Bad In Baltimore

How much worse can it get for those who are trapped in the crime-infested Baltimore public school system?

If this isn't a district in literal and figurative meltdown, I don't know what is.

Maybe things would get better if County Superintendent "Dr." Joe A. Hairston had to spend a little time teaching students in an actual classroom once in a while.

Interestingly, "Dr." Hairston's pay was just increased by the rubber stamp school board from $185,000 to a hefty $230,000 per year. His contract runs through 2008.

It appears to us that it's not only Baltimore's children who are getting the short end of the stick but Baltimore's tax-payers as well.

And what ever happened to pay-for-performance? Or is merit-pay a concept that's only applicable to those who actually work with children?

Update:(PM) "Dr." Bonnie S. Copeland, who oversees Baltimore's public schools, will be hitting the bricks on July 1st. It's rumored that the board will be paying her some $100,000 in order to get rid of her. This comes about a month after Eric Letsinger, who was the system's chief operating officer, was fired for allegedly using public funds to take school system and city officials on a fishing expedition.

Update: (06/20) It's been brought to our attention that Baltimore's public schools are separate from those of the County. They are not under the administrative control of Superintendent Joe Hairston who therefore cannot be held accountable for the mess that the City's schools are in.

Our reporting was not factual, and we apologize for this error.
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