Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the most powerful of all?
When it comes to Maryland politics, the answer has become quite clear: Nancy S. Grasmick.
The longtime state superintendent of schools has survived the latest attempt to oust her. Considering the removal effort had the strong backing of the governor, the speaker of the House of Delegates and the president of the State Senate, and all three have been brought to their knees, how are we to think otherwise about the power Grasmick and those close to her wield?
Gov. Martin O'Malley sheepishly threw in the towel Monday. He and Grasmick sat down together at a press conference and said they decided to bury the hatchet and work for the good of the state's school children. State House sources said the effort to remove Grasmick, which at this point would have required an act of the legislature, had an iffy chance for success and could have proved to be a Pyrrhic victory, politically speaking.
What does this say about Maryland's government and its public education system, when somebody who got the superintendent's job in the first place because of her husband's political contacts and fund-raising prowess, is able to hang on as long as Grasmick has, especially when some supposedly powerful people and organizations haven't wanted her? What does it say when a minor appointed official can hold the state's three most powerful elected officials at bay, as Grasmick has done?
How about “no mas?”
Friends of the superintendent's husband, Louis, must be smiling that all knowing smile, the one that says, "You don't cross Lou Grasmick and get away with it." By the way, Lou Grasmick undoubtedly still has a few friends in Harford County, friendships formed a half a century ago when he was a standout pitcher in the old Harford Baseball League. You can read old newspaper clippings about his baseball career and see how the young Lou Grasmick made friends easily and, most likely, permanently.
Nancy Grasmick has been state superintendent since 1991. She is the first and only woman to hold the post and, according to her biography on her department's web site, she is the longest serving state superintendent in the United States. Oh yes, she's had the requisite building named after her, the department's Nancy S. Grasmick Building headquarters across from First Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore.
O'Malley and Grasmick had been feuding since the superintendent tried to take over 11 under performing city schools in 2006 when O'Malley was still Baltimore's mayor. Not coincidentally, the takeover had the backing of then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who though a Republican, successfully courted Lou Grasmick's old boy, old money network in winning the 2002 governor's race. The school takeover battle ended up in the legislature, which passed a bill voiding it, over Ehrlich's strenuous objections. When O'Malley won the 2006 governor's race by defeating Ehrlich, the stage was set for an attempted Nancy Grasmick purge, especially since O'Malley was supported by the statewide teachers union which has had its own run-ins with Grasmick on issues of teacher performance measures.
Under state law, the state superintendent is hired by the Maryland State Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor. Grasmick's last contract ran through June 30, 2008, but the board, made up primarily of Ehrlich appointees, jumped the gun and gave her an extension last year, despite unsuccessful efforts by O'Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas Miller to get the board to wait until O'Malley could replace some members whose terms were expiring with his own people. What followed was the plan to rewrite the law to get rid of Grasmick, anyway, the one that fizzled out Monday.
What does all this political infighting mean for the quality of public education in Maryland? Absolutely nothing. But the story is a good case study in power politics and, in this instance, who actually has it in Maryland.
As for Grasmick the educator, raise your hand if you think she's improved or maintained the quality of you child's school. If you aren't sure, don't worry. Apparently you'll still have a few more years to decide.
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