Teachers' union lobbies lawmakers to fully fund Blueprint, among legislative priorities

Yahoo

28-01-2025

Joseph Mahach, left, and Todd Reynolds wait for other American Federation of Teachers Maryland members inside the House of Delegates building to lobby legislators about the group's legislative priorities for the 2025 session. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
Ninth-grade math teacher Joseph Mahach has a simple message for Maryland lawmakers: Fully fund the Blueprint for Maryland's Future.
The Baltimore City teacher joined dozens of fellow American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Maryland members Monday at their annual lobby night in Annapolis, where their main objective was to persuade lawmakers to stay the course and keep the 10-year education reform plan intact.
But that plan is facing pushback on several fronts as the Moore administration and some legislative leaders look for ways to close a projected $3 billion budget gap in fiscal 2026. Among other changes, an administration bill introduced last week would slow the increase in expected per pupil funding and would defer the expansion of 'collaborative time,' or the time teachers have outside class for other schoolwork.
'We came up with a plan, and now we're saying, 'Man, never mind. We're not gonna pay for it.' So, it seems a little backward,' Mahach said Monday inside the House of Delegates building. 'I teach three classes out of a four-period day, [so] increased planning time would be huge for me. It's a big, big deal.'
Amid teacher shortage, Blueprint board recommends revising 'collaborative time' timeline
Part of what Mahach and other educators have expressed concern over is the plan by Gov. Wes Moore (D) in his 'Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act,' to defer state funding aimed at helping local school systems implement collaborative time for their teachers. That money would be used by local schools to hire the extra teachers needed to make possible the increase in collaborative time — from 20% of a teacher's day to 40% over eight years.
The Blueprint currently calls for collaborative time funding to being in fiscal 2026 at $163 per student, growing annually until it reaches $1,527 per pupil by fiscal 2033. Moore's bill would keep the funding levels the same, but delay them for four years, with implementation starting in fiscal 2030 and running through fiscal 2037.
While there is a pause in the per pupil funding, Senate Bill 429/House Bill 504 also includes language that would let local school officials apply for a Collaborative Time Innovation Demonstration Grant.
Instead of granting the collaborative time funding outright, the four-year, $48 million grant program — from fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2029 — would allow local schools leaders to apply to the state Department of Education for grants that could be used for professional development, to hire additional staff to 'support teacher release time' and other uses approved by the department.
One reason some advocates have agreed to the deferral of the collaborative time plan is the fact that it would require thousands of additional teachers at a time when state schools face a teacher shortage. It has been estimated that up to 15,000 more teachers would be needed to expand collaborative time for next school year, and that number does not account for the 6,000 current teachers who are working on a conditional certification.
Because of the teacher shortage, the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), the group in charge of overseeing the Blueprint plan, voted unanimously this month to recommend a pause to implement collaborative time. With the inclusion of the Collaborative Time Innovation Demonstration Grant, a pause in implementing collaborative time has also won the support of State Superintendent Carey Wright and state Board of Education President Joshua Michael.
But where some officials see a deferral, advocates like AFT Maryland President Kenya Campbell sees only cuts to education.
'We're already behind the eight ball,' Campbell said. 'Making cuts to the Blueprint is unacceptable.'
Campbell had a budget recommendation for legislators looking to make cuts: She said they should target the Broadening Opportunities for Options and Opportunities for Students Today, or BOOST, program.
The governor's budget keeps $9 million toward the program that allows low-income students attend private schools. That same amount was allocated last school year for nearly 3,000 students to receive scholarship awards at 175 schools.
'I believe in public education,' said Campbell, a former elementary teacher and teacher mentor. 'We're taking from public education and putting it into private settings, settings where kids are screened on whether or not they can get into those settings.'
Meanwhile, the AFT has other legislative priorities that includes its members who work in higher education.
It supports HB 661 sponsored by Del. Linda Foley (D-Montgomery), which would allow for full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty at the 12 institutions in the University System of Maryland, St. Mary's College and Morgan State University to collectively bargain.
Foley has a companion bill – HB 211 – that would also allow graduate assistants and postdoctoral associates to also collectively bargain.
'It's really enabling legislation for the workers,' Foley said. 'It's up to them [workers] to decide if they want a union, but they should be able to decide to have a union if they want one.'
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