Academically Strong and Safer Schools

The Goal: Academically Strong and Safer Schools

The Problem: The Baltimore school budget is a staggering $1.2 billion a year. The state of Maryland is the biggest contributor to the budget. Despite this huge number many of our schools are literally falling apart and are unsafe. At the same time, up at City School headquarters on North Avenue there are some administrators who do very little but get paid exorbitant salaries. The school budget recently presented to the public makes little sense. It is filled with mathematical errors and to this day the public does not know the true amount of money that is actually going into the schools themselves. Who should we blame? How do we fix the problem? The School Board is a product of the State of Maryland. The Board is not elected nor does the Mayor have a say as to who is on the Board or who is in charge. Based on everything from Baltimore’s school leadership to the confusing budget balance sheet, it is clear that Baltimoreans need real accountability when it comes to our public schools.

The Solution: Before we can truly say that the school system is lacking in funds we need to properly account for the money. The mayor and City Council must refuse to approve the City’s portion of the school budget until the following takes place:

Baltimore’s elected officials know that the entire school budget is $1.2 billion a year. We must ask every school how much money they need to operate (including facility repairs, special needs, after school programs, salaries, etc.). After every school submits their desired operational budget we should add up each school’s proposed budget and subtract the total from $1.2 billion. What ever is left over is allocated to pay for the administration located at the North Avenue headquarters. If there is not enough to pay all of the administration then we identify which positions within the administration are unnecessary and we eliminate these positions. Right now it appears funding goes to the administration first and what ever is left over goes to fund our schools – where our children are supposed to be learning. This is a backward and wrong and only hurts our children. It may also be possible to move the City School administration out of its North Avenue headquarters and into a smaller building. This would allow Baltimore to sell all or part of the North Avenue complex to raise additional funds for our schools.

Currently there are empty spaces in some of our schools. At the same time, there are school safety worries. I believe some of the empty spaces in our more dangerous schools should be designated as police substations. Police use substations as a place to relax for a few minutes or to use the bathroom. Having Baltimore City Police foot traffic inside school buildings should add some order to otherwise disorderly schools.

I have been told by numerous principals that they are responsible for setting the tone at their schools. We need to establish a culture where good principals are rewarded at bad principals are replaced.

In the name of accountability, I support eliminating the City-State partnership because our children are falling through the cracks as a result. Either we need a majority-elected School Board or the Mayor must be given control over the Baltimore City schools.