ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore this evening attended the 2024 Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Winter Conference inaugural banquet. Governor Moore presided over the installation of MACo’s new officers and delivered remarks on how Maryland will navigate a structural fiscal deficit and leadership in Washington that could directly impact Maryland’s economy.
The governor announced three key actions to help grow Maryland’s economy:
- An executive order to make Maryland more business friendly by cutting red tape on permitting, prioritizing the three core sectors of life sciences, I.T., and aerospace and defense, and better coordinating with local jurisdictions.
- An education bill that will enhance the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future by building out the teacher pipeline and delaying the implementation of “collaborative time” provisions to give school districts time to recruit and retain enough teachers.
- A housing bill to ensure that we increase supply and make Maryland a more attractive place for people to live and grow.
Preceding his remarks this evening, Governor Moore installed the 2024-2025 Maryland Association of Counties officers. Congressman-elect and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. is the outgoing Maryland Association of Counties president and Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Jack Wilson is the incoming Maryland Association of Counties president.
Excerpts from Governor Moore’s remarks as prepared:
“Maryland is in the path of two storms: First, we face an historic budget crisis, the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. And second, we are about to swear in a new administration in Washington. D.C. that casts uncertainty on our future.”
“Today, Maryland has among the lowest unemployment rates in the country. And just three weeks ago, Maryland was ranked the top state in the country for minority-owned businesses. We are moving forward. But a fiscal challenge almost a decade in the making can’t be solved in less than two years. Since at least 2017, the Department of Legislative Services has been forecasting structural budget deficits in the State of Maryland. Now, those predictions have come to pass.”
“We are ready to work with the incoming administration to advance the interests of Marylanders. And where we can partner, we will. I believe there is still space for alignment, including on issues of transportation and infrastructure.”
“We need to grow. It’s the key to securing Maryland’s future. Anyone who thinks we can just cut our way to greater prosperity isn’t being honest. Anyone who thinks we can just tax our way to greater prosperity is not being honest. Now is the time for us to make the hard choices that will help us build a durable economy – One that is business-friendly and invests in growth.”
“In the next few days, I will be signing an executive order centered on strengthening Maryland’s economic competitiveness. This will be the most sweeping economic executive action I have taken since being sworn in as the 63rd Governor of Maryland.”
“The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is, and will remain, a central piece of our education strategy. But if legislative history is any teacher, we know two things about laws of enormous significance: They must always be refined after they have been passed and they cannot succeed alone.”
“This legislative session, I will introduce an education bill that builds on the Blueprint to help ensure that our children receive a world-class education… Our new legislation tackles the teacher shortage in two major ways. First, we will build off the foundation of the Educator Shortage Act by proposing new efforts to strengthen the teacher training pipeline. Second, we will issue reforms to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.”
“Since inauguration day, we’ve created over 50,000 new jobs in the State of Maryland. CEOs are taking notice. And they want to be a part of what we’re doing. But I can tell you that one of the first questions I get from CEOs when they’re thinking about coming to Maryland is about housing.”
“Growth is the most powerful tool we have in our toolbox. But it is not – and cannot be – the only one. We are in a moment of profound consequence, and we are willing to use every tool in our toolbox if it means getting Maryland’s fiscal health on track. There will be choices in our new budget that some of you will not like. Quite frankly, there will be choices in our new budget that I don’t particularly like. But we need to make hard choices now if we want to unleash our full potential as a state and lay the foundation for a brighter future.”
Considering he squandered the surplus he inherited, he is starting to look worse than Parris Glendenning…
He is starting to look worse than Paris Hilton!
Here’s free advice on how to fix the budget crisis YOUR PARTY created with the Blueprint for Education…stop spending money you don’t have. You inherited a budget surplus and have blown through it.
I feel trapped in a nightmare. I had hope after Trump won Big! but, being here in MD is the pits. No guarantee if I move the demon crat policies won’t be put in place there, either. Is no place safe from the demon crats anymore? This laughing stock of a gov. wouldn’t know how to put MD and America first. He and his party are destroying us!!
The Education Blueprint is a joke. There was Thorton, Race To The Top, No Child Left Behind, and Heaven only knows what other programs and now Kirwan has spawned Blueprint. First of all funding. Just like the teacher’s retirement pension was passed along to county funding so will this latest endeavor. The state just doesn’t have that kind of money because the governor that Marylander’s elected blew the funding on campaign promises. And he has already proposed over two hundred new fees, taxes, licenses and extras onto your bills to try and make up for it.
