In 1866, the Rev. Libertus Van Bokkelin, Maryland's first state school superintendent, opined that public education was not only the right of every child, but that education pays for itself. "It makes the dollars weigh heavily and the shillings move more nimbly," he wrote.
The good Reverend Van Bokkelin also foresaw the unequal system of financing schools that prompted Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke to announce plans to go to court this week, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, in search of a much bigger slice of the school aid pie.
Maryland, he said, must "apportion her money according to the ennobling dictates of patriotic philanthropy -- not the rule of selfish local interest."
Baltimore in those days -- and well into the 20th century -- was the richest district in the state.
It was not above putting selfish local interest above patriotic philanthropy.
Now, however, the tables are turned, and for the second time in 15 years, the city is preparing to enter the state courts to try to turn the tables back again.
Though the city's legal strategy this time is said to be different than it was when it sued the first time in 1979, Baltimore's basic argument is the same: Money makes a difference, and we don't get enough of it.
Perhaps never has a truism been more hotly debated. Next Monday, the state Education Department will deliver its annual "report card" on the state's schools. You don't have to wait to read it to know that it will show a stunningly high correlation between the performance of students in school and the wealth and education of their parents.
It follows -- though the correlation isn't quite so strong -- that the "best" schools in Maryland are in the wealthiest neighborhoods. In Anne Arundel County, among the leaders will be Benfield and Shipley's Choice elementaries, Chesapeake Bay Middle; in Howard, Centennial Lane and Northfield elementaries, Dunloggin and Glenwood middle schools; in Baltimore County, Riderwood and Fort Garrison elementaries, Ridgely Middle.
It follows, too, that the districts themselves will line up by achievement according to their wealth. The wealth behind each student in the six metropolitan subdivisions, as published in last year's state report card, ranged from Howard County's $266,000 to Baltimore City's $124,000. Test scores ranged from Howard's highs to Baltimore City's abysmal lows. (In the middle, close to the state average on nearly all measurements, is Anne Arundel -- "Maryland in miniature.")
City proponents argue that things haven't changed that much since it lost its first suit in the Court of Appeals in 1983. Indeed, despite infusions of money from the legislature, the gap in spending between Baltimore and Montgomery is still more than $2,000 for each student -- or $60,000 in a class of 30.
Adjusting for inflation, the gap widened from $1,347 in 1978, the year before the suit was filed, to $2,147 in 1993, the last year for which figures are available. And Baltimore's "municipal overburden" -- the stress on the city's services such as fire and police -- is even more severe than it was 15 years ago.
But opponents also argue that things haven't changed; Baltimore still mismanages the funds it gets. Or as Del. Timothy F. Maloney, a Prince George's Democrat who is retiring this year after 16 years in Annapolis, put it the other day, "The real issues here are leadership, management, performance and accountability, not cash."
For this suit, Baltimore is expected to discard its approach of 15 years ago, that the state formula is unconstitutional because it results in unequal funding in the 24 districts, in favor of an argument that has been successful in several states, that the formula results in "inadequate" schooling in city schools.
The adequacy issue was discussed in the trial before Circuit Judge David Ross in the trial of the first suit. This time, though, there is a measure of adequacy: the Maryland School Performance Program, which holds schools to a variety of standards ranging from achievement as measured by tests to elementary school promotion rates. Baltimore trails in all of them.
But the final words on student achievement are writ in two words: their parents. Three reporters from The Sun learned this a decade ago when we spent a month each in several middle and high schools across Maryland. My assignments ranged from rich Howard County to poor Baltimore City to dirt-poor Somerset County.
There were measurable differences among my three schools. Harper's Choice Middle School in Columbia had more of everything than West Baltimore Middle and Greenwood Middle in Princess Anne, including satisfied and better-paid teachers.
But the striking thing about Harper's Choice was the close involvement of parents, their activity in the PTA, their calls to the principal or teacher when things weren't going well, their close attention to homework. Harper's Choice parents kept the school on its toes.
When the principal announced that a test would be given for admission to an accelerated academic program, the parents fought ferociously to have their children tested; none wanted to admit to not having a gifted child.
A successful school aid suit might bring more precious resources to city schools, but no amount of money can buy this kind of parent involvement.
;/ Call it selfish local interest if you want.
'Doublespeak Award'
Most education groups stay out of politics, but not the National Council of Teachers of English, which has awarded its annual "Doublespeak Award" to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Limbaugh won the prize for verbal distortions and dissembling, the council said.
Second place went to those anti-abortion activists who suggest people take up arms and kill abortion-rights activists.
Third place went to the National Rifle Association, "in honor of the language used to persuade members of Congress to vote against the 1994 Crime Bill." The awards have been given annually since 1974.