Little did the mayor know.
A public meeting of the school board called for 9 a.m. yesterday to consider the pact was unexpectedly canceled without a vote being taken or a word of open discussion after board members had met in executive session for 1 1/2 hours.
And a planned afternoon news conference with O’Malley and city schools chief Bonnie S. Copeland to announce details of a deal that the administration thought was done had to be called off.
The key issue seemed to be one of ultimate authority.
The cash-strapped school system, which operates independently from City Hall, said it welcomes the city’s help, but wants to make clear that it has the final say. The city, which a year ago bailed out the schools from financial meltdown, is unwilling to commit additional money without being able to take charge of contracts and employees.
O’Malley expressed hope that an acceptable agreement could be ironed out but was unhappy with yesterday’s turn of events.
“I’m frustrated because we’ve been 12 months offering them our capacity to improve facilities,” the mayor said. “Every time it’s near completion someone wants to make it more complicated than it is. I think we need to focus not so much on the issue of control as the issue of improving our environment for our kids.”
Patricia Welch, chairwoman of the school board, said she understood O’Malley’s frustration, but said the board wanted to be as clear as possible in addressing potential concerns, including those raised by state school officials.
“We know the mayor’s disappointed – he thought we were there,” she said. “We’re being very cautious in terms of the actions we take. But there’s no disagreement in terms of what the mayor wants to do.”
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Welch said the board could have new suggestions on terms and language as early as today.
Until 1997, Baltimore schools operated as an agency of the city government. However, the city and state agreed to create an independent board jointly appointed by the mayor and the governor as part of a settlement of a lawsuit over school funding.
The issue of whether the state has met its responsibilities to provide more money as part of the settlement was argued Tuesday before the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Since helping bail the school system out of its financial crisis last spring with a $42 million city loan, O’Malley has turned his attention to the condition of the aging and often decrepit school buildings – a frequent source of complaints from principals, teachers and parents.
O’Malley, who has often praised the schools’ academic progress, orchestrated a volunteer Believe in Our Schools summer campaign that made about $5 million in improvements in more than 150 buildings.
The mayor mentioned the city’s offer to take responsibility for maintaining school buildings prominently in his State of the City address in January.
And the Planning Commission recommended last month that the city assume control over millions of dollars a year in construction money approved by voters – a recommendation that the mayor supports but has not pushed publicly.
On Wednesday evening, O’Malley and his staff thought a maintenance agreement had been reached. Administration officials began distributing an unsigned, one-page memorandum of understanding that outlined the terms of what they thought was an agreement.
The document called for the city to “manage and implement” custodial and routine maintenance services through the end of June. It also said the city would commit at least $3 million in additional funds to upkeep during that time and that agreements with school maintenance employees would be honored.
A news release was drafted for a 2 p.m. news conference at Dallas F. Nicholas Elementary School to announce details of the agreement.
But Welch vehemently denied Wednesday night that a formal memorandum had been accepted.
“There is a verbal agreement in terms of not management but assistance in cleaning,” she said. “There is no agreement in terms of management.”
One issue, she said, was the concern of state school board members.
Last week, Welch and Copeland received a letter from state school board President Edward L. Root with a two-page list of “concerns,” including questions of who would be liable for negligent performance. State officials released the copy of the letter yesterday in response to a request for comment.
A speedy resolution is considered important because city officials were planning a major cleanup effort over spring break, which begins March 25.
The additional $3 million in maintenance money that the city is offering is on top of the $207 million the city now contributes to the schools’ annual operating budget. The money would supplement remaining funds in the school system’s maintenance account.
As envisioned by the city, the added money would go to create a “blitz team” that would attempt to make immediate, visible improvements in bathrooms, on floors and on school grounds, officials said.
Besides the additional money, city departments would direct greater effort to the schools, officials said.