A former Maryland state senator says education spending is bankrupting the state. And now he’s calling on lawmakers in Annapolis to take a stand — specifically, against the teachers union.
Jim Brochin represented Baltimore County for 16 years in the Maryland Senate. The Democrat, who left office in 2019, says the Maryland State Education Association — the state’s largest teachers union — appears to be in charge.
“The power they have over this Democratic legislature is astounding,” Brochin said.
Brochin said power held by MSEA is now bankrupting the state via the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
“This Blueprint for Maryland is a financial disaster. It’s going to take the state down,” Brochin said. “Somebody’s got to stand up and say enough, and nobody is doing it.”
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future passed in 2021. The law pumps billions of additional state and local tax dollars into public education every year. The law, in part, increases teacher salaries and expands Pre-K. It also doubles what’s known as teacher collaboration time, which Brochin says is the single biggest financial blow to taxpayers. When fully implemented, new teacher collaboration could cost more than a billion dollars a year.
When asked if he was placing budgetary problems on one issue, Brochin said, “it’s the Blueprint for Maryland. It’s ginormous. It’s the collaboration time.”
Currently, Maryland teachers get 20% of their day for collaboration time. Twenty percent is about average nationally according to the National Council on Teacher Quality — a DC-based think tank. Collaboration time is used for lesson planning, training or helping students individually.
The Blueprint doubles teacher collaboration time over the next eight years to 40%. Proponents argue giving educators more time to collaborate will help teachers teach better.
“Forty percent means that almost half a day they’re collaborating rather than teaching,” Brochin said.
Giving teachers more collaboration time will cost taxpayers. If teachers teach less, more teachers will be needed to fill classroom time. According to state estimates, if collaboration time is doubled Maryland will need 25% more teachers — or about 15,000. And since the Blueprint also mandates teachers earn a minimum of $60,000 a year by 2026, the collaboration time increase will cost at least $900 million a year — an amount that does not include benefits, such as pension or health care costs.
“What’s going to happen to Maryland? We’re going to tax people so badly that they’re going to walk, which is going to make us have to raise taxes even higher because it’s not going to be enough revenue,” Brochin said.
State lawmakers are facing a nearly $3 billion budget deficit. To close the gap, legislators, including Gov. Wes Moore are looking to raise taxes and fees, while cutting from various programs — including disability services.
Moore has proposed delaying the implementation of teacher collaboration time by four years.
The teachers union is lobbying hard in Annapolis against Moore’s proposal because, Brochin said, more teachers mean more union members and greater influence.
“I get calls from Democratic legislators all the time. My colleagues and former colleagues. They call me up and they say, this is unbelievable. This union is out of control,” Brochin said.
The teachers union was emailed for comment, but has not responded.
But MSEA’s website does acknowledge that Maryland faces “serious budget challenges.” Though it does not appear the union is willing to give any concessions concerning the Blueprint, urging lawmakers to fulfill the state’s “commitments to our public schools and the staffing, funding, policies and resources that they need.”
“From the governor on down there is a fear of the wrath of the MSEA — endorsements, campaign contributions,” Brochin said. “I wish somebody would check their power.”
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