State loses millions to more school dropouts

By Mike Silvestri, Examiner Staff Writer
Published on Wednesday, October 01, 2008
High-school dropouts cost Maryland about $193 million each year in lost tax revenue, according to a study released Tuesday. As the nation's dropout rate decreases, Maryland's has been increasing, and last year, about 27,000 high-school seniors in the state failed to graduate.

The High Cost of Maryland's Dropout Rate

By Justin P. Hauke
Published on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The state of Maryland loses about $193 million in tax revenues each year as a result of the state's growing number of high school dropouts, according to a study released today by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and the Maryland Public Policy Institute.The study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in Maryland, examining how the state's decreasing graduation rates are materially affecting the state's finances through reduced tax revenues and increased public expenditures. The study was undertaken by Friedman Fellow Justin P. Hauke, a Chicago securities analyst and former economic research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank at St. Louis.

Study Finds Maryland Dropouts Take Huge Fiscal Toll On State Revenues, Taxpayers

Published on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The state of Maryland loses about $193 million in tax revenues each year as a result of the state's growing number of high school dropouts, according to a study released today by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and the Maryland Public Policy Institute.The study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in Maryland, examining how the state's decreasing graduation rates are materially affecting the state's finances through reduced tax revenues and increased public expenditures. The study was undertaken by Friedman Fellow Justin P. Hauke, a Chicago securities analyst and former economic research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank at St. Louis.

To Improve Educational Opportunities in Baltimore City, Expand Public and Private School Choice

By Dan Lips
Published on Monday, September 22, 2008
On May 17, 2008, 300 students from across Maryland sought to be among the first 80 students to enroll in the SEED School of Maryland, a statewide college preparatory academy set to open in Baltimore in August 2008.[1] The lucky students were drawn through a lottery. The Baltimore Sun reported that parents cried with joy when their children's number was called. Families with unlucky children whose numbers were not called were left shedding tears of disappointment. "It was a long shot...but it was a chance we had to take," explained Maurice Chandler, who son was seen crying when he was not chosen.[2] This scene is evidence of the crisis in Baltimore City's public schools, where a child's opportunity to attend a safe and effective school is left to chance. For more than a decade, state and local policymakers have sought to improve children's opportunities by reforming the city's beleaguered public school system. Those reforms have largely failed. [1] Tanika White, "Parents, kids pin their hopes on one white orb in boarding school lottery," Baltimore Sun, May 18, 2008. [2] Ibid.

The high cost of high school dropouts

Our view: Maryland loses millions of dollars a year when kids leave school without graduating

By Baltimore Sun Editorial Board
Published on Sunday, September 21, 2008
Last year, about 27,000 Maryland high school students dropped out of school before graduating. That was nearly a quarter of the state's Class of 2007, and Marylanders pay dearly for it. A study by the Maryland Public Policy Institute estimates that each class of high school dropouts costs the state about $50 million every year in lost tax revenues, higher Medicaid costs and the expenses of incarceration - dropouts are twice as likely as graduates to spend time in jail. Kids who drop out shortchange not only their own chances for success but also those of everyone around them.

City seeking $190M in private financing to build new schools

Originally published in the Baltimore Business Journal

By Scott Dance, Staff Writer
Published on Friday, June 13, 2008
The Baltimore City school system needs private financing to fund $250 million in new school construction, a practice more states have turned to as building costs skyrocket and budgets stagnate. The city is hiring a financial consultant for $350,000 to look at public-private partnerships as a possibility to move forward a plan for seven to 10 new schools in the next decade. The school system is slated to get $40 million in state money and $20 million in city money for the projects, but it's not enough, leaders said.

Legislator, lobbyist: a delicate dance

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Laura Smitherman, Sun Reporter
Published on Sunday, May 11, 2008
Maryland lawmaker Heather R. Mizeur shepherded a bill through the General Assembly this year to establish a new fund supporting the emerging field of nanobiotechnology. In the process, she also succeeded in securing a potential funding source for companies she had registered to represent on Capitol Hill.The Montgomery County Democratic delegate acknowledges working extensively for a nanobiotechnology company as a congressional lobbyist with the Washington law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, but she says she got clearance from the state legislature's ethics counsel to sponsor and vote on the legislation.That company ended its contract with the law firm around the time she introduced the bill. On matters related to other companies, she says she gave "generic advice" to colleagues and was listed as a lobbyist out of an abundance of caution.

Maryland Think Tank Comments on Maryland Senate Vote for Scholarship Tax Credit

Published on Thursday, March 27, 2008
Rockville, MD - March 27, 2008- On March 26, Maryland's Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would encourage businesses to sponsor scholarships at private schools. Modeled after a similar program in Pennsylvania, the Maryland plan would provide tax credits to businesses that make scholarship contributions. The program would open up more opportunities for working families to send their children to schools of their choice.

School’s in, but many parents turn outside for better education

Originally published in the Baltimore Examiner

By Alison Lake
Published on Wednesday, August 22, 2007
BALTIMORE - A wall will eventually sag or crumble if too many blocks are missing. The same thing can happen to a child’s education when he or she lacks too many skills. Because so many taxpayer-funded schools are not providing adequate instruction to children, parents must look elsewhere to help fill the gaps. This situation drives growth in the supplemental education market every year. The demand stems both from federal requirements and parents. No Child Left Behind requires that Title I schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) provide tutoring to needy students. In spite of the NCLB mandate, many more children need supplemental education than receive it. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said states and school districts need to vastly improve how they advertise tutoring information to parents in an August 2006 report. Contracting and services mismanagement, for example, led to only 19 percent of eligible students in the 2004-2005 school year receiving extra help. In 2007, 2.3 million students were eligible for services. Many issues can contribute to students not using services, including living in rural or dangerous areas without many tutor choices, a lack of information about them and language barriers.

Editorial: Give foster children a fighting chance

Originally published in the Baltimore Examiner

Published on Friday, June 29, 2007
BALTIMORE - For many Maryland children, the only disruption they face in their schooling is fun: Summer break. For foster children, disruption is a way of life. And it severely limits their chances of developing into productive citizens and good parents. Fate does not have to dictate the outcomes of 10,000 foster children in the state, about 7,000 in Baltimore City, however. The General Assembly can lessen the number of disruptions by giving them school vouchers. Vouchers will not solve all of their problems, but they can give some of the most vulnerable children stability in an area that can greatly determine their success later in life.