County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in a meeting with the Perry Hall Improvement Association said he thought parents wanted schools to have golden doorknobs. The comments, reported by Patch, have been making the rounds of blogs and Facebook page postings.  On Wednesday at the Board of Public Works meeting, Comptroller Peter Franchot referred to the remark while criticizing Kamenetz for not using any of the $7 million in school construction dollars from the alcohol tax for air-conditioning in schools. The Comptroller, who has been mentioned as a candidate for governor, has been putting heat on the county to improve its climate control.

But Don Mohler, chief of staff for Kamenetz, said the county executive has used the golden doorknob reference on several occasions to express his concern that if the county switched from an appointed to an elected school board, the board might not be as fiscally prudent and would want golden doorknobs. But in a county where most schools aren't air-conditioned and class sizes have swelled this year with the cutting of 200 teacher positions, parents view the remark as out of touch.