You could almost see the steam rising from Gov. Martin O?Malley?s forehead and his hands on his hips when describing state schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. Until last week, he talked about her instead of to her. She tried to take over 11 failing Baltimore City schools while he was mayor. He couldn?t get over it. He acted as if she “disrespected” him and he was going to pay her back 100 times over ? berating her in the press, telling her it was time to resign, threatening to find a way to kick out the longest-serving state school superintendent of the third-best school system in the United States.
So we applaud him for acting like a grown-up and calling a truce, regardless of the reasons. Improving student performance is not a turf issue ? it?s primarily a moral one and secondarily an economic one, as we all benefit or suffer from student performance in terms of number of people employed, in college, or in prison.
With the distraction of personal animosity gone, we look forward to constructive discussions between Grasmick and O?Malley. Chief among them must be whether the extra $3.5 billion spent since 2003 and the billions more slated for state schools in coming years as a result of the Thornton education law are improving the learning of poor and minority students it was specifically designed to help. At a time of fiscal crisis, Marylanders must not be asked to pay for a reform that does not fulfill its promise.
