Elected school board unlikely, straw poll finds

Sen. John Astle remembers the first meeting he ever attended as an elected official about 23 years ago. The issue? Whether the school board should be appointed or elected.

"People were screaming and yelling," Mr. Astle, D-Annapolis, said in an interview this week. "Oh, God. It was terrible."

In the end, the system stayed the way it was, with the board being appointed by the governor. Repeated attempts to alter the board's makeup have been unsuccessful, and an effort this year appears doomed as well.

In an informal straw poll this week, four of the five senators representing the county said they oppose a bill pending in...