BEE Education Candidates
Here, you’ll find all of the responses to our Baltimoreans for Educational Equity BEE an Education Candidate candidate questionnaire. Candidates will be featured alphabetically, in the following sections:
BEE Education Candidates: Candidates who replied to our questionnaire, and made the grade! We don’t do endorsements, but a candidate with this badge next to their name indicates that they have committed to prioritizing Baltimore’s kids, our schools, and our teachers, and that they have a plan to fully-fund and implement the #blueprint4MD recommendations.
Respondents: These candidates have graciously replied to our questionnaire, but who didn’t earn the BEE Education Candidate badge. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have great ideas, it just means we didn’t feel that they articulated their plan to fully-fund and implement the #blueprint4MD recommendations. We still want you to see what they said so that you can be the judge.
Didn’t Reply: These candidates haven’t replied yet, and the deadline for our questionnaire is rapidly approaching! Click the button next to their name to tweet @ them or send them an email telling them that you want them to put education FIRST in Baltimore’s priorities!
NAME: SHEILA DIXON
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: The city's share of the Kirwan Commission will increase to more than $300 million by 2030. The City collects about $1.5 billion in local taxes. Increasing funding to meet the Kirwan opportunity must come from a variety of sources only some of which I can identify without digging deep into the budget and consulting budget experts. Ideas include an across the board cut to non-youth oriented agencies; a reduction in debt service on capital funding and an increase in red light camera fines.
BEE's Notes:
Ms. Dixon has a plan that shows an authentic commitment to fully funding the city’s share of Kirwan.
In the future, we’d like her to be more specific, especially when it comes to how she defines “non-youth-oriented” agencies.
FINAL GRADE: B
NAME: MARY MILLER
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: Every student in Baltimore has the right to a quality education, but our current education system is deeply inequitable, leading to vastly different outcomes and inadequate preparation for college and/or a career...My plan for inclusive growth will raise the city’s income levels and grow the tax base, allowing for increased contributions to the education budget. We need to prioritize spending on education in our city budget.
I anticipate that as we reduce crime, we can rebalance the budget, devoting less money to BPD specifically and more toward other public safety areas, including youth programs.
BEE's Notes:
Candidate Miller recognizes the intersection between economic justice and educational equity, and the need to prioritize education spending for Baltimore. Our team also appreciates that Candidate Miller identified a need to redirect funds from police spending to youth programs (which she cites as a “public
safety area”).
FINAL GRADE: A
NAME: Council President Brandon Scott
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: All students deserve a world-class education, and fully adopting the Kirwan recommendations will put us on the right track towards an equitable education for all of Baltimore’s youth. For too long, zip code has been the determining factor for a child’s success in this city. I am committed to righting this historical wrong, through fiscally responsible measures.
We have never had a mayor who considered the school system as their responsibility and made it a priority. In August, in the first piece of my Legislative Agenda, I introduced a resolution demanding the City’s Department of Finance to present the City Council with a proactive plan to increase local funding for our public schools. Additionally, one of my first acts as Council President was to negotiate nearly $3 million in additional funding to open all rec centers on Saturdays and provide meaningful programming for our young people.
I was the first official to fully commit to funding Kirwan. I also called on the Mayor to spend our City’s $34 million FY19 surplus on school infrastructure upgrades. As Mayor, I am committed to fully and responsibly funding Kirwan through smarter spending, re-allocating funds, and strategic public-private partnerships.
BEE NOTES: Council President Scott identifies specific strategies and lenses for budgetary analysis, and provides a detailed outline of how he will ensure the funding of Kirwan recommendations. We also love that he recognizes the need to redirect funds to other youth-empowerment strategies like Rec & Parks and employment development.
FINAL GRADE: A
NAME: TJ Smith
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: Under the Smith Administration, we will utilize forensic audits, budget reappropriation, and increased agency efficiency to help fund the Kirwan Commission recommendations. We will also examine the large portfolio of city-owned assets to determine the feasibility of sale to increase the revenue necessary to comply with the anticipated Kirwan funding recommendations. In addition, we will conduct a review of all non-profit organizations to ensure we are getting the amount of efficiency as expected.
Furthermore, my administration will work with the school system to establish robust partnerships with the Baltimore business community. Such success stories involving school-business collaboration exist in other jurisdictions throughout the United States. Partnering with area businesses can help improve student achievement, provide needed mentorship to students, and helps to create a more prepared workforce.
My education funding plan will work to limit any detrimental fiscal impacts on youth-facing agencies in the city. We need to responsibly invest in our youth, but we also need to know where the current funding is going.
Finally, and most importantly, I strongly believe that metrics need to be established to ensure the intended educational outcomes of Kirwan are achieved.
