tional judgment for popular appeal, espe-
cially in an election year.7
Educators also oppose appointment of
the superintendent by the governor. Abo-
lition of such method of selection for
Maryland was recommended in the 1921
report to the Educational Survey Com-
mission. "For, the superintendent, who is
the state's educational executive, should
be chosen, not by the Governor, but by a
board as far removed from political in-
fluences as possible, for a term either
indefinite or long enough to avoid danger
of political complications."8 This recom-
mendation was subsequently followed.
Interest groups support professionals
in favoring educational autonomy. Par-
ent-teacher's associations, citizens' com-
mittees for better schools, and similarly
potent interest groups would not be
happy with the notion that the schools
should be considered a regular depart-
ment of state or local government, subject
to political control by the governor.9
7 Ibid.
8 A. flexner & F. bachman, public edu-
cation in maryland — A report to the
maryland educational survey commis-
sion 23 (5th ed. 1921).
186
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CONCLUSION
The main argument against appoint-
ment of the superintendent by the gov-
ernor is that the position requires certain
professional qualifications, and a guber-
natorial appointment is often made by
reason of a person's political affiliation
rather than his special skills or knowledge.
However, all agencies deal with a specific
area of administration and the heads of
these agencies therefore must have expert
knowledge in that area. In many in-
stances, the knowledge required is much
more technical than that required for a
superintendent of schools, yet the heads
of these agencies are appointed by the
governor. This need for a man with pro-
fessional knowledge, which educators
argue requires special treatment for the
department of education, is a need ex-
perienced by all agencies. The depart-
ment of education is no different in this
respect from any other agency, and there
appears to be no other valid reason why
this need should not be filled by guber-
natorial appointment as has been done
successfully in the other agencies.
9 the forty-eight states, supra note 2,
at 123.
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