Upper Marlboro — Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has named Alvin Thornton to serve as the chair of the county’s board of education.

According to the information received, Thornton led the 1999 state commission that came up with the Maryland state education funding formula that’s still in place today. State lawmakers still refer to the arrangement as “Thornton plan” when discussing education spending plans and distribution of cash.

“He’s legendary. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that about him,” Alsobrooks was quoted as saying.

She added that she consulted with school officials and the members of the county school board before announcing her selection.

“And to a person, they all thanked me for the appointment. That is unusual,” Alsobrooks said.

That’s an understatement. For years, there had been fault lines on the board, with several members critical of past Chair Segun Eubanks, as well as past schools CEO Kevin Maxwell.

At one point, tensions boiled over when Eubanks was accused of shoving and threatening school board member Edward Burroughs after a heated exchange at a meeting in July. The charges were later dismissed in conspiracy with the Assistant Attorney for Prince George’s County. Eubanks had called them false and reckless and later threatened to sue Edward Burroughs.

When asked about Thornton’s appointment as the new school board chair, Burroughs told the press, “I’m ecstatic.”

Burroughs said Thornton, who worked at Howard University where he was chair of the political science department as well as associate provost, “has demonstrated commitment and leadership, and has shown to make a big difference” in education in Maryland.

Alsobrooks said Thornton will join the school board at a critical time for Prince George’s County’s schools. A new education plan from the Kirwan Commission is about to be released. Like the Thornton Commission decades ago, the Kirwan Commission, formally known as the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, has been working on the funding formula for the future.

Next on the agenda for Alsobrooks: naming the new CEO for the school system.

Maxwell, the former CEO, left after a series of major scandals and was given a settlement of nearly $800,000. Currently, Monica Goldson holds the job as interim CEO. Alsobrooks said Goldson has been getting “rave reviews” for the job she’s doing now, but didn’t go further than that. There are reports the establishment is trying to keep Goldson as a CEO following all the corruption she has been able to cover up for them.

At the moment the entire school district is experiencing  out of control fights never seen before and other forms of corruption.  Many teachers and staff are afraid to engage students for fear of retaliation.

Dr. Thornton comes to the Board following an exposé involving University of Maryland College Park and the Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) which has continued to be a cash cow for some in an organized version, Current Chairman Segun Eubanks has announced plans to finally resign. According to a letter sent to the entire board and later shared with the press, the letter details Eubanks’ plans to leave his post by either January 1 or whenever Prince George’s County Executive-Elect Angela Alsobrooks decides to appoint his replacement.

Since 2016, Prince George’s has reeled amid controversies. The PGCPS personnel and other parties tied to illegal activities in the county should resign on their own terms before its too late.

To Dr. Thornton, do what is right and don’t tolerate a culture of cover ups and embezzlement. You are familiar with the issues some having been presented to you in the recent past. The inclination to complain as one ages is natural enough. The growing malice of inanimate objects and the fact that the ground gets further away are both annoying.

But there are times when change really is for the worse, sometimes alarmingly so.

Only the young and foolish would have scorned complaints from their elders that the country was going to the dogs in the last days of the Roman Empire – for it was.

History is littered with states in actual or potential decline or collapse when the voices of experience and age were ignored, no doubt with comments that the old always grumble anyway.

The authors of this blog plan to sit down with the new Board chairman Dr. Thornton after review on how he ruled the county Board in the past. The idea is to see how he plans to govern and help fight corruption in progress in the county.

To Dr. Thornton and the youthful board members, the duty of the youth is to challenge the corruption in the society. Whichever way you look at it, corruption is crowding Prince George’s County’s shining star, threatening the possibility of a better life for the young generation and future ones. Corruption is one of the greatest evils that shakes the backbone of any society. More than a matter of need, corruption has become a subculture, a common practice and a necessary evil, at least to some people. Faced with this trouble most people here in Prince George’s County have grown used to it, it is part of everyday life. That’s the reality but it has to change. If this evil is eradicated from the society, the greatest threat to development is over.

Corruption takes birth in a society when its citizens fail to believe that the society such as Prince George’s county is a common property of all its citizens and the generation yet to come. Every situation, where you leave truth, you are giving birth to corruption, no matter how simple or how complicated is the matter. Everyone is watching you!

***