The Carroll County Commission met jointly with the county school board Wednesday afternoon to discuss the nuances of implementing the state-mandated Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Education Reform bill.
Among the Blueprint’s many ambitious initiatives, universal kindergarten for low-income families, improving job readiness for high school graduates and shifting resources to better serve students eligible for compensatory education were announced Wednesday. This was one of the topics discussed at the meeting. The Blueprint essentially aims to direct more resources to students in need, including those living in high concentrations of poverty. The legislation also includes guidelines for providing compensatory education services and supporting children who are not receiving needed special education services, especially during the pandemic.
The blueprint increases funding for compensatory education, special education, and English language learner students, but requires that the funds be spent as specified. Assistant Superintendent of Operations John O’Neill told board members Wednesday that CCPS spends more than the Blueprint minimum on special education, but increasing spending on compensatory education will be a challenge. .
“We spend more money on specials than we should and I wish we could spend more,” O’Neill said. “We are spending far less than we need and (compensatory) education, but there are some things that need to be addressed.”
School board member Donna Sivigny said she believes shifting resources to meet the blueprint requirements will result in fewer teachers in some schools.
Commissioner Kenneth Cuyler said that leaving some schools with fewer resources would mean that families with children in overcrowded and understaffed schools would switch to private schools or homeschooling, reducing public education. He said it would have a negative impact. Mr. Kyler serves as the school board president and was elected to the school board last year.
“I don’t agree with this philosophy,” Kyler said. “I think this is deeply flawed and has a lot of unintended consequences.”
Commissioner Michael Guerin and Commission Chairman Ed Rothstein did not attend the meeting.
In a letter written by Guerin and posted on social media last week, he found the blueprint’s demands, including increased spending on compensatory education students, disregard for class sizes, lack of success metrics, and mandatory hiring of teachers, to be particularly egregious. He said that
“I sincerely hope that state leaders choose to delay implementation of the MD Blueprint and address broader concerns,” Guerin said in an email after the meeting.