A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From the Baltimore Sun: Baltimore’s Quick Economic Growth Contributes to Loss in State Aid to Schools
"Here's the good news: For the second year in a row, Baltimore's economy is improving faster than anywhere else in Maryland.
"Here's the bad news: Once again, that has contributed to deep cuts to the city schools budget.
"Because much of Baltimore's economic growth has been fueled by a wide array of tax subsidies, city government looks on paper a lot richer than it is, lawmakers and budget analysts agree. Some of Baltimore's most valuable buildings pay little or no property taxes, but a state formula that determines aid for schools assumes that they do.
"In the past year, the city's assumed wealth per pupil grew by nearly 10 percent — double the pace of anywhere else in Maryland. That growth, calculated based on both property values and resident income, combined with a drop in student enrollment to cause an automatic cut of $24 million in state aid to Baltimore's schools.
"But many of the city's schools still lack heat, air conditioning, working water fountains, supplies and staff, officials point out.
"'The fact that, after years lagging behind the state, our economic growth is being used against the children of the city is a bad thing,' Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. 'Far too many people are still recovering from the Great Recession. We know our schools continue to have needs in excess of the budget we're able to provide.'"
From the Washington Post: Maryland is Still Grappling with Separate But Equal in Higher Education
"A recent ruling in a decade-old case over the lack of investment in Maryland’s historically black colleges shows the state’s troubles with inequity in higher education are far from resolved.
"Federal judge Catherine C. Blake nixed a proposal by a coalition of alumni from Maryland’s four historically black institutions to merge the University of Baltimore with the state’s largest public HBCU, Morgan State University. The idea is one of three the group put forth to create parity among the state’s public colleges and universities.
"Blake previously dismissed a call for increased funding, arguing that state appropriations had improved over the years. But in the latest ruling, she supported the coalition’s bid for the creation of academic niches at historically black institutions to make them more competitive.
"The coalition sued the state in 2006 for underfunding historically black colleges and allowing other state schools to duplicate their programs, placing pressure on enrollment. Blake recommended the parties enter mediation in 2013 to redress what she called a 'shameful history of de jure segregation' and 'practices of unnecessary program duplication that continue to have segregative effects' at the four schools — Morgan State, Coppin State University, Bowie State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
"At the time, the court found that 60 percent of the non-core programs at Maryland’s historically black institutions were unnecessarily duplicated at the state’s traditionally white institutions, which had just 18 percent of their non-core programs replicated at other public schools.
"Problems came to a head in 2005, when the Maryland Higher Education Commission, which declined to comment for this article, blessed a joint MBA program between UB and Towson University. Officials at Morgan State railed against the agreement, saying the program would sap white students from its own MBA program. Morgan State enjoyed steady enrollment of white students in its program before UB started its own in the 1970s. Although the joint degree was scrapped in November 2015, the case remains ongoing."
From the Baltimore Sun: Harford Schools’ Ban on Trips to City Lifted
"Harford County school officials lifted their ban Monday on field trips and other travel to Baltimore.
"The decision came after Harford County Executive Barry Glassman urged the school system to reconsider the ban, and Baltimore elected officials criticized the county's schools for denying children access to rich cultural experiences.
"The county had banned field trips to Baltimore indefinitely, citing safety concerns following the unrest last spring after the death of Freddie Gray.
"After the riots of April 27, school systems around the region canceled field trips. That policy changed within a month as the city returned to normal. But when the trial of the first police officer charged in Gray's arrest and death got underway in December, some school systems, including Baltimore County and Harford County, again canceled trips.
"All other counties have since lifted the prohibition, but Harford County took a different position — until Monday. Caravan said the school system rescinded the ban based on new information from law enforcement officials."