As a longtime public school educator, I am very encouraged by the work of the Kirwan Commission, which will issue specific and far-reaching policy recommendations for meeting the needs of Maryland’s students (“Preliminary Md. education report targets five areas for reform,” Feb. 15). I have seen firsthand the critical needs that are being addressed, particularly the lack of sufficient resources for students who are considered at-risk due to poverty and special needs. So, how could our state government fund these initiatives?
I believe that the implementation must be linked to the establishment of a “lockbox” which will restore to Maryland schools the casino revenues which were promised. I was pleased to read in The Sun that Gov. Larry Hogan would support a lockbox statute to restore the casino revenue to education (“Gov. Hogan supports ‘lockbox’ to keep Maryland casino money in education, vows $4.4 billion in extra funding,” Feb. 15). However, we voters must urge our legislators to go beyond Governor Hogan’s proposed legislative statute, which could be more easily overturned, to the constitutional amendment proposed in SB 1122, the Education Trust Fund “Lockbox” Fix. This would truly lock the lockbox and ensure that the gaming money is finally applied to school funding.
In this way, we could have a guaranteed “down payment” on the full Kirwan Commission recommendations which would provide Marylanders with the world-class education system that our children deserve!
Susan Lloyd Lattimore, Gwynn Oak