Maryland State Board

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's opinion concerning the voting rights of 17-year-olds is a welcome return to sensibility. The political parties have long enjoyed the right to determine how to select their nominees for office. And for decades in Maryland, teens who turn 18 before the general election have had the right to vote in the primary - even if they're only 17 at the time. How did 17-year-olds suddenly lose this right? It was the result of an unfortunate chain of events starting with last year's Court of Appeals decision striking down the state's recently enacted early voting law. The court's new interpretation of the state constitution applied general election standards to primaries.

The decision by the Maryland State Board of Education to reappoint state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick more than six months before her contract expires is both puzzling and galling. Even though the board has given her early contract renewals in the past, this week's action shows a curious refusal - by the board and Ms. Grasmick - to recognize that times have changed. Such a provocative step when Ms. Grasmick has lost the confidence of Gov. Martin O'Malley and when the top two Democratic leaders in the General Assembly specifically urged against it could ultimately undermine her effectiveness.

William G. Durden, a top executive at Sylvan Learning Systems, has been named president of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa."It's an honor to have your alma mater ask you to take it into the 21st century," said Durden, 49, a 1971 graduate of Dickinson. "It was too good to turn down."Durden is vice president for academic affairs of Caliber Learning Network, a joint venture of Baltimore-based Sylvan Learning Systems Inc. and MCI that provides education training through satellite communications.

The seeds of school accountability and improvement that President Clinton attempted to plant in his State of the Union message this week are already sprouting in Maryland, recognized these days as a national leader in education reform.Threatening the loss of federal dollars, the president called for ending social promotions, helping the lowest-performing schools, issuing report cards on every school, improving teacher preparedness, reducing class size, adopting discipline policies and building and renovating schools.

Walter Sondheim, who a half-century ago was part of the school board that would desegregate Baltimore schools in the ++ 1950s and who presided over the rebirth of downtown Baltimore in the 1960s, may become president of the Maryland State Board of Education.He turns 90 tomorrow.Although he has repeatedly said he is too old and wouldn't want to serve on a board that would elect someone his age as its leader, Sondheim is a front-runner for the post, sources said."I don't know what's going to happen," said Sondheim.

Maryland educators made public the abysmal performance of many of the state's minority students yesterday, offering the low levels of achievement, attendance and graduation as a first step toward "rectifying a grievous situation that has persisted for too long."The Maryland State Board of Education listened for more than two hours as educators and community leaders laid out the problem and hinted at ways to overcome the statewide disparities between the performance of white and Asian students and that of all other groups, including African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.

Epstein officially wins the GOP nomination for state 0) comptrollerState election officials officially declared Owings Mills accountant Larry M. Epstein the winner of the Republicanprimary for comptroller yesterday.In the closest statewide election in years, Epstein defeated Timothy R. Mayberry, his closest competitor in the field of six, by eight votes. Epstein drew 23.368 percent of the nearly 182,000 votes cast, compared to 23.363 percent for Mayberry.Epstein, the party's 1990 nominee for comptroller, emerged Wednesday as the apparent winner by seven votes in unofficial results.

In its quest to improve reading skills and instruction, the Maryland State Board of Education decided yesterday to move forward with plans to test teachers on how well they teach reading.The testing program, still in the study stage, could complement or, in some cases, substitute for the additional reading courses the board voted last month to require of new and experienced teachers.The decision to continue studying the performance test for teachers was one of three reading issues before the board yesterday.

The state Court of Appeals yesterday decided to allow a Bowie man who has spent more than a decade turning his life around to practice law.Charles Michael Smiroldo, 38, asked the state's highest court to acknowledge that he put drug use, minor criminal activity and irresponsibility behind him long ago.The judges heard his plea Friday, and Smiroldo will be admitted to the bar June 25, along with more than 600 other people."

The state Court of Appeals will hear arguments Friday on whether a Bowie man with a troubled past deserves admission to the Maryland bar after a decade of effort to turn his life around.The case of Charles Michael Smiroldo, 38, comes before the state's highest court after dividing the Maryland State Board of Law Examiners, whose character committee recommended against admission before the board voted 4-2 in his favor."I know my extensive record does not cast me in a good light," Smiroldo wrote to the law examiners of his background of drug use, criminal behavior and irresponsibility.

