Some Harford County legislators remain dissatisfied with a lack of “openness” in their relationship with the leader of the local school system.

Superintendent Robert Tomback and Executive Director of Secondary Education Dave Volrath met with Harford’s delegates and senators in Annapolis Thursday morning to show a copy of the “Drama Therapy” performance and to field concerns from the legislators about his recent behavior.

But the showing of the controversial tape of the performance by Havre de Grace High School students had to be put off because of a problem with the sound.

“He [Tomback] didn’t give us the answers we wanted,” Del. Rick Impallaria, a Republican representing Western Harford County District 7, said in a phone interview following the meeting, during which Tomback stuck to his decision to invoke the Maryland Public Information Act, or MPIA, when a delegate requested an unedited copy of the “Drama Therapy” performance.

“His response was this is my policy and this is the way it is done,” Impallaria, who requested the copy of the performance, said. “We spent 40 minutes discussing how he dealt with us. There was just a lot of anger.”

In addition to the dialogue between the legislators and superintendent, four parents, some of whom have voiced their opinions at school board meetings, attended the meeting to express their concerns with the “Drama Therapy” program.

“There was no one down here to talk in favor of it [the ‘Drama Therapy’ program,]” Impallaria said.

Technical difficulties

The legislators were unable to view the copy of the “Drama Therapy” program as planned because of technical difficulties with the sound.

The DVD copy of the performance was tried on multiple computers, but the sound would not work.

Harford Delegation Chairman J.B. Jennings said the superintendent will provide the legislators with a copy of the performance by Monday for each of them to view at their leisure.

The “Drama Therapy” program performed in December for the student body at-large and the general public, has been the center of controversy as parents have complained to school officials about the content in the skits that combine heavy drama and comedy to address issues teens face.

Among the topics explored are rape, abortion, male-female relationships, drinking and child sex abuse. All skits were performed by Havre de Grace High students and most were written either by students or alumni.

At the local delegation’s weekly meeting Jan. 29, the legislators demanded Tomback appear before them with a copy of the “Drama Therapy” tape.

Continue MPIA use

Impallaria said Tomback told him he will continue to invoke the MPIA, but on a case-by-case basis, which Impallaria said is unacceptable.

“We don’t expect to hit roadblocks, we expect to get answers,” Impallaria said.

“I’m not fully satisfied and we are now going to take a very cautious and close watch on how he presents himself to us from here on out,” he added.

Jennings, a Republican representing Western Harford County District 7, said he expressed his concerns to Tomback about legislators being able to help their constituents who have school-related problems.

In a phone interview following the meeting, Jennings also criticized the superintendent’s position on following the MPIA.

“When a constituent calls us to help, it is usually because they have reached the end of the line,” Jennings said. “If they can’t get anywhere, we act on their behalf.”

According to Jennings, Tomback said that the letter from the concerned constituent would be enough for a legislator to speak on behalf of constituent.

“As long as we provide a copy of the constituent’s letter when they contact us, we should be able to act on their behalf,” Jennings said.

Del. Donna Stifler, a Republican representing Northern Harford District 35A, said she wanted to know what standard protocol Tomback was referring to when he issued the MPIA.

“He was talking about how he can’t be held accountable for past superintendents, yet he kept talking about standard protocol, as if that is the way it had always been,” Stifler said in a phone interview Thursday.

Although Stifler wasn’t satisfied with Tomback’s answer about protocol, she said the overall tone of the meeting was pleasant.

“The tone was just work with us, you don’t have to work against us,” Stifler said. “We are not out to get you.”

“I don’t want to turn this into a us versus them,” she added.

Moving forward

Del. Dan Riley, a Democrat representing Southern Harford District 34, said he thinks the delegation articulated what it would like to see from the superintendent.

“I think we made it perfectly clear that there has to be a better and more open relationship between the superintendent of schools and the Maryland General Assembly,” Riley said in a phone interview.

Riley said he hopes the openness between the legislators and the superintendent improves.

“Only time will tell,” Riley said. “If not a sense of openness, I think it is going to be very difficult for us to work with someone like that.”

Del. Susan McComas, a Republican representing Bel Air District 35B, saw Thursday’s meeting as the first step of many.

“It’s a beginning,” she wrote in an e-mail Thursday.

“Certainly the Delegation is concerned with being able to respond quickly and efficiently to the concerns of our constituents,” McComas’ e-mail continued. “Dr. Tomback is concerned about following the law and protecting the confidentially of parents and students...At this point a dialogue has started and that is a good positive first step.”

“I found the meeting to be very productive and I appreciated the opportunity to meet with the delegation,” Tomback said through a spokesperson Thursday evening.

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