments.

Flynn had been a teacher at then- Catonsville Junior High School and also served as principal at Arbutus Middle School.

She was the first principal at Sudbrook Magnet Middle School when it became the county's first magnet middle school.

She had been named by O'Malley to be one of the board's four at-large members. The other at-large members are Murphy, Parkville resident Meg O'Hare and Shillman.

According to Murphy, Shillman, whose five-year term has expired, was interested in serving a second term.

Hayden, a Towson resident, who represented the Fifth District, has served two terms and could not be reappointed.

The school board will take a daylong retreat Aug. 9 at school system headquarters in Towson.

During the retreat, which is open to the public, members discuss goals for the year.

It's a good opportunity for new members to get to know other board members, she said.

Terms on the 12-member school board last five years, and members receive $100 a year for their service.

"People don't do it for the compensation," she said. "During the school year, it can take 30 hours a week, visiting schools, reading all the material -- that takes time -- and going to subcommittee meetings."

The board also includes a representative for each of the county's seven County Council districts as well as a student representative.

Paradise resident Joseph Pallozzi was appointed by Ehrlich in 2005 to represent the First District, which includes Catonsville and Arbutus.

The student representative on the school board for 2008-2009 is Annette Karanja, a rising senior at Kenwood High School.

She replaced Audrey Dittman, who attended Carver Center for Arts and Technology.

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user comments (1)

user davidmarks1 says...

Governor Ehrlich's appointees were extraordinarily helpful in advancing support for a new high school, particularly Meg O'Hare, Fran Harris, and Rodger Janssen. Let's hope the new choices are as independent-minded and sensitive to the long-term needs of our overcrowded schools.

Posted 10:58 AM, 07.31.08

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