Other than the state budget, the central issue before the Maryland General Assembly this past legislative session was improving public school education by enacting the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission. The Commission, created in 2016, was tasked with studying educational policy in other high-performing states, and reviewing Maryland’s school funding formula — a formula that has not been updated since 2002.
The results were staggering. Their final report included an independent analysis overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education which found that Maryland’s schools are dramatically underfunded by $2.9 billion annually, which breaks down to an average underfunding of $2 million in every school in the state. The report also made a series of policy recommendations, including increasing teacher pay, expanding career and technical education programs, implementing better teacher training, expanding prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds and 3-year olds from poor families, and focused spending for students from backgrounds of poverty, students with special needs, and students of color.
Based on the recommendations from the Kirwan Commission, the Maryland General Assembly voted to pass the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” on March 17. While many are worried about the potential effectiveness of this plan, the bill incorporates all the essential recommendations from the Commission with new safeguard provisions that would delay implementation based on the economic condition of the state and whether the desired academic results are being produced.
Although the bill comes with an expensive anual $4 billion dollar price tag, legislators are considering deriving additional revenue from sales tax on digital advertising, vaping products, and some forms of entertainment downloaded from the Internet (books, movies, music). While many would still deem this tax increase harmful, Marylanders must realize that combating educational inequality is an absolute necessity, and that this cost will eventually be paid back once a more skilled group is able to enter in the workforce. Moreover, residents must consider the fact that the tax will be minimal, at best, on individuals. Most importantly, however, it is important for Maryland taxpayers to recognize that as more people move into the county, schools have increased needs — the goal of this bill is not to provide any new dramatic projects, but instead, provide a comprehensive, but needed update to our education system.
Governor Hogan must sign this bill into law. It’s time Maryland addressed the unjust allocation of school funding, painfully low teacher salaries, performance disparities between white students and students of color, and minimal resources for students with disabilities. Maryland can afford to give students a world class education, so why aren’t we providing one?
Article by Isabel Stares of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons