Washington County BOE “Opinion and Order 01-2016” – what is this?

By Ryan Miner 

Consider me in the extreme minority, but I have developed the fastidious custom of checking the weekly agendas of the Washington County Board of Education as well as other municipal and town meetings. After all, I was born and raised in the City of Hagerstown, grew up in the county and was once a candidate for the WCBOE.

I keep myself abreast of local issues in the county, despite – incredulously to some of my detractors – that I now live 53 miles southeast of Washington County in Montgomery County. But I digress.

I was perusing through Board Docs, found on Washington County Public Schools’ website, and viewed the agenda for the Tuesday Board of Education meeting. I noticed nothing out of the ordinary – approval of the minutes; a discussion of the FY2018 school calendar; MABE nominations for committee assignments; the Superintendent’s update; board member comments, etc. All mundanely procedural agenda-item stuff here.

But when I scrolled to section 7, “Miscellaneous Business, 7.01,” I noticed an agenda item that I haven’t seen before nor do I recognize from previous Board Doc agendas.

Here is the link to the details 7.01 – Business meeting Opinion Order 9 6 16.

According to the agenda item, the Board will “consider and vote on Opinion and Order, 01-2016.” Which begs the question: What is “Opinion and Order, 01-2016?”

Typically I would submit a Maryland Public Information Request to learn more about the order, but the Labor Day weekend is here, and the central office doesn’t reopen until Tuesday, September 6 – the same day the Board meets for its bi-weekly business meeting.

The description under listed agenda item 7.01 is especially vague. As I wrote above, I have never before seen such an agenda item.

Tune in at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday for the Washington County Board of Education’s business meeting to learn more about the mysterious agenda item 7.01.