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September 24, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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Education Reform Plan Among Three Dozen Bills Vetoed by Hogan

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With a trio of unusual veto letters, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) vetoed nearly three dozen bills passed by the 2020 General Assembly, including a proposed multibillion-dollar education reform plan, as well as the revenue bills to fund it.

Citing economic challenges brought on by COVID-19, Hogan vetoed Democrats’ top priority: House Bill 1300, the 235-page Blueprint for Maryland’s Future bill, which lays out a broad education reform plan that would have increased state and local annual education spending by almost $3.4 billion in 10 years.

Policy changes at the heart of the years-long reform effort are meant to address economic and racial disparities in education by expanding pre-kindergarten programs and career education for high schoolers, bolstering pay and career opportunities for teachers, and increasing state funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty.

The entire House Republican caucus opposed the bills during the legislative session, but last-minute financial protections in the Blueprint bill attracted support from a half-dozen Republicans in the Senate.

“The economic fallout from this pandemic simply makes it impossible to fund any new programs, impose any new tax hikes, nor adopt any legislation having any significant fiscal impact, regardless of the merits of the legislation,” Hogan wrote in a letter vetoing the Blueprint bill, as well as 21 others that would have required increased spending.

That includes House Bill 1260, which would have provided an extra $577.7 million over the next decade for the state’s four historically black colleges and universities, with the aim of settling a years-long lawsuit against the state for disparity in funding and resources.

Hogan announced final action Thursday on the more than 680 bills passed by the General Assembly during the truncated 2020 session. The governor can sign bills, veto them or let them take effect without his signature.

His actions come during an uncertain time for government finances ― from the federal level down to cities and towns.

Maryland’s Bureau of Revenue Estimates has suggested that the state may lose as much as $2.8 billion in revenues because of the COVID-19 pandemic before the end of this fiscal year, with more losses to come next year. Last month, Hogan froze discretionary spending in state agency budgets, instituted a widespread hiring freeze and warned agencies to begin looking for ways to trim budgets. And the state’s fiscal experts have warned that the COVID-19 pandemic response could completely drain Maryland’s $1.2 billion rainy day fund.

Hogan grouped 10 other vetoed bills into two groups: those that raised taxes and others that “failed to meaningfully address violent crime,” an issue over which he regularly clashed with legislators during the 2020 session.

He vetoed five other bills on disparate topics, including a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos, a bill that would have expanded MARC train service into Virginia and Delaware, and a measure to limit the authority of the Board of Public Works in purchasing property.

On the tax front, Hogan vetoed the two primary measures pressed by Democrats to fund the Blueprint education reforms.

House Bill 732 would have levied an increased tax rate on tobacco and vaping products, and would also create a first-of-its-kind tax on digital advertising.

The bill would have increased the tax on a pack of cigarettes from $2 to $3.75 and apply a new tax to vaping products and e-cigarettes to generate about $90 million in new state tax revenue next year.

Other provisions of the bill would have imposed a gross receipts tax on ads by digital platforms with more than $100 million in annual, global advertising revenue. The tax could generate up to $250 million a year.

House Bill 932, the 21st Century Economy Fairness Act, would have applied the state’s 6% sales tax to downloads of products like books, music and streaming services. The bill could have generated more than $80 million next year.

The first year of revenue from the new tax would have been dedicated to costs associated with the state’s COVID-19 response, while future years would be dedicated to education reforms.

“These misguided bills would raise taxes and fees on Marylanders at a time when many are already out of work and financially struggling,” Hogan wrote. “With our state in the midst of a global pandemic and economic crash, and just beginning on our road to recovery, it would be unconscionable to raise taxes and fees now.”

Gun bill vetoed

On crime bills, Hogan vetoed Senate Bill 907, a Democratic priority that would establish a statewide Law Enforcement Coordinating Council to prevent and reduce crime by focusing on interagency communication and intelligence-sharing, and Senate Bill 929, The PROTECT Act, which would have required the state to identify 10 high-crime micro-zones and target additional crime-fighting resources in those areas.

The governor also vetoed House Bill 4, which would have required background checks for people acquiring rifles or shotguns from private sales or transfers.

The bill has been a Democratic priority for the last two legislative sessions. The bill’s sponsor, Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard), tweeted that she was “beyond disappointed” with the veto of the bill.

Other lawmakers took exception to Hogan’s veto letter, in which he highlighted the failure of the House of Delegates to pass his own crime bill proposals.

“I expressed my strong willingness to consider other proposals, including some of those passed by the legislature, if they were included as part of a comprehensive crime package which included my proposals,” Hogan wrote.

While the Senate incorporated portions of Hogan priorities into a package in that chamber, the House did not take up the package “and thus failed to meaningfully address violent crime,” Hogan wrote.

“Pouting doesn’t solve gun violence,” Del. Brooke E. Lierman (D-Baltimore City) tweeted in response to the veto letter. “Tragic & frustrating.”

House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery) said his party would consider overriding a number of the vetoes issued Thursday, and he questioned the rationale for some of the governor’s actions.

