Inside MSEA: Improving School Funding
Kirwan Commission is a big opportunity to look at funding—and salary
As MSEA’s representative on the 25-member Kirwan Commission, which will submit school funding recommendations to the General Assembly next year, I was among those who heard national consultants report that we’re annually shortchanging our schools by $2.9 billion. There was mixed response from my colleagues — some immediately pushed back, claiming that additional money won’t guarantee every student’s success and others said we should improve results with current or reduced resources.
Now the commission is taking a deep dive into some of the top performing school systems around the world and evaluating what it would take to implement some of their programs or standards. We began by looking at educators: how they’re trained, provided entry into the profession, hired, evaluated, supported, and compensated.
More than a decade ago, Maryland school systems used the additional funding provided by the Thornton Commission to improve teacher salaries. We became the first state to guarantee at least $40,000 to every teacher. That provided a competitive edge among states in our region.
But following the phase-in of Thornton, school funding has plateaued. Combined with the lean years of the Great Recession and recovery, Maryland’s competitive position has been destroyed. Since 2008–09, growth in starting salaries has been less than half a percent a year in ten school systems. Five school systems froze their starting salary in seven of the eight years. Statewide, we have yet to see a single school system break the $50,000 starting level.
Simultaneously, employee contributions towards health insurance and pensions have escalated and benefits have dropped. For example, educators hired over the past six years are accruing benefits at a significantly lower rate than those first employed before them. One of every three educators is in this lower tier.
The Kirwan Commission represents a once in a decade opportunity to improve entry — and across the board — salaries in addition to providing equitable and adequate funding in every school in Maryland. We’ve got to get this right.
