A table talk with Maryland State Delegate Alonzo Washington was held Saturday at the New Deal Café to update citizens on the Kirwan Commission’s recommendations for Maryland school funding. According to Washington, a Kirwan Commission member from Prince George’s County’s 22nd District, preliminary recommendations made in January outline how to make Maryland’s public schools more competitive by closing achievement gaps based on race, income, disability and other factors.
The commission, chaired by William “Brit” Kirwan, a former president of the University of Maryland, made policy and funding recommendations for Fiscal Year 2020 that include:
• providing free pre-K education for 3- and 4-year-olds whose families fall 300 percent below the federal poverty line;
• raising teacher salaries to be competitive with other professions with similar education levels;
• improving college and career opportunities with advanced placement help and career and technical education programs;
• providing increased funding to high-poverty schools for intensive services for students and
families.
Read more of this story in the March 7 News Review.