Soccer Dad

Educating martin

The headline says it all Action is a blow to O'Malley campaign. And what action is that?

But for O'Malley, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, the state's attempt to seize control of 11 failing Baltimore schools - announced six months before the Sept. 12 primary - will undoubtedly affect how that message is received, especially outside the city limits, political experts say.

The Sun which will, in about six months, endorse O'Malley for the Democratic nomination for governor sees politics in Fundamentally Wrong

Ms. Grasmick insists that the move is not political (despite the fact that she has been aligned with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and has been directly critical of Mayor Martin O'Malley, who wants Mr. Ehrlich's job) - but her timing and method belie that claim. On Tuesday afternoon - well after Ms. Grasmick had briefed reporters on the plan - she got around to telling city schools CEO Bonnie S. Copeland, less than a day before the Maryland State Board of Education rubber-stamped the proposal.

And the Sun finds the legislature's politicization of the process perfectly acceptable in Legislative Rebuke

Maryland's General Assembly moved quickly yesterday to head off the Maryland State Department of Education's attempt, proposed by state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, to take over 11 middle and high schools in Baltimore. In short order, legislators devised changes to a school bonding bill that would impose a one-year moratorium on the state's action.
The legislature plans to vote today, and it should pass the amended bill. The moratorium would uphold the integrity of the educational process and represents a resounding rejection of Ms. Grasmick's heavy-handed treatment of Baltimore, the city's school officials and its students.

The Sun though doesn't tell us quite the whole story. At the end of the first editorial the editors write

There's no question that the city school system needs help, and the state should be a natural partner. Instead of extending a hand of collaboration, Ms. Grasmick has chosen to give the back of her hand to the city's schools - and the children they serve.

It's an interesting partnership. According to the latest information available (.pdf) during the 2002-2003 school year, the state covered nearly 60% the cost of educating Baltimore City public school students. Only Somerset county appears to have received anything close to the amount that Baltimore City received from the state. It would seem that the city (and the Sun) wish for the Baltimore City to continue receiving its largess from the rest of the state without accountability.

I don't think that O'Malley is a bad mayor. Certainly not on the level of his predecessor. But I don't think that he's an exceptionally good mayor. He inherited a bad situation and improved it slightly.

However when he complains about politics every times he's criticized it looks like he's evading responsibity. It is a trait that convinces me that he's not ready for a promotion.

The Washington Post's Maryland Moment blog cites Grasmick's claim that she took this action by herself without consulting Governor Ehrlich.

For other articles on Maryland politics in Soccer Dad.

Technorati tags: Martin O/'Malley, Robert Ehrlich, Nancy Grasmick, Maryland Politics.