Rushern L Baker III, the county executive for Prince George’s County, Md., has been given new authority when it comes to running the 204 public schools in the district, thanks to a new law signed by Gov Martin O’Malley last Tuesday, the Maryland Gazette reports. The law goes into effect June 1.
His new powers and responsibilities include picking a new superintendent for the district and appointing three voting board members to the otherwise elected board. Specifically, the law works by
Revising the composition of the Prince George’s County Board of Education; providing for the appointment of specified members of the county board by the County Executive of Prince George’s County and the Prince George’s County Council; requiring the County Executive to appoint a chair and vice chair of the county board; establishing that, in Prince George’s County, the county superintendent is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the public school system; authorizing the CEO to consolidate schools under specified circumstances; etc.
Part of the compromise in the law involves how the superintendent selection will occur: Dr Lillian Lowery, the state superintendent of schools, and two other people chosen by the governor will make up a panel and narrow the list of potential superintendents down to three candidates. Then, Mr Baker (or his successor) will choose the superintendent from that short list.
This pre-selection of candidates for the superintendent’s position in the district gives the county executive some control but not total control over the operation of the schools. I think this watering down of the authority Mr Baker was originally seeking is in part due to the improper handling of the schools that has plagued the system in the past—for example, former County Executive Jack B. Johnson is now serving time for corruption. But it also represents an acknowledgment by state officials that the Prince George’s school board is broken.
Mr Baker told WJLA-TV (ABC affiliate) that he hopes to have a superintendent chosen by the beginning of the 2013-14 school year. However, he would prefer to take a little more time to find someone who will “be here for a while,” WJLA quoted him as saying. The district has had five superintendents in the past decade.
As a further compromise, the law created a fourth new board position, and that position will be filled by appointment not by the county executive but by the county council.
