Blueprint or Budget-Breaker?

Kiersten Hacker, Christina Walker, Ela Jalil, Capital News Service • April 2, 2024

No One Knows How to Pay for Maryland's Massive Education Reform


Maryland’s Democratic-led legislature passed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future in 2021, vowing to pour billions of dollars into the state’s public schools to offer universal pre-K, improve teaching, and make sure students are ready for college or careers.

 

But the General Assembly didn’t outline a long-term plan to fund the ambitious 10-year education reform effort — which increasingly looks like a blueprint for red ink.

 

Diving deep into the reform plan in reporting "Behind the Blueprint" — a multi-part look at the state effort — the Local News Network at the University of Maryland found that the Blueprint is already devouring hundreds of millions annually from the state’s fund balance, which is on target to be fully drained in 2027.

 

And according to a state Department of Legislative Services fiscal briefing released in January, the state will start running a structural deficit in fiscal year 2025 that will multiply nearly sixfold by fiscal year 2029, when it will hit $2.93 billion. Not coincidentally, that fiscal briefing estimates implementing the Blueprint will cost more than $4 billion in 2029.

 

The General Assembly’s plan for dealing with the cost crunch? There isn’t one — at least not yet. Neither Gov. Wes Moore in his State of the State address nor any of the Democratic state legislators interviewed for this story have offered any potential solutions for the coming Blueprint cash crunch.

 

“Several years from now we're going to have to have a much more direct conversation about the long-term costs,” said state Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat from Baltimore City. “But we’re not there yet.”

 

Republicans, meanwhile, see the Blueprint as a budget-breaker.

 

“We cannot pay these billions and billions of dollars in extra monies — not just state but local as well,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R-1B). “We can't pay for them unless you're going to talk about new taxes — and significant taxes.”

 

The Blueprint’s background

Ironically, the Blueprint was born out of a commission supported by a Republican governor — who later backed away from the plan because of cost concerns.

 

In 2016, then-governor Larry Hogan and the General Assembly created the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education to assess the public education system in Maryland and determine whether current funding schemes were conducive to student success.

 

Headed by William Kirwan, the former chancellor of the University System of Maryland, the commission came to the conclusion that an overhaul was needed.

 

“One of the ‘aha’ moments of the commission was really to face the fact that, on what we call the Nation's Report Card, Maryland’s score was about in the middle … and moving in the wrong direction,” said Rachel Hise, executive director of the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board, a state entity that’s making sure school districts adhere to the plan.

 

But Hogan had an “aha” moment of his own after Democrats crafted the Kirwan Commission’s report into comprehensive legislation. In 2019, Hogan criticized the pending reform proposal, telling a group of county officials it would mean “billions and billions more in mandated spending increases for county and state taxpayers,” according to the Frederick News-Post.

 

Hogan vetoed the bill creating the Blueprint in May 2020, saying he did not want to raise taxes amid the covid-19 pandemic to fund the education plan. The General Assembly overrode his veto in 2021.

 

And the following year, voters elected a strong backer of the Blueprint — Democrat Wes Moore — to succeed Hogan, who is now running for a U.S. Senate seat.

 

On the first day of the current legislative session that began in January, Moore said he believes in the reform plan, and he will work with the General Assembly to ensure the Blueprint is implemented properly and sustainably.

 

“I believe in the premise and the promise of the Blueprint. I think we need a world-class education system in the state of Maryland,” Moore said. “I think that's going to be a prerequisite for us to be able to accomplish the economic goal that we're hoping for.”

 


Lofty goals

In the state’s 24 public school districts, the Blueprint and its lofty goals are already beginning to take shape.

 

Each school district has already drawn up a preliminary plan for how it will meet targets for offering pre-K, increasing teacher salaries, and improving student performance. The Accountability and Implementation Board has approved all those plans after first asking for revisions.

 

The Blueprint is meant to revamp the state’s education system by presenting the same opportunities for all students. With a law like the Blueprint, one size must fit all to achieve its goals of maximizing reading and math skills, as well as increasing pathways into college, said Sen. Jim Rosapepe, D-21).

 

“So we want that for every kid across the state. We don't want variation of those goals,” Rosapepe said. “Now, the details of how stuff is paid for — I mean, I think that's a conversation that will be ongoing.”

 

Cheryl Bost, president of the Maryland State Education Association, said the teachers union is fully behind the Blueprint.

