Gov. Martin O'Malley called longtime state schools chief Nancy S. Grasmick "a pawn of the Republican Party" yesterday, and other top Democrats said she should resign, indicating on the opening day of this year's legislative session that they might make good on threats to force her out.
In his first public comments about Grasmick since she was reappointed by the state Board of Education, O'Malley criticized her support for the federal No Child Left Behind Act and said he wants new leadership for Maryland's schools.
The two have been at odds since O'Malley was Baltimore mayor, but the conflict is poised to come to a head in the next three months, as legislative leaders have suggested they might give the governor more direct control over her hiring and firing.
Speaking during a morning taping of WYPR-FM's Marc Steiner Show, O'Malley, a Democrat, said that if Grasmick refused to resign he would support legislation enabling the state school board to replace her with someone who is not a "poster child for No Child Left Behind or a pawn of the Republican Party."
"I'm looking forward to a new superintendent, and I'm looking forward to bringing one [on] in the very near future," O'Malley said.
But Grasmick appears determined not to go without a fight, and she made her case to Republican lawmakers in Annapolis on Tuesday. On the same day, to bolster her position, she held a news briefing in which she highlighted that Education Week's new report ranked Maryland's schools third in the nation.
The well-regarded national education weekly ranked Maryland behind New York and Massachusetts after analyzing each state on dozens of measures.
Grasmick was quick to point out that the top three ranked states have long-serving state superintendents who are appointed by state school boards not by governors.
That comment appeared intended for legislative leaders. Last month, the state school board reappointed Grasmick to a four-year contract, over the objections of O'Malley and other top Democrats. The governor has said he lost trust in Grasmick after her attempt to take over failing schools in Baltimore during an election campaign when he was mayor.
The governor appoints school board members, but the majority of the current board was appointed by O'Malley's predecessor, Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
As the Education Week report was being released yesterday morning, O'Malley and legislative leaders increased the pressure on Grasmick.
