Maryland Gov. Hogan appoints two Common Core supporters to Board of Education

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan just named two new members of the state Board of Education — both supporters of the Common Core as well as charter schools.

Hogan, a Republican, tapped Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Andy Smarick, partner at Bellwether Education Partners, to take the open seats on the 12-person board created by the departures of Charlene M. Dukes and Donna Hill Staton.

Hogan, who was sworn in as Maryland governor in January, had during the campaign characterized the implementation of school reforms in the state as “a train wreck” and said he believed in local control of assessments. In late January, a spokeswoman for Hogan said in an e-mail, “Governor Hogan believes that we need to hit the ‘pause’ button on Common Core and give control back to teachers and parents.”

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