Anticipating future budget gaps, Maryland lawmaker calls for cost containment for education spending
The Maryland General Assembly closed a $1.4 billion budget gap during its 90-day legislative session, but a Republican critic of the state’s education funding formula remains concerned about its impact on the state’s long-term budget outlook.
In the days before the session ended, when Gov. Wes Moore signed his nearly $71 billion budget into law, Maryland House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said the five-year-old Blueprint for Maryland’s Future was putting unsustainable pressure on the budget.
“We can’t afford the Blueprint without massive middle class tax hikes, period,” he said in a statement. “We’re going to have to reform the Blueprint. We can’t afford the Blueprint. I’ve said it 5,000 times.”
“I don’t understand why my Democratic friends and colleagues can’t just admit it,” he added.
Budget projections by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services indicate the state’s structural deficit could balloon to as much as $4 billion by 2031.
Asked about Buckel’s statement, Maryland State Board of Education President Josh Michael told WTOP: “The Blueprint is a very ambitious investment in public education.”
“My focus is on making sure that those dollars are invested exceptionally well,” he said.
Part of the Blueprint’s efforts to attract and retain educators is a requirement that school districts set $60,000 as the floor for educator salaries by July 1.
In 2024, the Maryland Department of Education reported nearly 11% of teachers did not return to state classrooms.
Michael said his department would work with counties struggling to reach the new salary minimum.
“But our expectation at this point is that all are going to meet that minimum $60,000 standard,” he said.