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Frederick County school board members should be able to disagree with one another as long as they are polite about it.

At least, that's the belief of member Kathryn Groth, who would like the board to expand its list of "norms" to ensure civility in disagreements among board members.

Public disagreements among school board members are rare, but a public confrontation between members Bonnie Borsa and Donna Crook at the Oct. 26 meeting inspired Groth said to propose her new norm.

"I would like to provide us with a framework, which allows us to be respectful with one another when we don't agree," Groth said. "When a challenge needs to be made, this can be the respectful way to do it."

The board's norms are a set of guidelines that outline appropriate behavior and responsibilities of school board members, such as coming on time for meetings and attending professional training, though breaking the norms carry no penalty.

But the norms have also been criticized for discouraging dissent, because they advise board members to "publicly support the decisions of the board as a corporate body," articulate concerns ahead of time, and avoid presenting surprises to staff and other board members.

Groth said she feels that her proposed norm addresses these concerns. If a board member wants to voice a disagreement with another, she suggests that members "challenge one another in a respectful way," and encourages them to say, "I would like to respectfully challenge my fellow board member."

Groth has asked the board to discuss her proposed norm and while enough members have expressed an interest to do so, the board has not yet scheduled a time for the discussion.

At the Oct. 26 meeting, Borsa surprised her colleagues by confronting Crook about allegations that Crook has been making false public statements and was eroding public confidence in the board.

Listing specific examples and referring to radio shows she transcribed, Borsa pressed Crook to explain why she made untrue statements about the new central office building, the system's alcohol policy, and former schools Superintendent Jack Dale, who according to Crook, bought alcohol with a school system credit card, at a conference in California in 2003.

Borsa said she has receipts that show Dale did not use his work-issued credit card to buy alcohol on that trip. School system employees are allowed buy alcohol at social events, but they have to pay for it themselves, Borsa said.

Borsa told Crook that by making such untrue statements, Crook was eroding the public's confidence in the school board.

Crook, however, defended herself and said Borsa was attacking her personally in violation of the board's norms. She said some of her statements were taken out of context, while others were simply what she believes to be the truth.