The commission charged with selecting acandidate to fill a vacancy on the county Board of Education has reopened the application process after failing to choose between two people who applied.

The School Board Appointment Commission is tasked with finding a replacement to serve the remaining 12 months of former Board of Education member Teresa Birge’s term, which ends in December 2018.

Birge stepped down from the position in October. She represented legislative District 32 on the board.

Two people had applied for the position: Foster Driver, a retired teacher from Glen Burnie, and Cheri Thornton-Conner, a U.S.

Department of State employee from Severn.

But at a meeting last Monday, members of the commission failed to select either one.

Instead, the panel voted to reopen the application period. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 5, then the group may host meetings to interview new candidates, then vote on an appointment.

“I had, obviously, serious concerns about the two before us based on all the information that we have been provided, and I would like to see additional candidates,” commission Vice Chair Allison Pickard said.

Thornton-Conner is a personnel security specialist and senior adjudicator for the State Department. She’s had five children and three grandchildren attend county schools, and served 13 years in the Army.

Driver spent 30 years teaching for Howard County Public Schools, first at a vocational school and later at Long Reach High School, where he taught cooperative work experience and introduction to technology.

Members of the commission went through five rounds of voting before declaring an impasse. The 13-member commission’s procedure is to continue voting until a candidate receives eight votes.

In the first round of voting, Thornton- Conner got two votes, and Driver received