Maryland Court Orders Better Funding for City Schools,
State Will Appeal
On August 20, 2004, Judge Joseph Kaplan of Baltimore
City Circuit Court held that the education being provided
to the children of Baltimore continues to violate the
"thorough and efficient" education provision
of the Maryland Constitution. Plaintiffs in the school
funding adequacy case, Bradford v. Maryland State
Board of Education, returned to court recently
due to funding and program cuts instituted after mismanagement
had created a $58 million deficit in the Baltimore City
school district.
Management has been replaced. But, under a state law
that required the district to pay down the deficit over
two years, summer school was eliminated this year, class
sizes grew, and the number of experienced teachers,
mentors, and guidance counselors was reduced, which
the court found "impermissibly interfered with
progress towards providing a constitutionally adequate
education for Baltimore schoolchildren."
Judge Kaplan declared the two-year payback law unconstitutional
and ordered restoration of the $30-$45 million that
was stripped from the 2004-05 school budget (for the
deficit) and reinstatement of reduced programs and services.
"Judge Kaplan has been clear – the children
must come first," said Bebe Verdery, director of
the ACLU of Maryland Education Reform Project. The ACLU
of Maryland represents the plaintiffs.
As reported in the Baltimore Sun on August 26, the
State Board of Education voted to appeal the decision.
In 2002, after a new funding system was enacted with
plans for funding increases to be phased in over six
years, the Bradford court retained jurisdiction, pending
actual implementation. Thus, when significant funding
shifted this year to deficit payback, plaintiffs were
able to return to court without the delay and expense
of filing a new case. In his decision, Judge Kaplan
also criticized the planned phase-in because it front-loaded
funding increases to wealthier counties and should have
directed more funding sooner to the benefit of the at-risk
students in Baltimore City.
Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, August 30, 2004
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