H.B. 608                                            VETOES

Preamble

WHEREAS, The Maryland General Assembly remains concerned about the
progress of the Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) in implementing a plan of school
management reforms, including the creation of a network of enterprise schools; and

WHEREAS, The Maryland General Assembly remains concerned about the
ability of the Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) leadership to manage State and local
resources and the impact that deficiency has on the classroom and student performance
of BCPS students; and

WHEREAS, Although progress is being made in certain areas, for the sixth
consecutive year, the 1995 Maryland School Performance Report indicates that
performance of BCPS students was far lower, and in some areas declining, when
compared to the performance of students in similarly challenged jurisdictions and
students statewide; and

WHEREAS, In 1991, in consultation and cooperation with the Board of School
Commissioners and the superintendent, Associated Black Charities commissioned an
international management consulting firm, Towers Perrin/Cresap, to conduct a
management study of the BCPS; and

WHEREAS, The final report released in June, 1992, raised serious issues about
the management of the BCPS and offered numerous recommendations and strategies to
restructure the management system into a network of enterprise schools, in which
resources are focused at the school level and principals are given greater authority to
manage their schools; and

WHEREAS, In August, 1992, the superintendent of the BCPS endorsed all but six
of the Cresap recommendations to restructure the BCPS' management system into a
network of enterprise schools, and appointed an implementation team and an enterprise
school group to oversee implementation; and

WHEREAS, In April, 1993, the Maryland General Assembly endorsed the Cresap
report by including a provision in the State budget bill requiring the BCPS and the
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to enter into a three year agreement
to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Cresap recommendations, including
the recommendation to implement a merit-based, systemwide personnel evaluation
system for teachers, principals, and administrators; and

WHEREAS, In July, 1993, the agreement was signed by the State Superintendent
and the BCPS superintendent, with the caveat that recommendations deemed
inappropriate or not feasible, based on a written explanation by the BCPS, would not be
implemented, and a requirement that MSDE and the BCPS mutually agree on the
selection of a third party to conduct an independent evaluation of BCPS' progress in
implementing the recommendations by June 30, 1994; and

WHEREAS, In January, 1994, a public meeting was held to hear a report on the
BCPS' progress at which the private sector team loaders appointed by MSDE to help the
BCPS facilitate the implementation of the Cresap recommendations revealed that few

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