By Nelson Hernandez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Asked what she has done as the superintendent of Maryland schools for the past 16 years, Nancy S. Grasmick didn't play modest.
She talked about bringing statewide tests, data-driven accountability and a consciousness of achievement gaps to Maryland. She spoke of a strong effort in math, science and technology education and making students competitive in a global economy. She discussed setting a statewide curriculum, attracting talented teachers, putting a focus on special education and establishing a parents' advisory council.
She spoke uninterrupted for several minutes, talking on a cellphone while driving to a meeting.
"Do you want me to go on?" she asked.
Survey the landscape of Maryland education and you'll find Grasmick's brush strokes all over, from the high-stakes High School Assessments and Maryland School Assessments used to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind law to accountability testing started long before the federal government got involved. Under Maryland law, the state superintendent's post, with responsibility for crafting and enforcing statewide education policy, is a powerful position largely independent of the executive, legislative and even judicial branches.
Unlike in many states, the schools superintendent is neither elected nor directly appointed by a governor: William Donald Schaefer, Parris N. Glendening and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. have all served as governor and left public office, while Grasmick has remained. She is now the second-longest-serving state education chief in the United States; the state education building in Baltimore is named after her.
Now Grasmick, 68, is locked in a bitter feud with a fourth governor. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who quarreled with her when he was mayor of Baltimore, wants her out of office. Last week, top state lawmakers asked the State Board of Education for a delay in the renewal of her contract to give the governor additional time to appoint new members of the board -- members who would presumably give O'Malley the majority he would need to oust her.
The board ignored the request and renewed Grasmick's contract for another four years. The next day, O'Malley announced the appointment of three new state board members, and legislators began talking about a way to block the approval of Grasmick's contract.
Schaefer, who supported Grasmick's original appointment and is a close friend, is not one to underestimate the united power of the governor and legislative leaders. But he wanted it known where he would put his money.
"If I had to bet on one, I'd bet on her," he said.
The Early YearsGrasmick's path to education began with her near-death. When she was 16, she had strep throat. A doctor gave her penicillin to fight the infection, not knowing that she was allergic. The reaction was nearly fatal, and for a time she was barely able to breathe. She also was deaf for two years until an operation largely restored her hearing.
The experience left her fascinated with the deaf. She began her career as an educator, teaching the deaf at the William S. Baer School in Baltimore, and went on to get a master's degree in deaf education from Gallaudet University. She moved to the Baltimore County school system, serving as a teacher and administrator for 25 years.
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 MoveGrasmick 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.
Grasmick said she had notified the head of Baltimore schools and received support. Ehrlich said the move wasn't based on politics.
"When Nancy came to me, I told my senior staff, 'This is an opportunity to do something, and there is no way the legislative leadership of the General Assembly will block this. The case is too strong. . . . Everybody knows the dysfunction of the Baltimore school system,' " Ehrlich said.
Within days, the General Assembly acted to overrule Grasmick's move. Ehrlich vetoed the lawmakers, but they responded by overriding the veto. O'Malley, joined by Baltimore school officials, personally thanked the legislators in Annapolis.
What Lies AheadThe fallout from the Baltimore fight could spell the end of Grasmick's tenure. Grasmick is part of O'Malley's Cabinet, and state education accounts for an enormous chunk of the state budget, but Grasmick said it had been "several months" since they had a face-to-face conversation.
O'Malley's office did not return a call for this article.
As governor, O'Malley has the power to nominate new members of the State Board of Education. The legislative leaders, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), say that the General Assembly is part of the system of checks and balances that will hold Grasmick and the Board of Education accountable.
"I do think everyone has to understand that the role of the General Assembly, the people who actually stand for office every four years, we do have input into the oversight [of education policy] and responsibility as to how that's carried out," Busch said.
Even Ehrlich thinks the odds against her are overwhelming.
"They're going to take her out because they can," Ehrlich said.
But Grasmick said she intends to serve out her term. At the suggestion that she might choose to retire now, she became slightly peevish.
"I feel as passionate about it as I ever have," she said. "I do not feel worn out."
Staff writer John Wagner contributed to this report.
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