Breaking Down The Blueprint For Maryland’s Future

There have been a lot of concerns circulating in our community about how an education plan called the Blueprint for Maryland's Future will affect our local schools. After working with both state and county agencies and elected officials on both sides of the aisle, I would like to provide some insight into how the implementation will impact our community.

Under the blueprint, funding is calculated per pupil based on various factors. The factors themselves do not change significantly – it is the weight given to certain factors that has changed dramatically. These include considerations such as whether the student has an individualized education plan (IEP), is an English-language learner (ELL), or qualifies for free and reduced meals (FARM), among other factors. The per-pupil funding is then aggregated to determine the total amount of money each school receives.

Here's where it gets interesting. The money follows the child, and that amount is based on the new formula with new weighted factors. The total sum of money a school receives may be used like a salary cap in the NFL draft. It could be used to determine how many teachers the school can afford based on their years of experience, as more experienced teachers command higher salaries.

This means that while some schools may receive more funding due to factors like higher numbers of students with IEPs, ELL students, or FARM-eligible students, other schools may face challenges in retaining all their current teachers. Consequently, we may see teacher transfers between schools as some schools struggle to retain their staff within the constraints of their funding allocations. This could potentially disrupt the continuity and stability of teaching staff within our local schools, affect the student-teacher ratios, and impact the quality of education provided to students.

As we navigate these changes, it's clear that legislative action may be necessary to address the concerns raised by the blueprint's implementation. While the Blueprint for Maryland's Future represents a step forward in promoting equity in education funding, it also presents challenges for communities like ours. Is the Blueprint for Maryland's Future actually defunding some of our schools in the name of equity? I will continue to work with both state and county agencies and elected officials to better understand how the blueprint’s new formula and implementation will affect each school in our community and share that information as soon as possible.