“The governor is trying to sell this as fiscal responsibility, but he vetoed a bill closing the last loophole in our background check system for guns, he vetoed a bill banning a toxic pesticide. This is right-wing red meat,” Luedtke said. “…The governor had a chance to rise above politics a little bit with the leadership he’s shown on coronavirus and these vetoes demonstrate he hasn’t done it.”

How to move forward

Legislative leaders ― who recently announced they wouldn’t meet in special session this month, as they’d originally hoped after the regular legislative session was cut short ―reacted with disappointment immediately after the final actions were announced.

“Throughout this Session, the General Assembly took steps to ensure we left the state with a historically high fund balance and rainy day fund, together with a variety of tools to deal with this crisis,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said in a statement. “At the same time, we passed legislation that looked to the future of the state, and made certain to pass policies which will help our state emerge strongly from this crisis. With today’s actions, instead of setting us on a path to a secure recovery, the Governor is stopping all progress where it stands.”

He and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) said they will consult about how to move forward.

“While we are in the midst of a public health and economic crisis of an extraordinary magnitude, stopping progress on education and school construction puts us even further behind. We know that there are students across this State that are losing millions of hours of learning,” Jones said in a statement. “The result of this short-sighted action is Maryland will continue to graduate students that are not ready for the real world.”

Legislative leaders did not discuss the possibility of summer or fall special session to address vetoes on Thursday.

If the legislature does not override gubernatorial vetoes on spending bills before July 1, Hogan does not have to consider funding for those bills in his proposed 2022 budget.

If lawmakers ultimately decide to forgo a special session, they could override the governor’s vetoes in January, when their regular session convenes and the state’s fiscal outlook may have improved.

The HBCU funding bill would have required a settlement before December. If lawmakers don’t meet in special session before then, a 13-year lawsuit against the state could be revived and a settlement could be dictated by the courts.

Hogan allowed hundreds of other House and Senate bills to become law without his signature.

That includes House Bill 1, the Built to Learn Act, which authorizes the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue up to $2.2 billion in bonds to pay for school construction projects around the state. However, the school construction bill, which was similar to a separate proposal from Hogan, was contingent on enactment of the Blueprint reform bill that was vetoed.

Hogan did not sign a single bill.

By Danielle E. Gaines

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Report from Annapolis 2020 Final Report by Laura Price

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What happened during the final few rushed days in Annapolis? Amidst the Coronavirus crisis that we are experiencing and shut downs all around us, the Legislature’s 2020 session came to an abrupt end three weeks early. There was an urgency to pass bills that were deemed priorities, despite the economic catastrophe that is taking place. It didn’t seem to matter what impact financially some of these bills would have on the public. Pass tax increases, they did, and pass the expensive education bill, they did.

While the sweeping sales tax bill that would have added sales tax to nearly all services was defeated, a “luxury” sales tax bill did pass. As did the “Google” digital advertising tax, the digital download tax and the tobacco tax. These were all identified as ways to pay for a small portion of the most expensive legislation of all, the Kirwan Blueprint Education bill.

However, the use for some of these taxes has already been changed. The first year of the “download” tax will be used to deal with the Covid 19 response. The tax revenue from the tobacco tax will now be used to settle a lawsuit with the historically black colleges. And the digital tax will be likely be challenged in court because it conflicts with the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause and the International Tax Freedom Act.

Point being, we have known all session long, that these new taxes would never come close to paying for the State share of Kirwan and we counties have definitely known that it didn’t pay for ANY of the local share.

Last minute amendments were added to the Kirwan bill to supposedly make lawmakers more “comfortable” with its passage. Spreadsheets were updated and numbers kept changing during the past several weeks, somewhat reducing the local share. There were two that I previously discussed that unfortunately ended up being merged onto one sheet of paper. One was the “local relief” to give counties such as Prince George’s and Baltimore City, along with jurisdictions like Caroline, Dorchester and Somerset additional State aid. The other was to fix a double counting of the “floor formulas,” which means that no matter the supposed wealth of your county, 15% of the base and 40% of an “at promise” student is funded by the State. This amendment corrected a mathematical error when the bill was written. Included counties were Anne Arundel, Kent, Talbot, Worcester and a few others .

As I wrote before, the two amendments got merged and was titled “Local Relief.” As the Senate was going into its final voting passage on Monday, one more set of figures came out for the Local and State shares. The final numbers ended up being higher for the County share. Part of this must be due to other amendments pushing implementation dates for certain aspects of the bill sooner than the original phase in. But there is an oddity that I can’t figure out yet. Most of the seven counties whose technical fix was being corrected, changed dramatically. I cannot yet explain what caused the changes but will be inquiring, as it just doesn’t seem logical since it has no “wealth formula” attached to it.

The other major amendment was the “trigger” provision offered on the floor by Senate majority leader, Nancy King. It reads:
Beginning December 1, 2020, and each December 1 thereafter, if the December General Fund estimate in the December Board of Revenue Estimates report is more than 7.5% below the March General Fund estimate in the March Board of Revenue Estimates report of that year, per pupil increases in major education aid required under this Act shall be limited to the rate of inflation, as defined in § 5–201(h) of the Education Article as enacted by this Act”.

