Maryland Moves Forward in Plan to Give $1 Billion to Baltimore Schools

BALTIMORE — A plan is in action to allocate $1 billion to Baltimore schools over the next seven years in order to renovate or replace the city’s rundown facilities.

The Maryland House approved the Baltimore City Public Schools Construction and Revitalization Act of 2013 last week in a 107-30 vote. The bill, which would require the state to provide a block grant to the city’s school each year, is now heading to the Senate.

“We have seen progress in our schools. Increased enrollment, better teacher pay has attracted new and qualified teachers, charter schools are attracting more families to our neighborhoods,” said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in an appeal to the State Appropriations Committee. “But I continue to be embarrassed by the physical condition of some of our schools.”

Sponsored by the Baltimore City Delegation, the act would call for city schools to pay the state $20 million each year for the next 30 years.

Crumbling foundations, leaky roofs and unreliable heating and cooling systems are among the growing concerns at Baltimore schools, Rawlings-Blake said.

The city’s school buildings are the oldest in the state and although Baltimore public schools have seen extreme growth in terms of academic success, the environment in which students learn continue to take its toll on students, said Andres Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS).

“The buildings in which our students learn are an obstacle to their continued progress,” Alonso said. “We know from research from experience and from common sense that school buildings that are old and in poor condition have a detrimental effect on student achievement and teacher retention.”

The $20 million would be funded by the city’s general fund with additional revenue from the city’s bottle tax and taxes on casinos.

A previous plan to borrow $2.4 billion, renovate 136 school buildings and close 26 schools fell short in Annapolis last year, with concerns of growing debt in the schools and capital.

“We’ve worked really hard with the leadership in the House and the Senate, as well as with the governor to put before the legislature a proposal that can pass," Rawlings-Blake said.

Yasmene Mumby, co-chair of the Baltimore Education Coalition, began rallying two years ago to transform Baltimore schools. A former teacher, she recalls mice-infested classrooms unfit for academic growth.

“I taught in a school where the ceiling tiles would crumble where the pipes were so old they would burst bathroom water on the classroom floors,” Mumby said. “Because the walls were aging mice and rodents would find homes in between the walls of our classroom and then visit our classroom when they felt like it.”

With her familiarity with the crumbling infrastructure of Baltimore schools, Mumby said the teachers and 85,000 students of BCPS simply couldn’t wait any longer to incite change.

“As a teacher this affected me tremendously,” Mumby said. “You take my experience and you multiply that with other experiences with parents sending their children into these schools, students going into these schools and then leadership and staff having to work in these conditions and enough was enough.”

Several education reform and nonprofit organizations have praised the act that would bring $32 million to schools in its first year with continued growth subsequent.

“Our efforts to grow Baltimore by 10,000 families over the next 10 years really depends greatly upon the continued progress of our schools,” Rawlings-Blake said. “In order for Baltimore city to grow and do the right thing by our children, our school system had to get better.”