Plan Tying Increased Aid, State Control of Baltimore Schools Backed

A tumultuous, months-long battle over the funding and management of the Baltimore district ended last week when the Maryland legislature approved and the governor signed a bill that boosts state aid for the city's schools in exchange for unprecedented--and potentially permanent--state control of the poorly performing system.

The new law seals a deal struck last year by Gov. Parris N. Glendening, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, and state Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick. Education leaders around the country are watching the planned city-state partnership as a test of another method of trying to boost student achievement in a struggling urban district.

The legislation will send $254 million in additional school operating funds to the Baltimore city schools over...