Lots of B's in the package

 Lots of B’s in the package

 

Maryland’s Blueprint for Education has lots of B’s in it.  That’s billions of dollars.  Ten billions of dollars to be exact.  This is state money and it will be matched by local contributions.  That means that taxpayers need to be prepared for their pockets to be picked for both state and local taxes.

Just what will Marylanders get for that significant investment.  Like all budget buster bills there is good news and not so good news.

First the good news.   Maryland is on track to offer free funded preschool for all children.  The services will be provided through a combination of public school programs and local school system contracts with private preschools.  Local districts are struggling with this provision because they don’t have the space or the staff.  Partnering with private providers is going slowly.  Giving preschool opportunities to all children will not only be great for the kids but will truly help the children of lower income families who cannot presently afford the cost.  With a free program, more parents of lower income families will be available to work outside the home and increase family resources.

The Blueprint is also designed to increase starting teacher salaries to $60,000 within the next few years.   Teachers in Maryland are already among the most highly paid nationally. Increasing starting salaries will further strap the resources of local districts without doing anything to increase the talents of the teacher corp.  Surveys show that salary isn’t the issue keeping young people from becoming teachers.  But that is a topic for another day.  In most districts, these increases in starting salaries are not moving up the food chain, so there is the real possibility that any teachers attracted by the starting salary will not stay when they realize the increase has not moved up the salary ladder.

The legislators that created this plan were concerned that it would not be implemented judiciously.  So, in their wisdom, they created the Accountability Implementation Board (AIB).   This Board functions over the State Board of Education in all matters pertaining to the Blueprint.  But we are all assured this new Board is not an increase in bureaucracy.  On July 1, Maryland will have a new State Superintendent of Schools.  This person will answer to the State School Board which in turn will answer to the AIB in all matters pertaining to the Blueprint.    And, of course, the AIB will also have its own collection of support staff and expenses.

There are lots of B’s in this plan.  It has barely been implemented and already there are people saying it’s not enough money.   School districts are saying the same thing.  They don’t have enough money- could be more B’s are coming to pick a pocket near you.