State Board of Education Tried to Create Term Other than Stated in Statute but Failed. Attorney General Issued Opinion Rejecting Attempt.

May 26, 2021

Under a state law dating back to the Civil War, the Maryland State Board of Education hires the state superintendent of schools for a four-year term. Because the current superintendent, Karen Salmon, was given a one-year extension, the board can only offer her replacement a contract filling out the remainder of her term: three years beginning July 1, instead of a full four-year contract...

...When the school board chose to provide Superintendent Salmon a one-year extension last year (and a $40,000 salary bump, by the way, bringing her annual pay to $275,000), that’s when concerns about such a restriction should have been publicly raised. And if the board still thought it a good idea to go forward with the single-year extension, their next best move would have been to ask the Maryland General Assembly to revise the law during this year’s legislative session to allow greater flexibility. After all, education and oversight were tops on the priority list for lawmakers. But none of those actions were taken.

Instead, as we neared the end of Superintendent Salmon’s tenure, official advice was sought in January, and Attorney General Brian Frosh’s office issued a formal opinion on the matter last month, confirming the three-year limit in this circumstance...

 Maryland got lucky: Contract glitch could have made superintendent hiring difficult | COMMENTARY – Baltimore Sun