What’s Changed Since 2002?

For one thing, there was no Blue Ivy Carter …

…but there was the Bridge to Excellence Act (also known as the Thornton Plan), which the General Assembly passed in 2002 thanks to MSEA’s advocacy. It was an “historic” accomplishment according to the New York Times. Thornton funding helped make Maryland the nation’s highest rated school system five years in a row.

In 2002, Marshall Mathers was already dropping f-bombs and albums and The Eminem Show was the biggest selling album of 2002.

What’s bigger than Eminem was in 2002? Let’s talk about the gains Maryland made when the effects of Bridge to Excellence funding shifted into gear. Here’s a sample:

• Average teacher salaries jumped from $50,261 to $62,849 from 2003 to 2008 — a 25% increase.
• Class size went down as more teachers were hired — the student to teacher ratio went from 15.7 in 2003 to 14.1 in 2008 — a 10% drop.
• Maryland schools were ranked first in the nation by Education Week for five years in a row as achievement gaps narrowed and equity increased.

In 2002, for better or worse…there was no Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and so fewer people had reason to worry about there, their, and they’re.

But since then, we’ve had a lot to to worry about when you look at the big picture for our schools:

• The number of students receiving free and reduced meals in 2002 was 113,128. Now it’s 382,726, a more than 200% increase.
• The number of students who are English language learners in Maryland’s public schools has grown more than 120% since 2002.
• Teacher salaries have remained relatively flat, with the average salary rising only 5% between 2008 and 2016 after the full phase-in of Thornton.
• The student-teacher ratio has plateaued at 14.6 — behind other top-performing states and a 3% increase since the phase-in of Thornton.

It’s clear: after 15 years, we need a new plan to improve funding for our schools.

The gains that Maryland made thanks to Thornton funding have slowed — and in some cases reversed — as changing demographics have challenged resources and the underfunding of our schools has grown to $2.9 billion.

It’s time to get our students the level of funding that they deserve. And it’s time for us to speak up. Come to a public hearing on Kirwan or get involved in MSEA’s campaign to raise school funding.