Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Politicians tell us about Maryland's rankings in K-12 public school education according to an education trade industry publication. A major component of this ranking is how much money politicians give away to school administrators. In Maryland, that is a lot of money.

The state increased spending on schools from $5.3 billion in 2007 to $7 billion this year. The Maryland State Department of Education is a state bureaucracy. They do not teach students. This agency's budget has increased from $265 million in 2007 to $307 million this year. The state agency employs 1600 government workers. That money would be better spent in Maryland classrooms where it would buy much-need supplies and enhance teacher salaries.

In some cases money is actually making it more difficult to teach students. Forced by the federal government to conform to national education doctrine, the Maryland General Assembly passed common core requirements. If the state did not adopt common core, millions of dollars in federal "Race to the Top" grants would be forfeited. Now we're seeing the consequences of common core - a top-down, complicated, misguided education instruction manual. In the rush to adopt common core, nobody bothered to figure out how this would affect student test scores. Test scores have declined, teachers feel helpless, and students do not feel confident in their abilities.

As a county executive with a 34-year career in public education, I know first-hand the budget games that the public school establishment likes to play. School administrators need to run their organizations just like any other part of government and achieve cost-savings and efficiencies.

As Governor, I will reduce the administrative budget of the state education department and pass the cost-savings on to local schools. I will end common core, return the money to Washington and let teacher's teach. The sound budgeting practices I will apply to the K-12 system will be required of the University System of Maryland to make college tuition affordable. I will support school choice, charter schools and other proven measures to increase competition to ensure no child is trapped in a school that does not work.

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