O'Malley Praises Baker's School System Involvement

Gov. Martin O'Malley had nothing but praise for a bill that gives Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker more power over the school system.

"I think it's a good thing," O'Malley said while speaking to reporters Monday afternoon in the waning hours of the 2013 General Assembly session.

The powers granted to Baker in the bill surpass any other Maryland county executive.

The bill passed Saturday in the House of Delegates gives Baker broader powers over the selection of the next superintendent of the Prince George's County Public Schools system.

The legislation gives the county executive the ability to select the next superintendent of the $1.7 billion schools system from a list of three names provided to him by a search committee.

It also expands the school board to 13 members. Baker would have the ability to appoint those members to the current 10-member elected board.

The new members would have to meet certain qualifications. One would have to have a business background. A second would have to have a background in education while the third would be required to have at least one child in the schools system.

"As a voter or a parent in Prince George's County, I would welcome the notion of the county executive wanting to me more involved and be held therefore more accountable for the outcomes in Prince George's County," O'Malley said.