By now I am sure that many readers are tired of my complaints about the Kirwan Commission recommendations, but the recent events in the Maryland General Assembly leave me no choice but to complain at least one more time. I am writing this message in the last week of February. So, it is very possible that things will change in Annapolis before the end of the legislative session. However, for now I am very disturbed at the actions of the leadership of the Democratic party as they propose how to implement the recommendations from the Kirwan Commission.
It’s not unreasonable to want to improve the educational structure of public schools in the state, but the price tag for this is enormous – $4 billion per year when fully implemented. Additionally, wasn’t the public promised that the state’s educational product would improve greatly with the implementation of the Thornton Commission recommendations in 2003? According to former Delegate Herb Mc Millan, the state has spent a total of $3.2 billion to implement the Thornton recommendations, and it has resulted in a one-point rise in National Education Assessment Program scores in fifteen years! That’s hardly a good return on the investment.
Turning now to the most recent development in this on-going drama, on February 20th Delegate Eric Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat who is the House majority leader, introduced a bill to reduce the state sales tax by one cent, but expand the sales tax to include taxing services, such as legal services, accounting, engineering, haircuts, lawn work and many others. According to Delegate Luedtke, the tax exemption on medical services, educational services and health services would continue, although a comprehensive list of what will be taxed and won’t be taxed has not yet been produced. Earlier in the session, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones had pledged that across the board increases in sales tax, income tax or property tax would not be used to fund Kirwan. So, my blood pressure rose when Luedtke’s bill broke that pledge. Further, Delegate Luedtke said that this tax increase would result in each household paying about $3.00 a week in increased taxes to produce $2.6 billion in funding for Kirwan. Yet many are challenging Luedtke’s math skills in stating it would only cost each household $156 per year. Delegate Kathy Szeliga, Republican Baltimore & Harford Counties, said a back of the envelope calculation indicated that each household would pay between $1,400 and $1,700 a year.
One delegate suggested to me that the tax on services was just a trial balloon that Del. Luedtke threw up without consulting all his House members. That may be true, but there were other sponsors on the bill. I don’t know what to think, but the cynic in me says that this is part of a shell game wherein a tax that is less controversial will be substituted for the tax on services, and the Democrats will expect everyone to accept that less controversial tax. Don’t count on it! Further, isn’t it appalling that the supporters of Kirwan have had two years to create a funding bill for those recommendations, and here we are at the half -way point in this legislative session and no consensus funding plan has emerged. Additionally, for something that will be so expensive, most citizens are not even familiar with the specifics of the Kirwan recommendations. What a sad state of events.
One final thought- Hartford County Executive, Barry Glassman has suggested that the state choose one jurisdiction, such as Baltimore City, and implement all of the Kirwan recommendations in that jurisdiction to see if they produce the desired results. If they do after a five-year trial period, the plan could be introduced statewide. That seems like a prudent approach for something as sweeping and costly as the Kirwan recommendations. It seems much more sensible than Del. Luedtke’s wild proclamation that once Kirwan is in place Maryland will have the best education system in the world. Call me a cynic, but I much prefer the slow and stead approach of a trial period than I do the hyperbole of a world’s best proclamation.
Eric Rockel
President, GTCC