BEE's Notes:
There are good reasons to give Mr. Smith an "A" however we have questions and concerns. He has outlined specific strategies he will use to adapt the budget, but we need to know what "establish robust partnerships with the Baltimore business community" means.
Additionally, we don't believe that liquidating city-owned assets is smart or sustainable, even if it could materially pay for Kirwan.
FINAL GRADE: B
NAME: Dante Swinton
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: Before Kirwan, I already have a plan to allocate an additional $83 million toward education...In order to fund Kirwan, we need to increase our tax base. As a major piece of my plan, I propose implementing a 2% nonresident income tax, which will increase to 4% over five years. Marylanders who commute into our city and use our resources, but then take the resources they gain out of the city should play a role in lifting up Baltimore. This will encourage commuters to move back into the city, buying more homes...
Moreover, there are pieces of the budget that seem rather unnecessary. For example, there is a line item in the Fiscal 20 budget for "Miscellaneous General Expenses" for $30 million (and had around the same amount in FY19). I sincerely doubt that's a line item that must be maintained, and therefore can be reallocated toward education.
BEE's Notes:
Many aspects of Mr. Swinton’s plan deserve an “A,” not only for a commitment to prioritizing where the money comes from, but also for specificity and ambition.
That said, the weaker components of the plan, including a lack of understanding of certain budgetary line items and the scope of certain aspects of his plan leaves BEE with doubts about how or if Mr. Swinton could execute, and whether an inability to do so would unravel the parts of the plan that we love.
FINAL GRADE: B
NAME: Rikki Vaughn
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: [We will] reallocate funds from the Baltimore police department and putting towards our education. Also, getting a full audit on all agencies and put it into the education of our community. Education is our top priority in our campaign. We will take the money that is confiscated from our police department and put it into our schools. For example, when they impound vehicles and auction them off, those funding will go within our education system as well.
BEE's Notes: Candidate Vaughn sees a potential to redirect funds from a bloated BPD budget to fund the city’s share of the #blueprint4MD, which we support, however he does not offer particular or specific details on how the rest of these funds would be raised. Finally, the language of insistence on “audits” belies the truth that our Public Schools *have*, contrary to the oft-parroted narrative, been audited. While we are inclined to believe that Mr. Vaughn would be open to our input, there is room for the candidate to improve his understanding of the costs and compulsory details of the #blueprint4MD
FINAL GRADE: C
NAME: Thiru Vignarajah
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: Yes. We will fully fund Kirwan...We are the only campaign that has specifically outlined how we will pay for Kirwan’s demands. We have committed to becoming the first city in America to legalize and tax marijuana without federal or state approval, earmarking that money exclusively for educational priorities...We will also require casinos to contribute their fair share to the Kirwan bill...the educational priorities that will rely on revenues derived from sales of marijuana...will encourage enrollment not only in high school, but in these graduate programs. I have committed to making every elementary school a community school to better provide resources and support to our children and their families. Finally, I have promised to equip every classroom with a second adult resource to ensure our children are receiving sufficient attention and their needs are monitored in the classroom.
BEE's Notes: Candidate Vignarajah’s responses raise some concerns:
Firstly – a local marijuana “legalization” would be likely to invite state *and* federal intervention, and doesn’t articulate how his marijuana plan would impact black and brown communities, who have historically been targeted in the war on drugs.
Additionally, that he will “require casinos to contribute their fair share” displays a dearth of comprehension of work that organizations throughout MD, BEE included, have already done. Specifically: The Education lockbox amendment (Question 1, '18) was the result of collaborations between organizers, educators, communities, and lawmakers. (i.e. the lift for this work was previously done).
FINAL GRADE: C
NAME: Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young
Q: Will you commit to fully funding Baltimore's share of #blueprint4MD?
A: Yes
Q: Will you commit to meeting with the BEE leadership team twice yearly?
A: Yes
Q: What is your plan to pay for #blueprint4MD
A: I have directed all of my city agencies to look for cost saving measures for the upcoming fiscal year and beyond. I will continue to work with our federal and state partners to bring resources to Baltimore. I created the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success to make sure Baltimore City’s children and their families have the resources and support they need to be successful. I have always been a champion for Baltimore’s young people, and during my mayoral administration I continue to make it a priority to put children first.
BEE's Notes: Mayor Young has demonstrated a commitment to young people in Baltimore, and has hands-on experience in having told agencies to tighten their belts to fund the Blueprint. We deducted points because we would like to know more about how he will ensure that other youth-facing agencies aren’t disproportionately impacted, and would expect a more specific funding plan from an incumbent mayor.
FINAL GRADE: B