The Board of Revenue Estimates consists of the Comptroller, the Treasurer and the Secretary of Budget and Tax. They update their revenue projection in March. This amendment states that if on December 1, the revenues are down by more than 7.5%, education increases will be limited to the rate of inflation. With current revenue estimates about $18 billion, the revenues would have to drop by $1.4 billion. That is an enormous number, bigger than even what is considered a recession. On the surface, this appears to be a safety net, but the likelihood of this occurring more than once is pretty slim.

Here’s why. Let’s say you project $100 in March. In December, revenues are $92.50 or less, the trigger provision kicks in. The following year in March, one would assume that a responsible budget projection should be similar to your actual number. For an example, the estimate comes in at $90. That means that the following December, actual revenues would have to project to be $83 or less. The reality is, that this trigger may only happen once. Even though it would be evaluated each December, it is unlikely to happen in successive years. Meaning the full force of Kirwan implementation and massive spending increases would occur even without a recovery in our economy. Many of the legislators took comfort in this provision, however I do not.

At the end of the day, the passing of this and other legislation that costs our citizens dearly, in the face of this unprecedented health and economic crisis is irresponsible.

Laura Price is 2nd Vice President on the Executive Board of Directors of MACo, Chair of Budget and Tax, Talbot’s legislative liaison and member of the Talbot County Council.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Sweeping Education Reform Bill Headed to Governor’s Desk

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After three years of policy-making and debate, an education reform plan that has been hailed by Democratic leaders as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overhaul outdated education policies and correct inequities of the past will be sent to the governor’s desk.

“Good work, everyone,” said House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) after the bill passed on a vote of 96 to 38 Tuesday, prompting applause from lawmakers on the House floor.

Before the vote on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future was taken, lawmakers took one last opportunity to implore their colleagues to vote in favor of the legislation.

Del. Stephanie Smith (D), chairwoman of the Baltimore City delegation, said it was the legislature’s obligation to give kids a better chance.

“This isn’t a crisis that just arose,” said Smith, “And we cannot say ‘Oh, we don’t have time to do right by you, just like we didn’t have time for your mother, we didn’t have time for your grandmother and no, we don’t have time for you.’”

“That is over,” said Smith, whose remarks were punctuated by cheers of support from colleagues. “That is unacceptable. And in my opinion, it’s un-American.”

House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery) said that the Blueprint reforms would touch students in every corner of the state.

“We are failing kids,” he said. “We’re not just failing kids today, we’ve been failing kids for decades.”

“I … represent the richest county in the state of Maryland, and in my county, too, we failed kids,” Luedtke said. “This bill provides the opportunity to change that, at long last after too many years. It provides the opportunity for the children of Maryland to get what they deserve.”

The Blueprint reforms would expand pre-kindergarten programs and career education for high schoolers, increase pay and career opportunities for teachers, and increase state funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty.

The bill heads to Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s desk, where he can chose to sign the bill, veto it, or let it take effect without his signature.

If the bill is vetoed, lawmakers could override the governor in a special session tentatively planned for late May. The bill passed both chambers with a veto-proof majority.

Throughout the debate, Hogan and legislative Republicans have expressed concern about the plan’s price tag.

The ambitious plan is expected to increase state education funding by more than $2.8 billion annually in 2030.

According to analysts, state aid for education would top $10.2 billion in 2030, compared to about $7.2 billion in the Legislature’s 2021 budget plan.

And half of Maryland’s counties would be required to increase funding under the bill, with mandated annual increases climbing to a combined total of $600 million in 2030.

House Minority Leader Nicholaus R. Kipke (R-Anne Arundel) expressed concern that the reform bill doesn’t include specific funding for the reform. A package of tax bills to fund the first five years of the reform effort is moving forward separately in the chambers and could see final approval on Wednesday.

“If you really believe it is this great, and it is going to do these revolutionary things ― and I hope you’re right ― but if you really believe it, why don’t you pay for it?” Kipke asked.

The House overwhelmingly accepted amendments from the Senate, including provisions that failed in the House chamber earlier this month. But much has changed since then, including an urgency to pass the bill before the truncated session ends Wednesday afternoon and economic uncertainty fueled by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Senate amendments included a cap on student-to-teacher ratios from Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Harford), increased gubernatorial influence over an accountability board, and what was dubbed the “coronavirus amendment” from Senate Majority Leader Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery).

That provision would limit state and local education aid if the state’s revenue estimates drop by more than 7.5% in a given year.

Even so, Republican House lawmakers cited a potential financial downturn as a reason not to move forward with the bill this year.

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), who called King’s proposal “the coronavirus amendment,” said it provides for “exactly what most people want. And that is, if it is catastrophic, there is a stopgap.”

The final version of the bill also includes a provision that would require a “checkpoint” to test the success of the reforms by 2026.

Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Chairman Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s), a staunch advocate for the reform plan, was honored in both chambers on Tuesday, even as he was absent.

