Maryland’s school board candidates are running in this year’s election because they want to make their school districts better, a goal echoed in the objectives of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
But nearly halfway into the 10-year-long, $30 billion plan to establish a “world-class education system” in Maryland, many candidates are concerned about its feasibility.
“I support many of the goals behind the Blueprint, including early childhood education, competitive teacher salaries, college and career readiness, and additional support for students who need it most,” said Rachelle Johnson, a school board candidate in Harford County. “Where I have more concerns is with how some of those goals are being implemented and paid for.”
As voters prepared to head to the polls on Nov. 3, the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism sent a questionnaire to every candidate running for seats on school boards across Maryland, asking them about their perspectives on key issues in the state’s education system, including the Blueprint.
While most candidates said they believed in the goals of the Blueprint, 62 of the 70 candidates who replied also acknowledged the financial and administrative burden of the plan crafted by lawmakers in Annapolis.
What is the Blueprint?
The Blueprint, approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 2021, makes sweeping changes to education policy with the goal of preparing students for life after high school. State lawmakers pushed the legislation through after then-Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed it, saying he didn’t want to increase taxes as the state was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local school districts work with the Maryland State Board of Education and the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board to implement the plan’s five pillars:
- Expanding access to early childhood education by providing free or discounted rates for public pre-kindergarten programs.
- Attracting better teachers by increasing the minimum starting salary to $60,000 and implementing additional hiring incentives.
- Improving college and career guidance and changing school curriculums so students are academically prepared for life after high school by 10th grade.
- Providing additional support to students who are from lower-income households, are multilingual learners or have learning disabilities.
- Assessing the program’s progress by updating data dashboards and tracking its requirements.
The Blueprint was developed based on recommendations from the Kirwan Commission, a state commission that examined the quality of Maryland’s public school system for three years during Hogan’s term.
Almost halfway through the plan, the state is moving closer to some of its goals.
There has been a 70% increase in enrollment in 3- and 4-year-olds in full-day pre-kindergarten programs between the 2021-22 and 2025-26 school years, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. Over the same time period, literacy scores for students in third through eighth grades have increased by 6.4%, reaching 51.7%, according to the Maryland State Department of Education.
Kwame Jamal Kenyatta-Bey, who is running for the school board in Baltimore City, said he supports the Blueprint because he believes its “fundamental premise is correct.” He argued the state cannot expect improved education outcomes without investing differently in school systems.
“Early childhood education, competitive educator compensation, college and career readiness, and greater support for multilingual learners and economically disadvantaged students are investments in Maryland’s future,” Kenyatta-Bey said.
Kate Taylor Logan, a candidate from Talbot County on the Eastern Shore, expressed support for the $60,000 minimum starting salary for teachers and initiatives like community schools, which provide additional support to families in lower-income areas.
Both candidates said they had concerns regarding the plan’s implementation. Kenyatta-Bey and Logan said its requirements are not always financially feasible for school districts and can be too specific at times, creating additional burdens for administrators.
“Ultimately, the measure of the Blueprint’s success should not simply be whether we checked every required box,” Logan said. “It should be whether teachers are better supported and students are better prepared for college, careers and life.”
Funding challenges
A majority of the school board candidates expressed concerns, however, about the level of funding needed to carry out the goals of the Blueprint.
Sheri Hubbard, a candidate from Dorchester County, said the Blueprint has “lofty and admirable goals,” but raised concerns about the plan’s “costly implementation” in her Eastern Shore county.
“Along with many other counties, we are doing as much as we can with the money allotted to us,” Hubbard said.
As the state prepares an interim evaluation of the Blueprint, its implementation board met on Sept. 17 to outline recommended changes, some of which could provide some financial relief to the state’s widening budget.
The Maryland Department of Legislative Services projects the state’s budget gap will grow from $598 million in fiscal year 2027 to $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2028, as costs for the Blueprint exceed revenue dedicated to the program, according to a June 2026 report from the department.
Meanwhile, local school and county officials have criticized the Blueprint for mandating changes without providing sufficient funding to cover their implementation.
In Montgomery County, home to the state’s largest school district, candidate Cassandra Sung said the funding requirements can put a lot of strain on counties, especially because they risk losing a significant share of their state funding if they don’t comply with the Blueprint. Sung said she is concerned proposed cuts in her county would fall on student support staff rather than on administrative positions.
“Kids can’t meet the Blueprint’s academic goals if their basic needs — safety, stability, a sense of belonging — aren’t met first,” Sung said. “Cutting the staff who meet those needs, in order to protect the Blueprint’s academic mandates, works against the Blueprint’s own purpose.”
Lack of flexibility
Possible changes based on the implementation board’s recommendations, which would have to be approved by the General Assembly, would also provide more leeway in county requirements for the Blueprint, addressing a key complaint from school board candidates.
Several school board candidates voiced concerns over the Blueprint’s rigid requirements within its goals and how it tracks them.
“My concern is not with the Blueprint’s overall goals but whether its implementation allows sufficient local flexibility and recognizes multiple pathways to success,” said Anne Rosen, a candidate from Talbot County.
She said while students should have strong math, writing, reading and critical thinking skills, not all students must attend college after high school. She said she wished the Blueprint did more to highlight other job pathways.
School districts are required to track how they implement the plan’s goals and report on their progress. This can be taxing for administrative offices, especially in school districts with fewer resources and higher student needs, said Stacy McNish, a Baltimore County school board candidate.
“When systems are already stretched, new mandates can feel overwhelming,” McNish said. “This can create dysfunction in the daily operations, even when the goals are positive.”
Other candidates stressed the Blueprint — a complex roadmap for the state’s schools — should not be seen as entirely good or bad.
“I do not think we have to choose between supporting the Blueprint completely or opposing it completely,” said Johnson, the Harford County candidate. “There are parts of it that can make a real difference for students, and there are parts that may need to be changed.”
This story was originally published by Capital News Service, cnsmaryland.org. Reprinted without changes.