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ROCKVILLE, MD (April 21, 2021) — The Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education released Wednesday a final audit of Baltimore City Public Schools’ attendance records that shows the district unlawfully obtained at least $9.8 million in taxpayer funding by inflating the number of students from 2016 to 2021.

The IG initiated the investigation of “ghost students” in Baltimore upon the request of Maryland Public Policy Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Summers and Visiting Fellow Sean Kennedy in April, 2021.

Kennedy issued the following statement in reaction to the report:

The Institute is pleased that Maryland’s Inspector General for Education launched an investigation based on our request to audit the dubious student enrollment figures and resulting funding allocations to Baltimore City schools and districts across the state. The IG’s findings confirmed our suspicions that Marylander’s tax money has funded these “ghost students.”

But, as the IG also concluded, these misallocated funds are just the tip of the iceberg.

Contrary to BCPSS’s claim that the student miscounts only represent 0.3% of their enrollment totals over 5 years, it is highly likely if not assured that Baltimore schools have received tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars over the last few years due to their dubious enrollment figures. If these practices are not remedied immediately, taxpayers might continue to pay hundreds of millions to NOT educate students.

Unlawfully taking from Baltimoreans and all Marylanders should be an overwhelming embarrassment for the district. And this fraud perpetrated on students and parents who already suffer from dangerous and poorly performing schools must not be glossed over.”

The Maryland Public Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy research and education organization that focuses on state policy issues. The Institute’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies at all levels of government based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, and civil society. Learn more at mdpolicy.org.

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