The chairman worked late into the night on Monday, defending the bill and ushering its passage through the Senate chamber. His final words to the chamber on Monday night were a touching tribute to his wife, Joan Rothgeb, a retired educator who’d been battling cancer for the last year.

On Tuesday, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) shared the sad news with senators that Rothgeb died in the early morning hours. The chamber adjourned in her honor.

Passing the Blueprint bill was a top priority for Democrats this legislative session, particularly those in leadership positions.

Jones, McIntosh, Pinsky and Ferguson were at times members of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, which crafted the reform proposal.

The commission’s work was headed by William E. “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland, who learned of the bill’s passage from afar, after the State House complex was closed to the public last week.

Originally, he had planned to be present in the State House when the final vote was taken.

“Generations of Marylanders will remember what you did here today,” Kirwan said in a statement Tuesday night. “Seeing the groundswell of support for this effort to lift up Maryland’s children has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

By Danielle E. Gaines and Hannah Gaskill

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Out and About (Sort of): Burying the Lead? Hmmm. By Howard Freedlander

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The tidal wave of emails continues to flood my inbox with announcements of cancellations due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeping the world, now targeting the United States and inflicting its first confirmed case in Talbot County the past Sunday.

Stories about friends and relatives cancelling or postponing trips abroad due to the very real threat of the virus continue unabated.

Well-meaning instructions concerning how to avoid becoming affected by COVID-19–whether by “social distancing” or constant hand-washing— flood the same inbox, social and mainstream media.

And, true of natural and man-made disasters in our country, rolls of toilet paper are flying off the shelves. Whether it’s panic caused by a few inches of snow or hurricane conditions or the current COVID-19, Americans seem driven to buy toilet paper. I’ve never understood the physiological connection between uncertain societal mishaps and the desperate need for toilet paper. 

An unexplainable human phenomenon, I guess.

And, of course, I cannot ignore the huge, downward turn in a formerly red-hot stock market caused by the uncertain path of coronavirus and shamelessly poor, weak leadership at the wobbly White House. Only belatedly has Trump responded with genuine concern, not superficial bravado.

On the state level, however, Gov. Larry Hogan has exhibited superb, proactive leadership in closing schools, restaurants, bars, gyms and movie theaters and sounding appropriate alarm and concern. Other governors have done the same. Hogan understands the substance and optics of this crisis. 

And again this past Sunday, Talbot County Council President Corey Pack, joined by key leaders engaged in emergency preparedness, announced the first virus case and proclaimed a local emergency. While the news was not good, the public deserved to know and undertake even more care in hunkering down and trying to thwart the spread of the coronavirus.

On an economic note, I’m afraid that hourly workers, those without safety nets and savings available during emergencies, are particularly vulnerable to the economic consequences of this pandemic. For their sake, I hope that COVID-19 diminishes and disappears quickly. I’m not optimistic. The economic pain will deepen.

Now, in a classic demonstration of burying the lead, I switch my sights to the Talbot County Council. I can’t help myself. I will explain.

Amid the understandable fear and trepidation in our state about an uninvited medical pest, I am concerned too about educational reform under discussion in the Maryland General Assembly. I’m referring to the Kirwan Report and consequent legislation entitled the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.”

Last week, the county council considered two amendments to the yet-unpassed legislation without taking the time to hear from Superintendent Kelly Griffith. As was clear from an interview with her last week in the Talbot Spy about the complicated and expensive reform initiative, she fully understands its ramifications, not only for the state but for the county. She’s the expert, who must be heard.

In fairness to the county council, it rightly is keenly fretful about the funding formula that penalizes the county based on its wealth. Our school system suffers from this formula, based in part on the property value in a county blessed with nearly 600 miles of waterfront. Teachers leave the county for better-paying jobs in other counties that receive greater state funding.

A working session is planned soon with Griffith, but not before two amendments were brought last week to the council, one of which passed.

Talbot County has a mixed reputation in the Maryland legislature. Its wealth is well-known. So is its low property tax rate. So is its tax cap. The question arises, understandably so, in the corridors of power in Annapolis as to why the county is not doing more to enhance its school system based on its wealth.

Talbot County is viewed as a refuge for the rich. Many in Annapolis expect the school system to be better funded locally. That doesn’t seem to be the case, unfortunately. The low property tax rate and the tax cap restrict the county council’s fiscal flexibility.

If the county council feels compelled to offer its support or lack thereof for an educational reform bill speeding its way through the legislature—one with significant long-term impact on educational quality in our 23 counties and the City of Baltimore—it should do so in a deliberate, not  piecemeal way.

While I understand that the relationship between the county council and public school system can be fraught as elected officials must balance so many needs, I believe that it must seek the input of a local expert in evaluating educational reform. Superintendent Griffith is that person.

It makes sense to act with information and data. As it is doing in coping with COVID-19.

Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Md. Senate Passes Education Blueprint in Midnight Vote

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After two and a half hours of debate, Maryland’s Senate passed the multi-billion dollar Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education recommendations to applause late Monday night.

