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our schools to revert to their pre-1916 status. Then,
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they were rife with political control and we had, in fact,
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no statewide, adequate program of public education in
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Maryland.
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An act of the General Assembly in 1914, Chapter
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844, created a Commission to make "a comprehensive study
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of the public school system of the State of Maryland, of
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the State-aided elementary and secondary schools, and the
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higher education institutions of the State of Maryland,
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with a view to correlating and coordinating the different
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institutions wholly or partially supported by State
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appropriations."
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Prior to the enactment of Chapter 844, the
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governor of Maryland sat as a member of the State Board
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of Education. The governor also appointed the State
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Superintendent of Schools. Members of local boards of
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education administered the schools on an election-ward
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basis. Each member approved the appointment of the teacher
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bought the coal for the pot-bellied stove, and placed the
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orders for textbooks and other supplies for the school in
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his election district on a political patronage basis.
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