Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan just named two new members of the state
Board of Education — both supporters of the Common Core as well as
charter schools.
Hogan, a Republican, tapped Chester E. Finn,
Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Andy Smarick,
partner at Bellwether Education Partners, to take the open seats on the
12-person board created by the departures of Charlene M. Dukes and Donna
Hill Staton.
Hogan, who was sworn in as Maryland governor in
January, had during the campaign characterized the implementation of
school reforms in the state as “a train wreck” and said he believed in
local control of assessments. In late January, a spokeswoman for Hogan
said in an e-mail, “Governor Hogan believes that we need to hit the
‘pause’ button on Common Core and give control back to teachers and
parents.”...
...The Maryland governor appoints all members of the Board of Education,
with advise and consent by the state Senate. Hogan will have more
chances to appoint members to the board this year, with four members
ending their terms, including the student member. (The governor appoints
the student member from a list of two people nominated by the Maryland
Association of Student Councils.) By the end of the year, then, he could
have appointed as many as half the members of the board, and next year,
a few more members are retiring...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/26/maryland-gov-hogan-appoints-two-common-core-supporters-to-board-of-education/?postshare=5981432667586279
