[3] City Schools was part of the Baltimore City Government since 1829, but became separate from the government in 1997 when partial control by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Board of School Commissioners was ceded to the State of Maryland in exchange for increased funding and an expanded partnership.

[9] City Schools were desegregated in 1954 following the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education.

[15][16] In late 2003,[17] City Schools was discovered to be in a severe fiscal crisis, with a deficit estimated to be anywhere from $54–64 million (depending on the reporting source).

As a means of reducing the gap, extensive layoffs of teachers and staff took place and new controls were enacted to ensure that spending was more closely monitored.

Martin J. O'Malley, then-mayor of Baltimore, apparently gave an ear to the students' demands in this latest round of strike actions, fearing it could affect his status with the general public in a gubernatorial election year.

The end of March saw a change in the balance of power, with the State of Maryland threatening to take over 11 City schools.

[7] A December 2010 article in The New York Times characterizes the school system as having improved under the leadership of Dr.

Along with this, Dr. Andres Alonso's driver earned double his salary in overtime, making his pay in the previous year higher than Governor Martin O'Malley's.