ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement:
“After more than three years of meetings, the Kirwan Tax Hike Commission has still failed to produce any plan to pay for its massive spending proposals, which will cost taxpayers more than $30 billion. Local leaders agree with me—they will not support the billions in crippling state and local tax increases that would be required. Some good ideas have been discussed, but the commission mostly focused on simply increasing spending, rather than real accountability measures and better results for our children.
“I have made education the top priority of my administration, providing historically high funding five years in a row while leading the fight for more accountability in local school systems. We pushed for and enacted the casino lockbox initiative to require a further investment of $4.4 billion more for our schools. No governor in Maryland history has invested more in education. I will continue to focus on reforms that will produce better results for Maryland taxpayers, parents, teachers, and especially students.”
11 comments:
Salisbury economic development does!!
4.5 million to education and 4 billion to tax cuts would be better.
So, when do students begin to benefit?
From a teacher, thank you for asking for accountability. More money equals more taxes equals more wasteful education spending. Our schools are properly funded yet terribly run.
Dear Readers,
The Kirwan commission established the following priorities for Maryland in regards to public education:
- Full day education for 3 yr. olds from low income families
- Universal pre-K for 4 year olds
- Better college and readiness training
- Higher salaries for teachers
- Better teacher training
- More Resources for at risk students
- Transparent governance and accounting
- More money for schools where many students live in poverty
In short, I have some concerns with this report that all Marylanders should have:
1. This commission was unnecessary in my opinion, as these goals were previously established by the Throton commission. The cost of this process could have been directly provided to schools.
2. The report does little to address the root cause of educational issues - parental responsibility
3. Teacher salaries are not the problem, as teachers are paid more that the average income of their respective areas. Teachers will complain and dispute this, and in my opinion this comes from having to daily address students who are in no way ready for school due to the failures and issues in their families, not to mention so many out of control youth. I see their plea for more money (i.e. "we deserve it") as frustration over not being able to do their jobs and teach. I further contend that teachers would not raise the salary issue as much if they had students who were not disruptive/combative/ and prepared to learn.
4. Teacher training standards are set by the state. If teachers are not meeting those standards, they need to find another line of work. I have seen plenty of teachers on the eastern shore who do not use the English language correctly, and in no way should they be in a position to teach. Teacher training after their degree is important, but raising the current minimum standards is paramount.
5. Transparent accounting is just another term bantered around that should be commonplace. It is not, and is exactly where a large source of corruption is. Frankly, the temptation is just too strong (i.e former Mayor Pugh of Baltimore) to resist. Financial mechanisms regarding how funds are distributed and disbursed need the bulk of examination, and the casinos who were to provide the revenue have little oversight - they do the bare minimum (which should surprise no one) to keep profits up.
6. More money and resources for at risk students and poverty has been the central battle cry for some time. The truth is that accountability of parents needs to be forefront in the discussion with proof documented by fact being provided before funding is even discussed.
Folks, to be frank, I am dismayed every time something like this is brought up and after over 30 years in public education nothing has changed at all. There is no accountability to parents at all, and money is freely spent without any real direction or guidance. I applaud Sen. Carozza for refusing this on financial feasibility along (not withstanding all merit).
Kind Regards,
Paladin
I am tired of my tax dollars being wasted on Baltimore City and the failing Baltimore schools.
If you do support education governer then push for real reform SCHOOL VOUCHERS NOW!!!
Exactly !!
I agree!!
I am a teacher and agree with 8:58.
Throwing more and more money into education in hopes it will "fix" the problem is not the answer. There needs to be accountability on finances of every single school, accountability in student academic performance (as in if they fail in their classes they fail the grade level and must repeat another year in that grade level, accountability in student behavior ( if they misbehave they should face proper consequences no matter what race they are), and accountability by all employees of the schools
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