Education experts just can’t get it right. Has any of them ever heard of ” Fundamentals”? It appears they haven’t because look at our student grades. They keep getting worse and education keeps adding more laughable punch lines.
Let me try a simple example. Since I’ve spent considerable time in the military I often refer back to it for reasoning. Let’s say we send a young recruit to Ordinance Disposal School. We teach that recruit the very basic fundamentals as the very first learning objectives. That recruit does not pass to the second set of learning objectives until they are fully knowledgeable and are tested and pass the test in the first objectives.
In our education system we have sets of objectives but if the students doesn’t fully pass that segment there are ways that they can make it up in the next segment. Then this continues to happen as the student moves through the grade.
So what do we do? Why, we just change the curriculum. That must be the problem, right? If that doesn’t work then we change it again hoping something will finally stick to the wall and will change those darn test scores.
We have people making big bucks who throw new curriculum against the wall waiting for just the right one to magically make that change. Are their teaching methods working? Just look at the test results. Soon I expect someone in Education to fix everything by simply changing the test to make the grades look better. But I’m sure that wouldn’t happen. Would it? Has that been done before? I’m not sure but I bet some of you teachers who have been around awhile would know. Afraid to speak up, I know why.
Let’s get back to that recruit for a moment. Say the military used our educations method of teaching and passed the school, ( 12th grade ) and that now certified technician was sent to the field on a mission where they had to defuse an IED. Would you want to send your son or daughter out and stand beside them while they went about their assignment?
If that recruit or that student were taught and LEARNED the fundamentals in math and reading or any subject they went into, they have the tools to excel. Why did that get taken away?
If we don’t change, I can guarantee that we’ll keep throwing new curriculum against that wall. Those darn test scores will be the same, unless, of course, we just do away with them. Perhaps after Blueprint we’ll have the next savior of education plan and we can call it, “Your Destiny, Your Future”.
Will it change? Maybe. Right now people are just afraid to go against the establishment. I’m not. In this situation it takes people with backbone and there are only a few us.
Oh, and as for this Governor and spending for education. Tell me your thoughts.
Where are YOU! John Palmer. District 5 School Board Member.
This fool was handed a 5 BILLION dollar budget surplus by Hogan. Where exactly did that go so fast?
Mr. Palmer,
I do not dispute your reasoning, and indeed, I agree with much of it, however, there is a flaw. In business, to succeed you must source the best raw materials to produce a superior product. This does not happen in public schools, as often students come to school with multiple, and serious deficiencies. Now, a great many school system employees simply are terrible at their jobs, and sheltered by their ‘union’ (which is an association that promotes mediocracy at best), but the underlying issue is that they are doomed to failure before they even start. Would vouchers and school choice alleviate this? No, not entirely, but it would help. Would legislating parents to meet a standard to prepare their children before they entered school? No, but what a concept! How about just moving the goalposts around to make it look like something academically positive is occurring. Bingo! We have a winner!
Therein lies the simple truth – many children coming to schools are not prepared in any way, and a number of teachers are simply not proficient at their jobs. Yet, the lies are told and, the public misled and, we all march along to our happy tune. Solutions? I’ve heard a few of them that include:
– Before entering K, students must pass a basic skills test (identify all primary colors; count independently to 20, be able to print their first and last name, etc.)
– Failing the entrance exam results in parents keeping their students home to educate them at their expense until they can pass the exam.
– Barring students with Medical/developmental disabilities, all students will be subject to a basic morals standard. Violation results in immediate corrective action by returning the students back to their parents for the period of 1 year. During that period, parents are responsible for their children’s education. This occurs 3 times, and from that point the student is fully removed and parents are required to home school (using state provided materials)
– Abolish the ‘unions’. Teachers are required to take and pass an annual exam. Failing this exam results in removal until it can be passed. If the exam is failed 3 times, they can no longer be a teacher
– Remove the entire central office staff leaving only a superintendent and a skeleton staff. Return all funding decisions and monies back to schools to maintain their own budgets.
-Revise the state curriculum to reflect basic skills at the elementary level (with successive mastery and increasing rigor in middle and high school) in a simple format that doesn’t require a degree in astrophysics to comprehend.
-All students must pass a basic skills exam in 11th grade, with 12th to be either a ‘finishing school’ (all of the basics to immediately be self sufficient in the world) or a remediation and retest. No diploma if the student can’t pass and 1 year to do so or the student is removed until they can pass the exam. You fail out, you take night remediation classes at your own expense until you can pass…or not.
Alas, the schools are doomed to continue failing.
Regards,
Paladin