Session Starts with Imperative to Protect School Funding
And other legislative updates in this week’s Up the Street
THIS WEEK IN ANNAPOLIS
Commitment Required to Keep Public Education Priorities
A nearly $3 billion fiscal year 2026 budget deficit looms over the General Assembly session that opened on Wednesday and will require continued commitment to public schools from the governor and the legislature. On Wednesday, Gov. Moore announced that the budget he will present next week cuts $2 billion from that deficit, while he reiterated his commitment to public education as the foundation of a strong state. At MSEA’s annual opening day legislative reception, he strongly affirmed the need to protect public education and support educators.
As the budget dominates conversations, MSEA will have clear priorities and red lines throughout session:
- No layoffs, especially as educators are already facing shortages across the state.
- No salary cuts and going back on the Blueprint’s real progress in salaries, including a 15% increase in average certificated salaries since 2019, $60,000 starting salaries for teachers across the state, substantial incentives for National Board Certification, and more.
- Pipeline improvements to erase educator shortages. A minimum starting salary for education support professionals, Grow Your Own program expansions, and more support to early career educators can all make a difference.
- Progressive revenue to sustainably fund our schools. We need a fairer tax code that asks more of the wealthiest businesses and individuals and less of middle class Marylanders.
- No cuts to expected funding increases to special education, multilingual learners, or students in poverty.
The House will pass the budget first this session, and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) promised “to protect the most vulnerable Marylanders.” She said legislators will “use [the budget] to reflect our values….I think our values are something worth fighting for. This year, we’re going to protect the investments we made in education, healthcare, and transportation.”
MSEA’s priorities for the legislative session include continuing to implement and improve the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and ensuring there is enough revenue to fund it; enhancing wages for education support professionals (ESPs) and empowering them on decision-making bodies; attracting and retaining educators to reduce staffing shortages; establishing a holistic accountability system to measure school success; and improving school safety.
State’s Economy, Public Education to Feel Effects of Trump Presidency
Gov. Moore and educators are preparing to grapple with effects of the incoming presidential administration. President-elect Donald Trump’s threats against the U.S. Department of Education and his prospective cabinet jeopardize funding to public schools , and Trump’s proposed cuts to federal jobs could have a significant economic effect on the state’s 160,000 federal civilian workers, a significant percent of Maryland’s income tax base. Educators will advocate for state legislators to position Maryland to defend against federal threats, as they did last year with a preemptive and successful referendum to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Indeed, new gender-based protections may be in order since a federal judge on Thursday struck down the Title IX protections that the Biden Administration established to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The rule protecting the students had been in place since April, but 26 states had blocked it. This action vacates the rule altogether.
NEWS AND NOTES
Study to Improve Accuracy Counting Students in Poverty
The successful implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future relies on an accurate count of the number of students in poverty. The state has relied on counts of enrollment in national programs like Medicaid and SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to calculate aid for public schools. Considering that many eligible people do not enroll in those programs, the state has not been able to accurately count the students who are eligible for the Blueprint’s various funding formula adjustments. In particular, the current method “really penalizes” schools with large numbers of immigrant students, State Comptroller Brooke Lierman said. On December 4, the Board of Public Works approved a contract to identify a better way to count the eligible population. The report is due December 1 of this year.
Moore Names New Members for Vacancies on State School Board, Labor Board
Gov. Moore filled two vacancies on the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB). For the SBOE Moore nominated Alverne “Chet” Chesterfield, the executive director of the Chincoteague Bay Field Station on the Lower Shore. For the PERB—which MSEA advocated for to streamline and better standardize the resolution of collective bargaining disputes—Moore named Lafe Solomon, a labor lawyer. If approved by the Senate, Solomon will be the PERB chair, replacing Michael Hayes, who resigned in September. Hayes was the new labor board’s first chairman, and his term expires in 2027. Terms for PERB members are six years, but in 2023, the first group of members was given staggered terms. If approved, Chesterfield will serve a four-year term on the SBOE, replacing Dr. Susan Getty. The Senate will take up nominations this month.
AIB Approves Six More District Blueprint Implementation Plans
All but one district has received at least conditional approval for their Blueprint for Maryland’s Future implementation plans. Last month the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) approved six of the seven plans that were awaiting approval. Baltimore City and Howard and Talbot counties’ plans were approved; Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties received conditional approval. The one remaining, Baltimore County Public Schools, is still working on its career counseling memorandum of understanding and has been delayed by staffing changes, according to the AIB. Documents received by January 16 could be considered for approval at the AIB’s January 30 meeting. For districts without approved plans the AIB will not vote to withhold 2025 funds before February.
Revenues from Sports Betting, Casinos Deliver $111 Million to Education
In November, sports betting generated more than $11.8 million for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, the largest single-month total the program has produced since its launch in December 2021, and nearly four times the $3.2 million in November 2023. Casino gambling revenues in November and December, combined, generated $100 million for the Education Trust Fund, a 3% increase compared to November and December a year ago.
BEYOND CAMPAIGN 2024
119TH Congress Makes History for Maryland; Shuffles Local, State Offices
Last week, Maryland’s congressional delegation was sworn in, and newly elected Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D) made history. The former Prince George’s County executive who earned the support of Maryland’s educators is the first Black woman Maryland has elected to the U.S. Senate. She has been assigned to the Banking; Environment and Public Works; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Aging committees.
Following the election of Johnny Olszewski Jr. to represent Maryland’s 2nd U.S. House district, the Baltimore County Council selected state Senator Kathy Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County), to serve out the remaining two years of Olszewski’s term as Baltimore County executive. Klausmeier, a longtime friend of public education in the Senate, is the first woman to be Baltimore County’s executive. Her resignation opens a Senate seat in District 8 and the vice chair seat on the Finance Committee.
To serve in the Anne Arundel Senate District 30 seat vacated by newly elected U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd), the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee nominated state Delegate Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel), who was sworn in on the session’s opening day. She makes history as the first Black woman representing Anne Arundel in the Senate. Now her House seat must be filled.