Feud With O'Malley a Test for Assertive Schools Chief

She largely stayed under the state radar until 1991, when Schaefer, then governor, backed her as a replacement for Joseph L. Shilling, the state superintendent who abruptly resigned to lead a school system on the Eastern Shore. Many viewed Grasmick as Schaefer's crony, given that she had served under him in two Cabinet posts and that her husband, Lou, had been a longtime supporter and fundraiser.

But Grasmick quickly struck out on her own, solidly backing the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program, or MSPAP, a now-defunct test designed to measure how well third-, fifth- and eighth-graders analyze information and solve problems.

The test was unusual, seeking to assess an entire school's performance rather than an individual student's. Some parents and teachers were skeptical, and some administrators were leery of having schools from starkly different social and economic circumstances compared with one another. But Grasmick pressed ahead, saying that schools that failed their students needed to be held accountable.

"She's seen as someone who is courageous and has the interests of kids at heart," said Brenda L. Welburn, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Education. "A lot of the [state] chiefs depend on her and turn to her for some wisdom." And many have tried to recruit her.

A Fateful Move

Grasmick is not tall or particularly imposing, and she has never run for public office. But her power suits, sharp responses and fierce sense of independence give her a kind of charisma mingled with menace.

"When she gets mad, her blue eyes turn purple," Schaefer said. "The first time I saw her eyes turn from blue to purple, I thought, 'That woman's going to hit me.' "

In interviews, Schaefer likened her to the Pied Piper. Ehrlich said he admired her willingness to take risks. And Glendening, her biggest opponent until O'Malley came along, said he simply tried to work around her.

"I hear people say, 'Look at the great political skills she had.' I don't see that. I think she had great survival skills," Glendening said. "I saw an individual who, number one, was most interested in personal survival and, number two, had focused on a few issues, like testing -- almost obsessed with it -- to the point of neglecting things I thought were even more important."

She had a warm relationship with Ehrlich, to the point where the Republican asked her to be his running mate in the 2006 election, even though she is a registered Democrat.

"This was the fifth time someone asked me to run as a running mate," Grasmick said. "What I told Governor Ehrlich is what I told every one of them. And that is, I am dedicated to the education of children."

It was the same devotion to education, she said, that prompted one of the most controversial actions of her administration -- one that earned the ire of O'Malley and that Ehrlich called "the single most disappointing episode during my four years as governor."

In March 2006, Grasmick announced that she would ask the State Board of Education to order 11 low-performing Baltimore schools to be converted to charter schools or run by a company or nonprofit group. Few questioned the idea that the schools needed help; the percentages of students passing state tests of reading and math were abysmal. But coming in the middle of election season, many thought the move was meant to humiliate O'Malley, the mayor of Baltimore and Ehrlich's campaign opponent. Legislators bristled at the idea that they hadn't been told of the move in advance, and Grasmick's cozy relationship with Ehrlich only fueled the fire.