Governor O'Malley Appoints Lawrence Schmidt to Baltimore County Board of Education
Reappoints Rodger Janssen, Ramona Johnson and H. Edward Parker
ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 28, 2009) –Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of Lawrence E. Schmidt, and announced the reappointments of Rodger Janssen, Ramona Johnson and H. Edward Parker to the Baltimore County Board of Education.
“I am proud to appoint Mr. Schmidt, and reappoint Mr. Janssen, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Parker to the Baltimore County Board of Education,” said Governor O’Malley. “I am confident that each appointee possesses the skill and the leadership necessary to ensure every child in Baltimore County receives the quality public education they deserve.”
“I am very pleased with Governor O’Malley’s newest appointment to the Baltimore County Board of Education,” said Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith. “Veteran Board members Ed Parker, Ramona Johnson, and Roger Janssen have worked extremely well with Superintendent Dr. Joe Hairston to move our schools forward. The appointment of Larry Schmidt, who will join this esteemed group, will only make the Board stronger. In addition to his extensive community involvement, Mr. Schmidt’s children are products of our public schools and as the husband of a Baltimore County teacher, he is very familiar with emerging educational issues. The Governor continues to demonstrate his strong commitment to education in Baltimore County and the state with these strong appointments.”
Each appointee is a resident of Baltimore County. Below is background information on the four appointees:
Lawrence E. Schmidt – Mr. Schmidt is a partner at Gildea & Schmidt, P.A. specializing in land use, land development, zoning and planning, real estate, historic preservation and lobbying. He has had his own practice since 2004. Prior to that, he was the Zoning Commissioner and Hearing Officer for Baltimore County from 1991 to 2004. From 1986 to 1991, he was a partner at Potthast and Schmidt, P.A. and, from 1979 to 1986, he had his own law practice. He is a member of the Baltimore County Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Trial Table Law Club and the Sigma Delta Kappa Law Fraternity. Mr. Schmidt earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore in 1979. He is admitted into the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court and the United States Tax Court. He is the President of the Greater Towson Committee, Inc and is also a volunteer for the Take 2 Project of the Baltimore County Bar Association, and the Mock Trial Program through the Maryland State Department of Education. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Western Maryland College in 1975.
Rodger Janssen – Mr. Janssen has a long association with Baltimore County Public Schools through his participation with the PTA Council of Baltimore County, where he had been a vice president and a member for 12 years. He holds life memberships in both the national and state PTA organizations. Professionally, Mr. Janssen received a degree in construction management at the Community College of Baltimore in 1970 and has been employed as Construction Manager for the Maryland Transportation Authority. He also served on the Board for “Kids Helping Hopkins.” He was first appointed in August 2004.
Ramona Johnson –Ms. Johnson began her Board of Education service in August 2004 following her appointment to a five-year term. Married and the mother of a son and two daughters, Ms. Johnson is employed by NeighborWorks America as a Management Consultant. Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. She is a 2002 graduate of Leadership Baltimore County and serves on the boards of the Liberty/Randallstown Coalition and the Community Capital of Maryland. She has served as chair of the Urban Design Assistance Team for Randallstown and enjoys reading, arts, and crafts.
H. Edward Parker - Mr. Parker is the retired principal of Sollers Point Technical High School. He came to his career as an educator following an 11-year manufacturing career in the private sector. Mr. Parker received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Baltimore in Business Management and a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University in Educational Administration. He has served as a trustee for the Community College of Baltimore County and is a member of the board of directors for the Dundalk Renaissance Corp., member of the Bayview Medical Center Community Advisory Board, and the residential community representative for the Port Land Use Development Advisory Council. Under his leadership as principal at Sollers Point Technical High School, the school became ISO-9001 registered in 2000 – the only high school in the nation to meet the quality standards of business and industry. During his 30 years with Baltimore County Public Schools, Mr. Parker also served as supervisor of vocational-technical education. He is proud of his five children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
