The Runback: Board of Ed Can't Read.....The Room
Calling for full funding of the Billion-Dollar Blueprint during a deficit crunch? The State Board of Ed needs to get a clue...
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News and Politics
Guest Post: Former Governor Bob Ehrlich: Gone from Public Office but not Forgotten
Chilly Silence Greets Wes Moore’s Orioles Deal: What began as a feel-good announcement for the Governor in September may turn into a legislative battle in the coming General Assembly session
A Pointless Endeavor: House Republicans find themselves practically in the same place they were three weeks ago, but in much more political peril
Sarbanes Retirement Throws Grenade into Primary Season: A look at Maryland's Congressional races
Music
The Monday Thought
One of the most important things that Maryland Public Schools teach kids is the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Maybe we should make sure that more things get taught. Like reading the room.
The Maryland State Board of Education sure can’t read the room when they are saying stuff like this:
The Maryland State Board of Education is preparing to “reset its role and voice” and advocate for education policies during the next legislative session, a departure from its normal practice.
Education is expected to be a dominant topic in 2024 as state lawmakers examine the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s education reform plan that earmarks billions of dollars in state and local funding. Board members are partnering with Carey Wright, the interim state superintendent, to draft a policy agenda, said Zachary Hands, executive director at the state board, during Tuesday’s state board meeting.
Fully funding the Blueprint is at the top of the list.
“One of our clearest statements is advocating for full funding of the Blueprint,” said Josh Michael, vice president of the state board. “And working with our stakeholders — local district partners — to ensure that there is transparency and accountability around how those funds are used to ensure that they’re improving outcomes for students.”
Emphasis mine.
Part of the above sentence, that the Board of Education in tends to “ensure that there is transparency and accountability” for funding related to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is a good thing. There certainly has never been advocacy for transparency and accountability in public education from Maryland Democrats, the Maryland State Education Association, and other education advocates in Maryland. So you’ll understand if I’m a little skeptical that the advocacy for transparency and accountability will be particularly effective our sincere.
But if the State Board thinks there is room in the budget for full funding of the Blueprint, they have another thing coming. After all, we have known for months that Maryland is staring at another structural deficit, blowing through the billion-dollar surplus that former Governor Larry Hogan left behind for the Moore administration.
But on top of it, we have always known that full funding of the Blueprint was an impossibility….
….Baltimore City is going to have to pay its bills by cutting vital government services, raising property taxes on the middle and working-class Baltimoreans who are already fleeing the city in droves, or by sticking out their hand for another state bailout. Regardless of how that funding shakes out, regular taxpayers are the ones who are ultimately going to get screwed.
Baltimore City is of course merely one example of this. County spending in total will need to increase by $1.2 billion in affected counties, with most of those increases coming in Baltimore City, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, a rare occurrence where the brunt of the pain will be endured by the Democratic Party base instead of the rest of the state. But in the jurisdictions that will need to increase spending, there is going to be a tremendous amount of pain through higher property taxes. That is going to do what tax hikes always do: force families and businesses to make tough decisions. Businesses will hire fewer people. The price of goods and services will go up. And families may make the decision to move, either to another county or out of state.
And that’s before we even talk about the extra $6,000 per family in state taxes that will be required from the Kirwan recommendations.
The Kirwan Commission is operating in a dream world unencumbered by fiscal restraint or fiscal realities. The entire Commission and its funding working group have shown that they are not committed to serious solutions to fix Maryland’s schools and instead have charted a course that will ensure unbearable financial pain on Maryland’s middle and working-class families. These recommendations are neither realistic or sustainable.
Things have only gotten worse for Maryland’s middle and working-class families since.
The Maryland State Board of Education may want to fully fund the Kirwin Commission Blueprint. But the fiscal and political realities of doing so should make those plans dead on arrival in Annapolis. Vigilance will be the order of the day for taxpayers…..