The bill passed on a 37-9 vote.

Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee Chairman Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) said that it was not just the General Assembly or sitting members of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education who made this bill’s passage possible, but the thousands of people who stepped up in the hope of changing the state’s educational system.

“I don’t believe in the ‘great man theory’ or the ‘great woman theory of history’ — I think the people make history, and I think this document was made by stories, and educators and parents from across the state who went into it saying what was working what wasn’t working, why we needed this,” he said.

Pinsky, who has been absent around the State House in recent days except for the blueprint debates, took a moment to thank the chamber for working with him as he handled the difficulties of caring for his wife, who is in the late stages of her pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

“It has been hard,” said Pinsky.

“Your blood family and the bigger family here has been very important to me. This will be my Sine Die and I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) embraced Pinsky as he left the chamber for the final time this session.

Sen. Bryan W. Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel), despite a difference of opinion and unease with the bill’s policy, thanked Pinsky for his work.

“I know he’s come here at great personal sacrifice to be with us tonight,” Simonaire said. “I know him and many others have put a lot of work into that. And while I may not agree on everything, I certainly want to publicly acknowledge all the work he’s done and everybody else.”

The education reform bill based on the recommendations of the long-running Kirwan Commission looks to increase funding for schools in low-income areas, expand preschool and job training programs and increase teacher pay while heightening training requirements for educators, among other measures.

The legislation now must go back to the House floor for final approval of the bill as amended by the Senate before it reaches the governor’s desk.

The bill’s debate during the lengthy floor session started with Pinsky, who introduced a series of amendments. Some were technical, others changed grant phase-in start dates and one simply renamed early childhood development centers after William E. Kirwan’s late wife.

Pinsky said he believes House lawmakers will “concur with,” allowing the bill to move onto the governor’s desk in light of the fact that two days remain in the session.

“Because we’re running out of time and we have 48 hours til we adjourn, there was an informal conversation with the House to try to see if we could get to resolve the differences,” said Pinsky on the floor late Monday night.

His amendments passed.

Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Harford and Baltimore County) introduced an amendment to minimize the student-to-teacher ratio in state public schools. Earlier attempts to amend the bill to limit class sizes by House and Senate Republicans were thwarted.

Pinsky said that Jennings’ amendment was “consistent with the bill,” and accepted it.

Other Republican lawmakers attempted to amend the bill to account for a range of concerns, including the removal of disruptive students and discrepancies with the bill’s accountability board, all of which failed.

Senate Majority Leader Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery) submitted an amendment to limit additional state and local aid consistent with the rate of inflation should December 2020 revenue estimates in the state drop at least 7.5% below their March projections.

The amendment submitted Monday evening was passed.

King had initially pushed an iteration of this amendment Saturday, noting a potential economic downturn related to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Despite the amendment’s ability to derail or delay the blueprint, Pinksy had declared it friendly.

The bill will be taken up by House lawmakers in the remaining hours of the session.

By Hannah Gaskill

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Op-Ed: Kirwan Bill is Moving Too Fast by Laura Price

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The Kirwan Blueprint bill is continuing to move way too fast, this week through the Senate.  There are still so many things that haven’t been vetted thoroughly. As we hear amendments and arguments in the committees, it’s pretty clear that it still needs more work.  But legislators are determined to get this passed, before too many questions are asked, let alone answered.

Having attended several sessions this week, I will share my perspective on the process.  As a reminder, this passed the House of Delegates last Friday after a “leadership chosen” package of 65 amendments was added to the bill.  Amendments offered from the floor, mostly by Republicans were summarily defeated. This same progression played out in the Senate.

On Monday. Senator Pinsky had a walk-through of the Kirwan bill with members of the Education, Health and Environment committee (EHE) and some members of Budget and Tax (B&T), primarily to go through all the House amendments.  Rachel Hise from Department of Legislative Services (DLS) was also there to explain the changes. It went on for three hours before announcing the procedure for the rest of the week. On Wednesday afternoon, 55 “leadership chosen” amendments were offered by Senator Pinsky and voted on before taking amendments from other EHE Senators, primarily Republicans.  With one exception, they were all rejected on a pure party line vote. When writing these reports, typically I don’t talk about the politics of a piece of legislation, but this one is so partisan. Many of these common sense amendments that were offered were not given any consideration at all. Later that night, B&T went through a similar process.

Meanwhile, as I wrote last week, “until you account for many different factors, it would be unfair to classify a county wealthy, poor or somewhere in between.  The true wealth of a county has very little to do with how many kids we educate and everything to do with the quality of jobs, incomes, and demographics of who we serve.”  An amendment was being offered in the Senate to consider “median household income” and I placed it on the agenda for the Talbot County Council to discuss and send a letter of support.  For some strange reason, there were members who resisted, though three of us voted to support the amendment. Our county and many others who also have median incomes far below the State average would benefit from such an amendment to the wealth formula and potentially receive millions more in State education aid.  We have been asking for this “Fair Funding Formula” for many years, and this would truly help equalize all counties in the State.

