Kristien Schlehr Foss was appointed as a member of the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners during a special Town meeting on Monday, December 22. Foss was appointed to fill the seat on the five-member Board that was left vacant after former Town Commissioner James Rutledge III resigned in October of 2025.
After her appointment was unanimously approved by the four remaining Commissioners, Foss was sworn in Monday as a Town Commissioner by Kimberly L. Wagner, Chief Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court for Harford County.
Commissioner Foss thanked her new colleagues “for allowing me this privilege, blessing and honor to be able to serve with you” upon taking her seat on the dais.
Commissioner Foss is a lifelong resident of the Town of Bel Air and a graduate of The John Carroll School in Bel Air. She is the niece of Bel Air’s former Town Administrator and Public Works Director, Chris Schlehr. She also is the daughter of Peter Schlehr, who serves on the Town’s Planning Commission, and Sandy Schlehr, a member of the Cultural Arts Commission – mother and daughter have served on the CAC.
Sandy Schlehr also is a local artist in Harford County – the mosaic Heart of Harford sculpture, which she created with fellow artist David Hubbard, is in front of Town Hall and is a stop on the Town's Public Art Tour.
“I’m very excited to welcome her up here to the dais,” Commissioner Jake Taylor said of Foss. “I think she’ll be a fantastic addition.”
Commissioner Foss retired in 2025 after more than 30 years in education, working as a classroom teacher in Baltimore County Public Schools and Harford County Public Schools. She was a finalist for HCPS’ Teacher of the Year in 2011 and was among more than 50 educators named as recipients of the Harford County Education Foundation’s Everyday Hero Award in 2024.
Commissioner Gavin Hanley, who was elected to his first term on the Town Board in November, recalled Commissioner Foss’ time as a teacher while he was a student at Bel Air Middle School.
“You were very much liked and respected by your students and colleagues, and I’m very excited to start working with you,” Commissioner Hanley said.
Commissioner Foss and her husband, Kevin, have three children and six grandchildren. The couple are members of The Cathedral Church of Reconciliation in Forest Hill and have portrayed Santa and Mrs. Claus in the annual Bel Air Christmas parade for more than 20 years.
Mayor Paula Etting highlighted the decades of service that Commissioner Foss and her family have dedicated to the community.
“Her roots here run deep,” Mayor Etting said.
Commissioner Steve Chizmar also lauded Commissioner Foss for continuing her family’s legacy of serving in Town government.
“It’s great that you want to give back and serve the community, and I just think it’s fantastic that another generation of Schlehrs are up here on the podium,” Commissioner Chizmar said.
Commissioner Foss stressed that Bel Air is much more than a municipality.
“It’s home, and I’m really excited to be working with the Commissioners and with the Administration . . . I can’t wait to get started,” she said.
Contact Media and Public Relations Specialist David Anderson at 410-838-7181 or danderson@belairmd.org.