 

“We have a shared understanding that our goal is for students to succeed academically and become valuable citizens in our state and in our country,” Bost said. “In order to do that, we have to make an investment in public education. I think for the most part, the Blueprint identifies where that money has to go.”

 

What it doesn’t do, however, is identify where the money will come from. Bost, whose union represents 74,000 educators in the state, acknowledged the concerns about the Blueprint’s cost. But she indicated the increased spending on education is both needed and long overdue.

 

“We constitutionally have to provide a public education for all students, so the investment is needed,” Bost said. “And when some people balk at, ‘Oh, it's all this money’ — well, we've been starving public education for many years.”

 

The budget dilemma

The Blueprint remains fully funded in Moore’s latest fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, leaving many lawmakers to turn their attention to other legislative issues this year. Ferguson, the Senate president, said in terms of current Blueprint funding, “we’re more than fine.”

 

But that’s not so in the long term. The cost of implementing the Blueprint is projected to grow from $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2024 to $4.1 billion five years later, according to the Department of Legislative Services. Meantime, the state’s structural budget gap is set to balloon every year through 2029 — when Legislative Services expects it to be $2.9 billion and the Moore administration says it will be about $3.5 billion.

 

Closing that budget gap will be immensely difficult, said Christopher Summers, president and CEO of the conservative Maryland Policy Institute, who also said the Blueprint should be paused.

 

“Raising taxes (is) not going to solve this problem, and I think the governor knows that,” said Summers, who has been critical of the Blueprint for years.

 

The Blueprint calls on school districts to increase education funding too, thereby prompting Summers to say that county budgets face the biggest fiscal threat.

 

But in Annapolis, lawmakers from both parties acknowledged that the General Assembly will have to make some tough decisions in the years to come as the Blueprint’s bills come due.

 

“I think we know the reality that we're facing. And I think there's gonna be a lot of discussion about that,” said State Sen. Guy J. Guzzone, a Democrat from Howard County. “I just don't know that there's an immediate answer.”

 

One obvious solution would be raising taxes to cover the state’s coming shortfalls. But Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey, a Republican from the Eastern Shore, said a solution lies in cutting back the demands of the Blueprint rather than paying for the sweeping overhaul as it stands.

 

“Republicans have stated very often that we need to move to a ‘Blueprint lite’ or you know, some type of education reform that takes some of the important components of the Blueprint, but at the same time is affordable and allows counties to make decisions on which parts of the Blueprint are more meaningful in each of their public school systems,” Hershey said.

 

Democrats, however, back the current Blueprint, despite its cost. Del. Ben Barnes, a Democrat who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said legislators should start talking about a long-term payment plan for the Blueprint now. The shared values between the legislature and the governor will bring them together, Barnes said, to solve the Blueprint budget dilemma.

 

“This legislature, the governor, we share values, and those shared values include all the priorities of the Blueprint,” Barnes said. “Getting to children who live in communities of poverty, taking care of special needs students, I mean, these are what we all ran on. And so I feel confident we'll find the revenue we need to support that program.”

 

Several state officials have said they are looking to the Accountability and Implementation Board to issue recommendations regarding the Blueprint’s budget challenges. The board has made policy proposals included in bills that, if passed this legislative session, would adjust the law without changing the finances.

 

In addition, the board is set to release additional recommendations this legislative session.

 

“What the AIB has suggested is, let's try to implement it the way it's intended. And if it doesn't work, if it's no longer the right thing to do, then we need to change it,” said Hise, the board’s executive director. “But for many things, we haven't gotten to that point yet.”

 

 

Capital News Service is a student-powered news organization run by the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. For 26 years, they have provided deeply reported, award-winning coverage of issues of import to Marylanders.

 

Common Sense for the Eastern Shore

Health of His Constituents is Apparently Not a Priority for Rep. Dr. Andy Harris

By Jan Plotczyk • October 8, 2025
The Republican Congress and President Trump are causing a health care crisis and Democrats are trying to fix it. Passed in July, the GOP budget reconciliation bill is drastically cutting health insurance programs to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R-MD01) voted for the budget reconciliation bill. He voted, knowing that his vote would mean that health care costs would rise for 25,000 of his constituents in Maryland’s First Congressional District:

Judge Denies Trump Administration’s Attempt to Stall Maryland Offshore Wind Case Amid Federal Shutdown

