It is time for the City Council to stand up and protect Baltimore's schools. The council's economic development committee needs to give a good hard look at the proposed tax-increment-financing for Under Armour's Port Covington redevelopment project ("City Council to hold work session on Port Covington special tax deal today," Aug. 16).
A lot is riding on this project. The schools stand to lose significant funds over 40 years. While supporters say that state lawmakers have pledged to fix the state's school funding formula, and that the new taxes from the project should exceed any losses for the schools, many questions remain.
How will the funding formula be fixed? For how long will the fix stay in place? Are the fixes binding on Sagamore Development, the real estate arm of Under Armour? And what will happen if the new taxes from the project over time do not exceed the losses for the schools? Would Sagamore Development be on the hook for the difference?
Katie Riback, Baltimore