State elections officials have told the financially strapped Maryland Republican Party that it must repay $77,500 that Michael S. Steele, now the national GOP chairman, transferred to it in an apparent violation of campaign finance laws. The state party faces a deadline in two weeks to resolve several alleged violations. If it remains unsettled, the matter ultimately could be referred to state prosecutors for possible charges. The Maryland State Board of Elections found that money transferred from Steele's state campaign account, used to pay debts of the Republican State Central Committee, exceeded the legal limit, according to letters obtained by The Baltimore Sun. The violations turned up during a routine audit of political committees.

More than half of the members of the Maryland State Board of Education will be new to the panel this summer, a result of an unusually high number of resignations combined with the staggered turnover of positions. Seven of the 12 board members have left in the past several months, including Blair Ewing, a well-respected education leader from Montgomery County who died Monday, and Rosa Garcia, who recently took a new job working for a member of Congress and said she would not have time to continue on the board.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled against a former chief business officer for the Howard County school system who was dismissed by then-Superintendent John R. O'Rourke in September 2003. Bruce M. Venter was fired after failing to inform O'Rourke, top-ranking administrators and the board that construction of Marriotts Ridge High School was off schedule. Venter sued the school system in 2003. Before the Court of Special Appeals' decision, Venter had lost decisions by the Circuit Court for Howard County, the Maryland State Board of Education and the Board of Education of Howard County.

Maryland appears likely to compete for a large pot of federal dollars that could require the winner, or a consortium of winning states, to adopt wide-ranging changes to what is taught in the classroom and measured by tests. The economic stimulus package includes $5 billion for states that want to raise academic standards, create databases and adopt new assessments. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent teleconference with news media that he wants to "invest in a small number of states that are willing to challenge the status quo."

The Maryland State Board of Education sent a clear message yesterday to the approximately 9,000 high school seniors who haven't yet passed the standardized tests in algebra, English, American government and biology that are now mandatory for graduation: This train is leaving the station, so get on board if you want a diploma in June. That may be tough love, but seniors who get their act together and meet the requirement probably will look back one day and be glad educators made them toe the line.

So you've bought a house - now what? New homeowners say they could use a few pointers about, well, being new homeowners. Here's a short list, most of which also applies if you're moving from one apartment to another: Update your address. The U.S. Postal Service lets you fill out a change-of-address form at https:--moversguide.usps.com. Sign up for utility service. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (410-685-0123) says to make your request at least three business days before you move. While you're at it, don't forget phone, Internet and any other home-based services you'll want.

So you've bought a house - now what? New homeowners say they could use a few pointers about, well, being new homeowners. Here's a short list, most of which also applies if you're moving from one apartment to another: Update your address. The U.S. Postal Service lets you fill out a change-of-address form at https:--moversguide.usps.com. Sign up for utility service. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (410-685-0123) says to make your request at least three business days before you move. While you're at it, don't forget phone, Internet and any other home-based services you'll want.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's opinion concerning the voting rights of 17-year-olds is a welcome return to sensibility. The political parties have long enjoyed the right to determine how to select their nominees for office. And for decades in Maryland, teens who turn 18 before the general election have had the right to vote in the primary - even if they're only 17 at the time. How did 17-year-olds suddenly lose this right? It was the result of an unfortunate chain of events starting with last year's Court of Appeals decision striking down the state's recently enacted early voting law. The court's new interpretation of the state constitution applied general election standards to primaries.

Democratic leaders guilty of power grab I read The Sun's editorial on the reappointment of state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick to another four-year term over the expressed wishes of Gov. Martin O'Malley, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller with disbelief ("A galling grasp for power," Dec. 13). First, the editorial praises Ms. Grasmick for "significant accomplishments. She has been a longtime advocate for accountability and assessments, even before the federal No Child Left Behind law, and she has been committed to quality education for all students."

The decision by the Maryland State Board of Education to reappoint state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick more than six months before her contract expires is both puzzling and galling. Even though the board has given her early contract renewals in the past, this week's action shows a curious refusal - by the board and Ms. Grasmick - to recognize that times have changed. Such a provocative step when Ms. Grasmick has lost the confidence of Gov. Martin O'Malley and when the top two Democratic leaders in the General Assembly specifically urged against it could ultimately undermine her effectiveness.