By CSES Staff • October 8, 2025
 Efforts by the Trump administration to delay a critical court case over Maryland’s offshore wind project have failed, marking another setback in the president’s campaign to block renewable energy development along the East Coast. On Oct. 2, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher denied a motion filed by the Department of Justice to pause an ongoing lawsuit involving US Wind’s proposed 114-turbine wind farm off Ocean City. The administration had argued that the federal government’s shutdown prevents its attorneys from continuing the case. The judge’s swift rejection ensures that the litigation and progress on one of Maryland’s most significant clean energy projects will continue. Initially filed by Ocean City officials and a small group of residents nearly a year ago, the suit challenges the federal approval of US Wind’s project, which would deliver enough clean electricity to power more than 700,000 homes. Under the Biden administration, the federal government had defended the project in partnership with US Wind. That stance was reversed after Trump took office earlier this year and installed officials hostile to offshore wind. In September, the Trump administration filed a separate motion seeking to vacate federal approval for the Maryland project altogether, a move widely condemned by environmental advocates, labor groups, and business leaders who see offshore wind as a cornerstone of Maryland’s energy and economic future. US Wind responded forcefully to the shutdown motion, warning the court that the administration’s attempts to delay proceedings could allow it to undermine the project’s approval behind the scenes quietly. The company argued that halting the case would create “existential risks” for the future of Maryland’s offshore wind industry. Judge Gallagher agreed that the case should move forward, setting the next status hearing for Oct. 7. The Trump administration’s repeated efforts to obstruct offshore wind development come as Maryland and other states have invested heavily in building the infrastructure, workforce, and port facilities needed to anchor the growing clean energy industry. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has championed the sector as a key driver for well-paying jobs and long-term economic resilience for the Eastern Shore. Supporters of US Wind point out that the project will bring over $1 billion in investment to Maryland, generate thousands of construction and maintenance jobs, and help deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to homes and businesses across the region. “Offshore wind isn’t just about turbines, it’s about jobs, innovation, and independence,” one clean energy advocate said after the ruling. “Every delay costs working Marylanders opportunity, and this decision ensures progress continues.” While the broader lawsuit over the project’s approval is ongoing, the latest ruling represents a clear win for those fighting to keep Maryland’s offshore wind future on track — and a blow to Trump’s attempt to turn back the clock on clean energy.

Should We Pin Our Hopes on Mid-Cycle Redistricting in MD-01?

By Jan Plotczyk • October 8, 2025
Maryland has eight congressional districts, and the seats for all but District 01 are filled by Democrats. As we well know, the First District representative is a Republican — Andrew P. Harris. Here’s what Maryland’s congressional district map is now.

Megan Outten Kicks Off Wicomico County Council District 7 Campaign with Packed Crowd and Strong Early Momentum

By CSES Staff • October 8, 2025
With standing room only at Salisbury’s Historic Poplar Hill Mansion, and blending policy, community service, and grassroots energy, Megan Outten launched her campaign for Wicomico County Council District 7 before almost 100 supporters on Oct. 4. The event drew community residents, labor leaders, and local officials, many of whom also helped to pack nearly 300 care kits for Wicomico residents in need. The community service effort doubled as a campaign statement about what Outten calls “choosing connection over convenience.” District 7 is one of Wicomico’s newly drawn single-member districts, with a Democratic advantage of 7.7%. Outten recalled her family’s history of service in Fruitland and Salisbury. “Service isn’t just politics in my family,” she said. “It’s how you belong to a place. It’s how you prove you care.” She pointed to the county’s landfill crisis, water and septic system failures, and school underfunding as examples of leadership that reacts rather than plans. “This is what happens when leaders only react after things break,” she said. “It costs us more. It hurts families. It robs our kids of the future they deserve.” Outten was joined by several local leaders who offered strong endorsements and reflections on her record. AFSCME Local 3 Eastern Shore representative Jack Hughes praised her leadership on the Salisbury City Council, crediting her with helping pass the Eastern Shore’s first municipal labor code, a significant win for city workers and first responders. Councilman Josh Hastings, who represents the district and is running for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 38B, said Outten would be “crucial in carrying forward the progress we’ve made” on clean water, schools, and infrastructure planning. Whitney Snowden-Olanrewaju from Blending Cultures, a non-profit organization that promotes diversity and equality, spoke about Outten’s record of community inclusion and bridge-building across diverse groups. Outten’s campaign is expected to roll out additional endorsements in the coming weeks. In her speech, she outlined a platform focused on fully funding schools, investing in infrastructure before it fails, and ensuring that county government works for everyone. “This campaign is not mine,” she told the crowd. “It’s ours. I am not standing above you. I am standing with you. And together, we will put Wicomico families first.” With enthusiasm, endorsements, and her message that’s focused on service and accountability, Outten’s kickoff reinforced that District 7 is already shaping up to have a strong favorite in 2026.