On Friday, the full Senate was on the floor and before voting on other pieces of legislation, Senator Pinsky went through all of the Kirwan amendments.  A full vote is expected on Saturday afternoon and undoubtedly the Senate will pass the bill. There are some differences between the House and Senate versions, which they will have to reconcile before the entire Education Blueprint bill can be approved by the legislature.  After which, it will move on to Governor Hogan. If he vetoes the bill, expect that the super majority will override his veto before the end of session and it will become law.

Additionally, one of the major problems that has been identified by the counties are the budget requests by our local Boards of Education.  In many cases, the BOE’s are asking for millions more than not only Maintenance of Effort (MOE), but also millions more than what we would be required to fund two or three years down the road as per the Kirwan formula.  In Talbot County, the request is $46.5 million dollars, over $2 million above MOE and nearly as much as would be required in FY23. In Queen Anne’s County, the budget request is about $5 million more, close to Kirwan requirement in FY24.  These requests are happening all over the State. This is where the formula falls apart. The counties have always known that Boards of Education will say they need more money than what is in the formula. We have been saying for years that there are categories in their budgets that Kirwan doesn’t include, such as salaries for non-teachers, other operations, health insurance and transportation.

But what also concerns me is in the pleas for additional money are items that are INCLUDED in the Kirwan formula.  The Blueprint is a ten-year phase in and BOE’s want the money for those programs now. During my interactions this week in the hallways, while waiting around for hearings to begin, I mentioned this to a member of this group.  I asked, where were the Boards of Education during the process, and in particular, during the public hearing last month? Why didn’t they testify that the billions in Kirwan money wasn’t enough? I was told that conversations were going on quietly but they were waiting until the bill had actually passed before they really voiced that concern.  That is beyond disingenuous. Wait until it is law, then say they need more. There is no way for counties to deal with this massive (now even larger) increase that is not only the billions of dollars more in the formula, now we have to plan on even more funding.  

Exactly how much are we supposed to raise taxes on our citizens?  Those same citizens that are struggling. Those same citizens that need other county services, especially our roads and emergency services, that we can’t find the money to pay for.  The State really needs to step up and figure out how to fund this increase themselves and not put this mandate on the local jurisdictions. Exactly when is enough, enough?

Laura Price is on the Board of Directors of MACo, Chair of Budget and Tax, Talbot’s legislative liaison and member of the Talbot County Council.

 

Laura Price is 2nd Vice President on the Executive Board of Directors of MACo, Chair of Budget and Tax, Talbot’s legislative liaison and member of the Talbot County Council.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Talbot Council Majority Backs Proposed Kirwan Funding Change

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The county council voted 3-0 Tuesday night to support a proposed amendment to the Kirwan education legislation that would consider a county’s median household income as a factor in determining state funding for that county’s schools.

Talbot officials have complained for years about the state’s education funding formula, which gives extra weight to a county’s assessed property value. With miles of waterfront property, Talbot is considered a relatively wealthy county and receives less state funding for its schools as a result.

HB 1300, which has been approved by the Maryland House of Delegates and is being considered in Senate committees, provides for the implementation of the Kirwan commission’s recommendations, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

Councilwoman Laura Price said Shore delegates had sought to have the bill amended to include median household income as a factor, but those attempts had failed.

“We’ve all talked for 10 years or so about the wealth formula being unfair to counties like Talbot, Kent, Worcester, who might have high property values,” she said.

An amendment planned to be introduced in the Maryland Senate would require the state to consider median household income for any additional funding required under Kirwan.

“Talbot County is 18 percent below median income,” Price said, noting the change, if approved, would mean additional state funding for the county’s public schools.

“It would give more state dollars to Talbot County and similar counties so that we don’t have to foot the whole bill,” she said. “The price tag between the state and the county stays the same, but the difference is instead of Talbot County having to foot about 75% of the bill, we would get additional state dollars which is what we’ve been talking about for years.”

Councilman Frank Divilio agreed that the county had been seeking additional state funding for education for some time.

He suggested a work session with the school board and school officials, but Price noted that the legislation likely would be approved before such a session could be scheduled.

“As far as the funding policy, all I’m asking for tonight is just support a bill that gives us more state aid,” Price said. “And I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t be supportive of an amendment being offered that would help counties like Talbot with more state aid.”

Councilman Pete Lesher agreed.

“There’s widespread acknowledgement that what we’re doing in education needs to change,” Lesher said. “Maryland has commissioned an expert panel that has laid out a plan. And really the controversy in this is not what needs to be done, how to go about this, the controversy is really entirely about how to pay for it.

“What Mrs. Price has been offering here and following very closely is that part of the legislation that has to do — not so much the content of what we need to do to fix education in Maryland and to become a leader among states in this — but really how to figure out how to pay for it, how to apportion those costs appropriately and in particular how those costs should be apportioned to the county,” he said. “If the funding formula could be adjusted in a way that does not land so heavily on Talbot County that seems to be something we ought to support.”

Price noted that the position of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) had been that any additional funding required as a result of Kirwan recommendations should be paid entirely by the state.

