January 14th, 2022 by WCBC Radio

Although the Allegany County Board of Education meetings have not been nearly as acrimonious as they were just a few years ago- split votes this week on the election of officers at least suggests that some dissention may remain. Heated arguments and split votes were a common occurrence in 2019- a year which saw one member kicked off of the board for misconduct. Since that time- and with the COVID-19 pandemic dominating much of the board of education’s focus- public disputes have largely disappeared and unanimous votes have become the norm. During this week’s meeting however there was a split.  Two candidates- Deb Frank and Crystal Bender were nominated for president; and two candidates- Robert Farrell and Tammy Fraley- were nominated for vice-president. Bender and Farrell were re-elected to those posts by 3-2 votes. Bender told WCBC News that the election of officers vote shouldn’t be interpreted as a rift…