Community Rallies After Theft of Car Containing Hundreds of Care Kits for Wicomico Residents in Need

By CSES Staff • October 8, 2025
An act of inhumanity in Salisbury has sparked an outpouring of compassion. Early on Oct. 5, community organizer Jared Schablein’s car was stolen from his backyard. Inside the vehicle were hundreds of care kits assembled just days earlier during Megan Outten’s Wicomico County Council District 7 campaign kickoff event. Packed by volunteers at Salisbury’s Poplar Hill Mansion, the kits contained feminine hygiene products, socks, and toiletries meant for Wicomico County residents facing housing insecurity. “Those kits were meant for neighbors in need,” said Schablein. “If nothing else, I hope whoever took them returns them. Getting those care kits to the folks who need them matters more to me than anything else.” Schablein and Outten have turned the theft into action, launching a new effort called the “Care Kits Comeback Drive.” The event, scheduled for Oct. 12 at 2pm at Poplar Hill Mansion, aims to replace every lost kit, and more. Volunteers are asked to bring or donate items such as sanitary wipes, socks, toothpaste, period products, and underwear. Donations will support the Wicomico County Library, Help and Outreach Point of Entry, and other local service organizations. In announcing the new drive, Schablein emphasized the deeper meaning behind the effort: “When acts of inhumanity happen, the best response is acts of humanity. We’re showing that Salisbury’s compassion can’t be stolen.” Despite the setback, organizers say community support has been overwhelming. Donations began arriving within hours of the announcement, and several local groups have offered to distribute supplies once the new kits are complete. The theft is still under investigation by the Salisbury Police Department. As one volunteer put it at the last event, “Community isn’t guaranteed, it’s built.” This Sunday, Salisbury will build it again.

Momentum Builds to Save Connelly Mill Park: Community Leaders and State Officials Unite Around Vision for Wicomico’s “Central Park”

By CSES Staff • October 8, 2025
What began as a grassroots campaign to preserve a parcel of local land has become one of the most inspiring community movements on the Eastern Shore. Led by residents James and Mikele Dahlen and Holly Campbell, alongside dozens of volunteers, the Save Connelly Mill Park effort reached a significant milestone last week as Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources Josh Kurtz toured the site with local and state officials to explore opportunities for partnership and permanent protection. On Sept. 23, citizens gathered at Connelly Mill Park with a delegation of state and county leaders, including Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, Del. Barry Beauchamp, County Council President John Cannon, Vice President Jeff Merritt, Councilman James Winn, and local municipal representatives from Delmar and Salisbury. The tour marked the strongest signal to date that the state may play an active role in turning the park’s long-promised vision into reality. Advocates for Save Connelly Mill Park presented Kurtz with a booklet outlining the site’s environmental, historical, and economic importance. The presentation highlighted Connelly Mill’s potential to become a keystone of Wicomico’s park system — protecting the Paleochannel aquifer, preserving wildlife habitats, and providing much-needed green space for recreation and community gathering. Located just five miles from Salisbury, the 234-acre property has rolling forest, wetlands, and unique topography that advocates say could one day make it the “Central Park of Wicomico County.” “The natural beauty of Connelly Mill spoke for itself,” said one organizer after the event. “What we have here is not just land, it’s a promise to future generations.” Adding to the momentum, the community’s advocacy materials were presented directly to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore the next day at the Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Crisfield, where he was briefed on the citizens’ efforts and growing local support. The proposed park would provide walking trails, open space for families, and educational opportunities while safeguarding vital water resources and promoting mental, physical, and social well-being for county residents. For many, the movement to save Connelly Mill has come to represent more than just one park. It’s about accountability, long-term planning, and ensuring public commitments to community spaces are kept. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” the group shared in a recent update. “But the spotlight is on Connelly Mill, and the momentum is growing.” As the state evaluates whether to designate Connelly Mill as a Partnership Park, supporters say they will continue to meet with officials and rally community engagement to ensure this once-forgotten project finally fulfills its promise. If realized, Connelly Mill would not only protect vital natural resources — it would stand as testament to what determined citizens can build when they refuse to give up.
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