Hogan help schools? Here’s a to-do list

Recent news reports tell us that Gov. Larry Hogan is appointing someone to deal with complaints about public schools (“Gov. Hogan renews call for more oversight of Maryland schools; Ben Jealous says they need more money,” Sept. 4). If so, can I get an early start by sending him this list?

First, public schools in Baltimore City are woefully underfunded and unsupported by this governor. Second, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is not qualified for her job and proves this every time she speaks about national issues. Third, encouraging charter schools to be anti-union makes it harder to recruit capable teachers. Fourth, every issue in Baltimore City seems to elicit unhelpful broadsides from the governor, who attacks our school district leaders, our unions, our parents and even our students, and that undermines the many efforts many people make to improve our schools, including our district administrators!

This is an incomplete list, but I hope it helps Governor Hogan think about how best to support public education. While he has done an admirable public relations job of persuading some that he is “nonpartisan,” the reality is that he supports a view of public education that is biased, deeply unhelpful and, in the end, directly in line with what has been coming from the White House.