Baltimore Lawmaker Wants State Money for Schools - Bill Would Require State To Handover $30M By July 1

March 9, 2005 Tron Nick

A state lawmaker claims the state owes Baltimore's school system $30 million, and she wants the money fast. Baltimore City Delegate Jill Carter, D-District 41, sponsored a bill this legislative session that she said could help speed up the payout, WBAL-TV 11 News education reporter Tim Tooten reportedCarter fought for her bill -- House Bill 1297 -- at a House Appropriations Committee hearing Thursday afternoon. She said her bill would force the state to hand over the millions due to Baltimore's schools by July 1. The Baltimore Democrat said the $30 million is the same amount Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Joseph Kaplan ordered the state to pay up last summer. At the time, Kaplan ruled that the district needed between $30 million and $45 million -- on top of the millions he ordered as part of a consent decree in 1996 that led to a city-state school partnership. Carter said the new funding is overdue. "Baltimore City children have still been deprived of the adequate amount of funding they need for an adequate education under the Constitution. So, we are hoping we can convince the Legislature of that," Carter said. A city school student at the hearing couldn't agree more. "Instead of trying to play the blame game and place all the responsibility of this budget crisis onto the city, when is someone going to care enough to stand and make the situation better for students?" said Chelcy Carson. Carter's bill would earmark the $30 million for specific school programs, including pre-kindergarten, smaller class sizes, textbooks and teacher recruitment, Tooten reported. The House Appropriations Committees also heard from a Baltimore attorney. "There are a substantial amount of children at risk -- nearly 100,000 children in that system. They are poor and mostly African-American, and they really don't have any alternative to get an adequate education unless they attend public schools," Neal Janey said. But the state's Board of Education isn't willing to pay up the money, and plans to fight the school funding bill in a hearing early next week before the Court of Special Appeals. [ more ]