Putting the gold in gold standard schools

Originally published in The Baltimore Sun.

Investing in public schools is one of the smartest steps we can take to ensure our state’s future prosperity and guarantee every child a fair shot. Schools located in areas with concentrated poverty need to go the extra mile, as research has repeatedly demonstrated. The Sun’s reporting (“Small schools, high salaries reasons for city district’s budget gap,” May 7) shows that Baltimore schools are using proven strategies to improve outcomes in a challenging environment. We should focus on strengthening these efforts, not nipping them in the bud.

A randomized study, the gold standard in social science research, found that students in New York City attending small high schools were more likely to graduate on time and attend college than their counterparts at larger schools. Similarly, multiple studies have found that increasing teacher salaries leads to lower turnover and dropout rates and is especially important in challenging schools. In light of this evidence, paying Baltimore teachers $48,400, or $3,900 less than a typical college-educated worker in Baltimore, is far from unreasonable.

Meanwhile, the most important factor in city schools’ financial woes is the erosion of state support since the Great Recession. State and local funding fell short of the district’s needs in the 2014-2015 school year by $290 million, according to the state Department of Legislative Services. If we consistently made the investments Baltimore children deserve, there would be no need to search for more cost-cutting in the classroom.

Christopher Meyer, Baltimore

The writer is a research analyst with the Maryland Center on Economic Policy