The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A10

10 THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016 EDITORIALS The issues: School board Our view: Candidates are right to focus on the lack of clear accountability for city schools, but an elected board isn't the answer ith Baltimore City Schools CEO Gregory Thornton increasingly under fire from critics, the question of who is responsible for the success or failure of the system has become one of the central issues in the mayor's race. Not all of the major candidates have issued comprehensive policy papers on education, but they have all staked out views on the governance of the system, with the consensus that a nearly 20-year-old arrangement in which the mayor and governor jointly appoint the school board isn't working. How exactly to change it, though, is a matter of some debate. Former mayor Sheila Dixon, businessman David Warnock and City Councilmen Nick Mosby and Carl Stokes all support a partially elected school board. Ms.

Dixon would also seek mayoral control of the other appointments. State Sen. Catherine Pugh has introduced legislation in Annapolis this year that would give the mayor sole appointment power, though she has not voiced support for elected members. Attorney Elizabeth Embry and activist DeRay Mckesson both want City Hall to engage more directly in school governance, but in their responses to The Sun editorial board's questionnaire, they stop short of calling for a change to the governance structure. The current arrangement arose out of a 1996 settlement in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and others who alleged that the state had failed in its responsibility to provide an adequate education for Baltimore students.

The General Assembly enacted a package of reforms in 1997 that both promised a significant increase in state aid to city schools but along with it more state oversight in the form of the joint appointment structure. (A key architect of the deal was the late Del. Howard "Pete" Rawlings, the father of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.) It's fair now to question whether the shared governance has lived up to its promise. City schools have gotten more money, to be sure, but its perennial deficits and periodic problems with mismanagement call into question whether the promised oversight has been effective. Governors have been hands-off in terms of appointees to the board; as Mr.

Stokes has pointed out, there has not been a single instance of a governor rejecting a mayor's pick for the board (though former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. came close when Martin O'Malley was mayor). And in practice, mayors have held substantial sway over who is appointed as CEO.

What's missing, though, is clear public accountability Even if mayors effectively have substantial control over appointments, they are not generally perceived as responsible for the district's success or failure nor are they generally involved even indirectly in either policy or management Several of the candidates want to change that to one degree or another, whether by advocating full mayoral appointment of the board, as in Ms. Pugh's case, or in KIM Al RSTONBALTI MORE SUN Dissatisfaction with city schools CEO Gregory Thornton is fueling discussion of Baltimore's school governance. estabUshing a Mayor's Office of Education Reform, as Mr. Mosby has proposed. Legislation is moving forward in the House of Delegates this year to add two elected members to the city board, and while we don't think that would be harmful in and of itself, we are concerned about the precedent that sets.

While there is no clear evidence that elected or appointed boards work better on the whole, we have reason to doubt that moving toward an elected board is the right answer for Baltimore. A virtue of the current system is that as a result of the consent decree and 1997 reforms, members of the board are required to possess certain kinds of expertise some members of the board must have substantial experience in rurining a business or nonprofit or in special education, for example. That would be lost under an elected board. And the politics inherent in an elected school board would likely interfere with the at times unpopular decisions necessary to reform the system Some advocates would go so far as to more or less eliminate the school board altogether, and they point to successes under that approach in New York and elsewhere. We're not ready to go that far; in the right mayor's hands, it might work, but in general we believe the challenges faced by the city school system are so great as to require leadership from people who are not also concerned with rmtning the Police Department and making sure the trash gets picked up.

But we do need a clear line of accountability that the system presently lacks, and for that reason, we hope the next mayor will make it a top priority to persuade the General Assembly to give him or her the unfettered authority to name members to the board. RESPOND Why must taxpayers subsidize polluters? I'm not sure if irony is the right word for Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority Executive Director Chris Skaggs' description of his landfill gas-to-energy facilities as "not big moneymakers," but ironic is the word that comes to mind seek to clean up state's renewable energy but face powerful opponents," March 8). The residents of Curtis Bay have been arguing for years that the incinerator proposed by Energy Answers will produce more air pollution by burning trash imported from other jurisdictions and will not create many jobs. The same residents have proposed a number of clean-energy solutions that are economically viable, won't add to the pollution that is already a problem in the area, and will produce more jobs for residents. Will someone please explain to me why our tax dollars should subsidize polluting approaches to energy production that aren't able to stand on their own without subsidies when viable clean-energy alternatives that will produce jobs are available? Carol Rice, Baltimore Everyone benefits from greenhouse gas reductions I applaud the Maryland Senate for renewing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, which is important for reducing Maryland's air pollution Senate OKs new goal for reducing greenhouse gases," Feb.

23). While the majority of senators voted for this important legislation, Sen. Michael J. Hough voted against it because of economic concerns. However, according to Towson University's Regional Economic Studies Institute, the law will greatly benefit Maryland's economy by adding $4.2 billion in benefits and 28,000 new jobs.

As members of the House of Delegates prepare to vote on the same law, I hope all of them realize that reducing greenhouse gases will improve our economy as well as our environment. Neither has to be sacrificed for the other. Shilpa Shenvi, Laurel What it says about us if Sheila Dixon wins What a sad commentary on Baltimore where someone who is a known lawbreaker can have the audacity to run for a job she once held in such low esteem that she felt she could steal from the poor and not suffer any consequences Dixon virtually tied in Baltimore mayor's race, poll finds," March 10). In fact, the consequences for her were minimal compared to the lowly act she committed. Here's someone who was punished with the loss of her salary and title but rewarded by being able to keep a pension of more than $80,000 ayear.

