The voters of Maryland are getting what a majority asked for at the polls: a balanced budget. Without delay, Governor Larry Hogan has offered a plan that would erase an $800-million shortfall—right away. One result of that is a $143 million haircut for schools across the state. Baltimore’s share of the trim is $35 million.
Before Maryland senators this week, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called the governor's opening salvo hurtful and counter-productive. The new governor has said he wants Baltimore to become Maryland's economic engine. That can’t happen, she suggested, if the schools are weakened. "Our school system," she said, has improved. "… it’s not the time to change course."
Baltimore Delegate Sandy Rosenberg immediately weighed in in support. A headline touted the governor’s new budget as budget-balancing without "gimmicks," the delegate noted. "But at what cost," he asked. "Does a $157 million cut to K-12 classes and community colleges put our education system at risk? Would that cut diminish our attractiveness to businesses that need an educated work force? Would it affect their employees who want a quality education for their children?"
The Democrats haven’t come up with an alternative yet, but they will, he said. Because making decisions on spending priorities and public education policy is "what governing is about." What we are seeing, perhaps, is a test: do the voters and their representatives care as much about the immediate end of budget deficits as they do about a maintaining quality public education?