News
One Pandemic Year Later: Maryland Billionaires’ Wealth Jumps $7.3 Billion While Ordinary Marylanders Struggle to Make Ends Meet
Maryland Fair Funding Coalition, Our Maryland, Americans for Tax Fairness
March 30, 2021
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s 10 billionaires collectively saw their wealth increase by $7.3 billion, a 29.2% gain, over the last year from when restrictions were imposed to address the COVID-19 pandemic. During this same year more than 8,000 Marylanders died and 400,000 fell ill from COVID-19 while hundreds of thousands of Marylanders have faced losing their jobs and housing and struggled to get unemployment insurance, food, health care and other basic needs.
Legislative Leaders Promise Help for Baltimore, Prince George’s on Kirwan Costs
Maryland Matters
January 12, 2020
Prince George’s County officials are grappling with a proposed state education funding formula that could require a nine-digit local funding increase over the next decade.
Rushern Baker and Don Mohler on WYPR Mid-day
WYPR – Facebook Live
January 8, 2020
‘Midday’ is live with former County Executives Don Mohler (Baltimore County) and Rushern Baker (Prince George’s County.)
Hogan, new legislative leaders debate education funding
January 8, 2020
Just hours before the opening of the 2020 Maryland General Assembly session, Gov. Larry Hogan set the stage for a showdown with the legislature’s new leaders over their proposed $4 billion-per-year program to improve public school education in the state. “Increasing education in Maryland we all agree on,” Hogan said Wednesday morning. “There is …
Maryland doesn’t need a ‘brawl’ but it does need more money for schools
January 8, 2020
Education is top priority for Maryland General Assembly leaders, who pledge reforms without a big tax increase
January 5, 2020
Headed into the start of Maryland’s 441st General Assembly session Wednesday, the legislature’s two new leaders are trying to pull off a historic feat: Pass sweeping reforms aimed at greatly improving the state’s public schools — and do it without a massive tax increase.
Leading Maryland Democrats: No rate hikes to income, property or sales taxes in 2020
January 3, 2020
Maryland’s new legislative leaders flatly ruled out raising income, property or sales tax rates this year to pay for sweeping education measures.
Sweeping Maryland education plan seeks equity, improvement
January 3, 2020
At the heart of a sweeping plan to improve education in Maryland with billions in added funding is the goal of addressing inequities in schools that serve high numbers of children in poverty — a problem experts in education say is a fundamental one in the United States.
Whose taxes will go up to pay for Maryland’s new education plan?
Jan 3, 2020
It would be hard to find anyone who didn’t support the goals of Maryland’s recent plan to improve how we educate our students. Smaller class sizes, higher teacher pay, more one-on-one instruction for struggling learners, expanded learning time and an independent group to make sure it’s all implemented correctly — what’s not to love?
Action on Kirwan should be top priority
Dec 12, 2019
Funding for Garrett County Schools has been an issue that has remained at the forefront for more than a year, and nowhere was that more evident during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
Letter: When We Prioritize Education Funding, We Make a Statement
Dec 5, 2019
Kirwan Commission recommendations could provide major economic boost, report finds
Dec 3, 2019
Following the recommendations of the “Kirwan Commission” could lead to major increases in tax revenue for Maryland, reduce the cost of social welfare programs and put thousands of mothers to work, according to a report released Tuesday.
Alternative Fact of the Week: Kirwan’s failure to do something it wasn’t supposed to do
Nov 25, 2019
In 2016, the General Assembly created the Commission on Innovation & Excellence in Education to recommend how best to upgrade the performance of Maryland’s K-12 public schools and make state aid formulas more equitable. After several years of research and debate, the panel’s 25 members finalized their recommendations last week.
Kirwan Commission Blesses Education Funding Formula, Rollout of Reforms
Nov 22, 2019
The Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education ended with a standing ovation on Thursday ― but there will be plenty more work to do in the upcoming legislative session.
Kirwan and His Supporters Exchange Words With Hogan’s Team
Nov 22, 2019
Legislators in Annapolis have a plan to fund education reforms from the Kirwan Commission that wouldn’t require any new revenue until the 2022 fiscal year, a legislative leader told the Women’s Democratic Club of Montgomery County.
To Fund Kirwan, Union Proposes Corporate and Income Tax Reforms
Nov 19, 2019
An influential labor union is pressing for changes to Maryland’s tax code that would result in higher tax rates for the wealthy and corporations ― and, in turn, fund the ambitious Kirwan Commission education reform plans.
To Fund Kirwan, Union Proposes Corporate and Income Tax Reforms
Nov 19, 2019
An influential labor union is pressing for changes to Maryland’s tax code that would result in higher tax rates for the wealthy and corporations ― and, in turn, fund the ambitious Kirwan Commission education reform plans.
What’s the Kirwan commission? Most Marylanders don’t know about the group working to revamp public education.
Sept 27, 2019
A new poll reveals that while most Marylanders support paying more in taxes to support public schools, the overwhelming majority doesn’t know what the Kirwan commission is or does.