“Our only resource is to raise property taxes and the numbers after it passed on Friday are $69 million by 2030 for Talbot County, which is a 40 cent increase in the property tax rate,” she said. “This amendment could mean millions of dollars additional in state aid … rather than having to put it squarely on our citizens’ backs to pay for it. We’re still going to have to go up quite a bit.”

Council President Corey Pack said he would abstain from voting on the issue since he has not seen the amendment.

Price said amendments have to be considered in committee first “before you see the language.

“So you don’t support getting additional state aid, we heard you,” she said.

“Do you or do you not support a median household income adjustment that would give us more state dollars? Price asked. “Yes or no, that’s all we need to say.”

“I’m not in a position to vote tonight,” Pack said. “If others are, that’s fine, we have a second to the motion.”

Divilio, Price and Lesher voted to send a letter supporting a median household income amendment to HB1300; Pack and Vice President Chuck Callahan abstained.

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Kirwan Conversations: A Chat with Talbot County Schools Superintendent Kelly Griffith

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Two weeks ago, the Spy started a series of interviews with senior stakeholders in the state and on the Eastern Shore to discuss the landmark recommendations of the Kirwan Commission and the resulting legislation now under consideration in Annapolis.

We began with Michael Sanderson, the director of Maryland Association of Counties, who stated very clearly that the proposed Kirwan recommendations would be the “most consequential policy decisions that any of these policymakers are going to make during their whole political career.”

Given how serious these reforms would mean on the Eastern Shore, we continued with our interview with Dr. Karen Couch, the superintendent of Kent County Public Schools, and, more importantly, one of the few education professionals to serve on the commission. It is also noteworthy to point out the Dr. Couch represented the smallest county school system in the State.

In this week’s installment, we talk to Kelly Griffith, Superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools, for her take on the five primary recommendations of Kirwan and drill down on the impact it may have on the Mid-Shore and her school district.

This video is approximately twelve minutes in length. For more information about Kirwan and Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, please go here.

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House Passes Education Reform Bill Three Years in the Making

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The House of Delegates erupted in cheers late Friday as a Democratic majority passed a sweeping education reform bill meant to overhaul Maryland’s public schools over the next decade.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future bill ― a $3.8 billion reform plan ― aims to expand pre-kindergarten programs and career education for high schoolers, increase pay and career opportunities for teachers, and boost state funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty.

Also included in the bill is a proposed new education funding formula, which would guide the increased state and local education spending and direct more resources to low-income students, those in special education programs and those learning English.

Democrats cast the vote as a historic moment for racial and economic equity.

“The disparities in achievement between racial and socioeconomic and ethnic communities are unacceptable … it’s morally indefensible,” said House Appropriations Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), a former school teacher who was a member of the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence and Education that crafted the recommendations on education policy and funding reforms.

Republican members of the chamber said they opposed the bill largely because of its costs, which have no dedicated funding source as of yet.

“This is a massive spending plan that is about to be foisted upon the taxpayers of Maryland,” Del. Haven Shoemaker (R-Carroll) said. “…I’m of the opinion that throwing money at a problem isn’t necessarily going to fix said problem.”

Del. Alonzo T. Washington (D-Prince George’s), vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, defends the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future bill on the floor of the House of Delegates. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines/Maryland Matters

Del. Alonzo T. Washington (D-Prince George’s), also a Kirwan Commission member, responded: “We’re not throwing money at a problem. We’re ensuring that we provide initiatives that work for our lowest-performing schools and our students. This is our students, these are our babies back in our schools back at home.”

Republicans tried during hours of debate on Friday to sway a vote to the nay column, or to influence the bill by introducing 14 amendments. All failed along mostly party-line votes.

At the end of the night, shortly before 10 p.m., the bill was passed by a 96-41 vote. All Democrats voted for the legislation and all Republicans voted against it.

After Friday night’s vote, the fight over education funding is far from ending.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted Friday evening to advance a revenue package unpopular with Republicans that would implement combined corporate reporting in the state, increase the state’s tobacco tax and apply it to vaping products, tax certain digital goods similar to tangible goods, and apply a sales tax on some luxury services.

Taken together with other bills under consideration, the bills could generate up to $700 million in new state revenue by 2025, covering a substantial portion of increased state spending for public education in 2025, expected to be about $1.3 billion.

“Whether we crush Marylanders with one massive tax increase or 43 small ones, the net effect is the same,” he argued unsuccessfully.

The House chamber is expected to move quickly on the revenue measures as well, as lawmakers stare down a deadline to present bills to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) with enough time to force a same-session veto deliberation.

The reform bill passed with 11 votes more than the three-fifths needed to override a veto. Senate committees are set to begin reviewing the House bill on Monday.

Looking at Local Costs

According to updated fiscal estimates released Friday, overall education funding from the state and counties would reach more than $19.1 billion in 2030, about a 25% increase over what could be expected without the formula change.

The state would direct about $10.5 billion annually to public schools in 2030, up from current spending of $7.3 billion.

