February 20th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

A motion to create the position of chief of security led to a heated debate between members of the Allegany County Board of Education during Tuesday’s regular public meeting. The nearly 3 and a half hour session held at the new Allegany High School  saw a lengthy discussion on school security-  a discussion that- among other things-  saw the interim board attorney’s qualifications called into question; a disagreement over the role of the superintendent vs. the role of the elected board; accusations of the board president promising to “take it easy” on the superintendent  if a new security chief were named; as well as questions about whether or not one member should even be allowed to talk about or vote on the subject. The debate was sparked following a presentation by student services coordinator Matt Marlowe- when board member David Bohn made a motion to create the position of security chief. Board member Deb Frank called the motion ridiculous and insulting to Marlowe, who currently handles school security. She than noted that under state law- it is the superintendent who makes decisions to create position- not the elected board. When board attorney Mike Llewellyn offered a different opinion- Frank pointed to his relative lack of experience in education law…