And now she wants to be our mayor again? What is truly sad is that she just might get elected. And if she does, what will that say about us? Wake up Baltimore, let's at least vote for someone who buys their own gift cards. R. Elizabeth Baldwin Warnock would expand Internet access in Baltimore If Baltimore is to be competitive in a global economy it needs to expand high-speed Internet to all corners of the city. Cities that do well in the postindustrial age are those that understand that incorporating Internet access into the infrastructure is basic for competing in the global marketplace.

Yet Baltimore has relatively few options for reliable access to the Internet. Democratic mayoral candidate David Warnock understands the value of high-speed Internet access for all Baltimoreans, and he has a proven track record of building businesses that thrive in the 21st century. He knows that a state-of-the-art broadband connection boosts economic activity, creates jobs and helps students get access to knowledge from around the world. Mr. Warnock has a plan to evaluate the current state of the broadband infrastructure, find gaps in connectivity and expand access to all Baltimoreans at a truly affordable price.

The current politicians are so caught up in routine that they often fail to recognize innovative ideas. If you are ready to turn Baltimore around, join me in supporting David Warnock for mayor. Jacob Wittenberg, Baltimore Don't renovate Dulaney; replace it As a sophomore at Dulaney High School, I would like to address the pointless effort to renovate our building rather than rebuild the school from the ground up. The limited renovation is an expensive solution. Why not build a new school that would last another 60 years? Why ignore students who need a new building where they can strive and increase their school pride? What if the renovations do not meet the 21st-century instructional needs? What if our old, crumbling building can't handle the renovations? Is our safety in jeopardy while the repairs happen over the next few years? Put yourself in my shoes: Would you want a flawed renovation or a new school? Joy M.

Tarr The 'punch him in the face' candidate Our view: Trump's bellicose campaign rhetoric raises risk of violence at his events OP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a reputation for playing rough with his opponents, including the handful of protesters who now regularly show up at his rallies to voice their disgust at his policies. He has shown every indication of relishing these confrontations, often getting cheers from the crowd for his displays of contempt and ridicule. The situation in recent days has clearly gotten out of hand protesters pepper sprayed by police in Kansas City, security surrounding the candidate as a man jumped on stage in Ohio, a rally canceled in Chicago out of fear that confrontations between protesters and supporters would turn violent His opponents are now openly accusing Mr. Trump of inciting violence through his incendiary remarks, but by now it appears too late to change the campaign's trajectory. Graphic evidence of that surfaced last week when a Trump supporter physically assaulted a heckler in the crowd, and the candidate seemed to condone the attack.

By refusing to unambiguously condemn the assailant, Mr. Trump set a dangerous precedent that sooner or later could get someone seriously injured or killed. The incident occurred during a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C., where a group of activists for the Black Lives Matter movement that included a white woman, a Muslim and a gay man loudly interrupted the candidate several times during his speech. Eventually, Mr. Trump asked security guards to escort the hecklers out of the hall after the crowed began booing their disruptive presence.

What happened next was captured on video footage showing two uniformed officers leading a young black man in a T-shirt toward the door when suddenly an older white man in a cowboy hat rushed into the frame and sucker-punched the protester in the face, knocking him to the ground. The alleged attacker, identified in news reports as John McGraw, later expressed satisfaction over what he had done to activist Rakeem Jones, telling an interviewer that the best thing about it was "knocking the hell out of that big mouth." Mr. McGraw went on to add that "we don't know who he is, but we know he's not acting like an American. The next time we see him, we might have to kill him" (The next day the Cumberland County sheriff's office announced Mr. McGraw had been taken into custody and charged with assault and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident) Yet Mr.

Trump, who was still standing on the podium as the scene unfolded, seemed unperturbed by the violence. His response was of a piece with the candidate's earlier apparent indifference to such incidents, and indeed of his own oft-expressed desire to physically confront his detractors. At a campaign event in Nevada last month Mr. Trump said of a protester there that "I'd like to punch him in the face," and last year he dismissed a heckler involved in a scuffle with police in Birmingham, Ala, by saying, "Maybe he should have been roughed up." In Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, when a man jumped the stage, Mr. Trump bragged that he "was ready" but that it was probably better to let the police handle it Mr.

Trump has also offered to pay the legal expenses of people arrested for assaulting hecklers at his events in Kentucky, where former Towson University student Matthew Heimbach, who founded a "White Student Union" at the school, was involved in a shoving match earlier this month with protesters in Louisville. In Kansas City this weekend, he urged police to arrest protesters whether they were violent or not Mr. Trump is known for his bombastic rhetoric and take-no-prisoners style of attacking those who disagree with him, and that tactic is reaching its inevitable conclusion He's not just whipping up partisan fervor but actually directing his audiences' emotions in a way that amounts to an incitement to violence. There's a dangerous undercurrent of bigotry just below the surface of Mr. Trump's speeches that speaks to the worst instincts of his supporters, and once aroused it's likely that even he can't control the raw and angry passions his words unleash.

Mr. Trump may say he simply is refusing to be muzzled by "political correctness," but what he is really doing is flirting with a kind of anarchy. Yet if, as appears possible, Mr. Trump goes on to win the GOP presidential nomination, the general election campaign may only amplify this disturbing tendency. There will be many opportunities for protesters to interrupt GOP campaign events between the party convention this summer and the November election, raising the real possibility of violence if Mr.

Trump continues in his current vein If the Trump candidacy devolves into a campaign where fistfights and attacks on hecklers become the norm, Mr. Trump, his party and the country will all suffer. Talk to us THE BALTIMORE SUN The Baltimore Sun welcomes comments from TRIFFON G. ALATZAS Publisher St Editor-in-Chief readers on subjects of local and national relevance by email, by Twitter or on our Web site, baltimoresun.com. The Sun reserves the right to edit and publish them in the newspaper or on the Web site.

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