The proposed funding formula would also require 13 counties and the city of Baltimore to increase their 2030 local school budgets by anywhere from 2% to 55% over today’s formula. Ten counties already fund their schools at levels exceeding the requirements of the new formula.

County funding burdens under the new formula vary widely because of historical spending patterns and the number of students in each county who qualify for special programs.

The city of Baltimore will have the largest percentage increase ―55% ― in its public schools budget by 2030, when the system will be expected to spend $479.5 million. That’s up from $308.9 million that would be required in 2030 under current law.

At the same time the city’s obligation increases, so too does state funding ― by 68%. The city would receive $1.5 billion in direct state aid in 2030 under the bill.

State funding increases for all jurisdictions under the proposed formula.

Montgomery County Public Schools face the largest local spending increase in raw dollar figures: $234.4 million in 2030, when the county’s school funding obligation would rise to more than $2.1 billion.

The local obligation in Prince George’s County would increase by 20%, or about $183.5 million more than required by the current formula.

Talbot, Kent and Caroline counties also face funding increases of more than 20% by 2030 under the legislation.

By Danielle E. Gaines and Hannah Gaskill.

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Op-Ed: Kirwan Blueprint Funding Reform Needed by Laura Price

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The Kirwan Blueprint bill is currently moving way too fast through the House before it moves next week to the Senate. After the “public-hearing” on February 17, about 65 amendments were offered. Most never saw the light of day as certain committee members made the decisions on which amendments were worthy of consideration. The vast majority were related to one of the five specific policy areas and some were related to funding. I will address the local funding requirement amendments.

I will reiterate what MACo’s position is regarding whether to split the costs of this additional layer of education funding. The total price tag adds an additional $6 billion per year by 2030 and the counties believe these new costs should be borne by the State. MACo’s statement says “The State of Maryland should live up to its constitutional obligation, stand behind its own ambitious recommendations, and provide State resources to implement the full costs of the Kirwan Blueprint plan….The Maryland Constitution’s requirement of ‘thorough and efficient’ public schools properly places this duty on the State…The far-reaching Kirwan plan is a continuation of this State requirement.”

There are two primary reasons for this position. One, if legislators believe that this is a good idea, and they are the ones voting on the plan, they should not pass another unfunded mandate onto the County governments. The second is that the State has more flexibility on raising revenues and/or making adjustments within the State budget to pay for this new level of education costs. Counties only have property and income taxes and most are maxed out at 3.2% on income taxes, leaving only property tax, thereby forcing the local elected officials to raise rates significantly with no local control.

Since there was no amendment offered, it’s obvious that the State still expects the counties to pick up a significant share of these new costs. While most have heard that the split was $2.8 billion for the State and $1.2 billion for the Counties, that is a bit misleading. Fiscal year 2020 funding for all counties is $6.69 billion (51.8%) and state share is $6.23 billion (48.2%), so the locals are already funding $464 million more than the State. The bill as introduced (with an inflation factor of 23% that DLS has used), counties would be funding a total of over $9.2 billion in FY30. That is an actual increase in local spending of $2.5 billion, which is inclusive of the current Maintenance of Effort (MOE) law. It is also why the numbers that keep getting reported of $1.2 billion appear distorted and understated.

The funding amendments that were offered were to accomplish two things. First, the massive local increase on Baltimore City and Prince George’s County has been widely reported and something in the formula had to change in order to offer those jurisdictions relief. As originally drafted, the “Local Share Relief” to 12 counties was $431 million with $375 going to just those two jurisdictions.

The second was a technical fix to the Funding Floors for seven counties. Notwithstanding the wealth formula, each county receives 15% funding on the base per pupil and 40% funding on a Special Education, English Language Learner or Concentration of Poverty. When the bill was initially introduced, this had not been factored in and the local share was overstated. An amendment was needed to adjust the calculation because it had been double counted and ended up with the local + state being greater than the total formula funding required. This amendment was NOT the State granting relief to those seven counties, it was to correct a mathematical ERROR.

The first amendment was to grant relief to 12 counties and the second was to fix the error. Unfortunately, these got combined and the title of the amendment is “Net Local Share Relief.” Why does this concern me and several other counties who are supposedly wealthy? Because, legislators will say that they “fixed” us and granted us a reduction. That really is inaccurate. Our reasoning and that of several legislators is that the “wealth formula” does not accurately reflect the actual demographics and economy of a jurisdiction. One major factor that is not considered in any way is the Median Household Income. The tables below show examples of the education wealth formula versus the median income ranking as compared to the State average:

This illustrates that no funding formula really works. There are many other factors that comprise a county’s “wealth,” not just property value + net taxable income divided by the number of children in the school system. Until you account for many different factors, it would be unfair to classify a county wealthy, poor or somewhere in between. The true wealth of a county has very little to do with how many kids we educate and everything to do with the quality of jobs, incomes, and demographics of who we serve. What we really need is to amend this wealth formula that fits no one and add a factor that accounts for median household income. That would be a good start.

Laura Price is on the Board of Directors of MACo, Chair of Budget and Tax, Talbot’s legislative liaison and member of the Talbot County Council.

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