Governor Hogan Using Education Funding To Play Politics, Harming Students of Color

Governor Larry Hogan’s recent actions on school funding suggest that he is playing politics with students’ educations.

The governor recently announced that he will make it a priority to find extra funding for three school districts with declining enrollment in rural districts (all of which overwhelmingly voted for him in the last election). Yet at the same time Governor Hogan continues to refuse to release tens of millions of dollars the legislature set aside for districts struggling with higher costs and growing enrollment. Those rural districts may well need help, but the cash-starved urban and suburban districts, which are being denied aid, are responsible for educating the lion’s share of minority students in Maryland.

Earlier this month, the Governor sent a letter to the president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, saying he intends to include $5.6 million in new education funding for Carroll, Kent, and Garrett counties. They all have declining school enrollment.

The Governor’s belief in sufficient funding for some schools but not others is baffling. And it is unclear what criteria he is using to determine which of the state’s school districts are the most deserving of additional support next year.

Over the past year, Governor Hogan has fought vigorously to withhold the $68.1 million Geographic Cost Education Index (GCEI) funding that the legislature included in the state budget. This has directly resulted in larger classroom sizes, less individualized instruction for students, and staff and teacher reductions in 13 districts that were already struggling to provide a quality education to all students. Governor Hogan even doubled down on his unwillingness to release the funds when at the end of June, the state closed out the fiscal year with an unexpected $295 million surplus.

The decision not to release the GCEI money harms the majority of students in Maryland, who disproportionately are students of color. Prince George’s County, Baltimore City, and Montgomery County, just three of the 13 districts affected by the GCEI cuts, collectively lost $49.6 million, accounting for almost three fourths of all GCEI funds not released to districts (73 percent). They also have the largest non-white enrollment in the state: 95.5 percent in Prince George’s, 92 in Baltimore, and 68 in Montgomery.

This inequitable treatment resulted in these three counties experiencing the highest per-classroom funding cuts in the state. Every classroom in Prince George’s County lost $3,691, Baltimore City classrooms each lost $4,631, and Montgomery County has $2,447 less per classroom.

Conversely, the districts that Governor Hogan has identified as needing additional funding did not experience comparable cuts. Garrett County lost no money because of the GCEI funding being withheld, while the cuts that Carroll and Kent counties experienced were relatively modest, on a per-classroom basis. Kent County lost $712 per classroom and Carroll County classrooms lost $988 – just a fraction of what the top three school districts lost.

Demographically, these school districts are very different: collectively the nonwhite population makes up only 13.4 percent of their student populations.

The rural counties have their own needs and would likely benefit from additional funds, as well. However, for Maryland to be successful, we must ensure that all of our schools have the resources they need to help all students, of all racial backgrounds, succeed.