Fair funding for all of our public schools

Westport Academy

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, September 25, 2015

This week, I called upon one of our former mayors to help resolve an increasingly tense conflict over funding for our city’s public charter schools. I am so pleased that former Mayor Kurt Schmoke, who now serves as the President of the University of Baltimore, agreed to my request to help facilitate a new round of conversations.

I know that for many families, the opportunity to enroll in our public charter schools and participate in public school choice is an attractive reason to stay in Baltimore. But the recent level of hostility and tension between the school system administration and some of these charter schools does not do anything to help our children learn. We should not be diverting classroom money to courtroom battles.

I have asked former Mayor Schmoke to facilitate conversations between the key stakeholders. The goal is to ultimately produce a funding agreement for charter schools that does not fund one group of children at the expense of another.  

Former Mayor Schmoke understands our city school system and appreciates the importance of having so many different attractive public education options for parents and their children. He also served as mediator of a challenging education dispute in the Washington D.C. public schools.

While the Baltimore City Charter and the Maryland Constitution restrict my participation in the day-to-day operations of our public school system, there are times when I feel it is critical for me to get involved.  That’s why I stepped forward to push the General Assembly to approve the $1.1 billion package for school construction and renovation for Baltimore City. And that’s why I found an additional $4.2 million in our budget last spring to enhance our out-of-school-time offerings for youth.

This dispute over funding for charter schools is another one of those critical moments, and I believe that former Mayor Schmoke can play a valuable role in bringing everyone back to the table for serious, engaging conversations. I am grateful for Mayor Schmoke’s involvement. 

The students in our public charter schools, like the students in all of our public schools, share one critical thing in common – they are all OUR children. We should never lose sight of that fact.

This originally appeared in the Rawlings-Blake Review. If you do not receive the Mayor's weekly newsletter, subscribe here.

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