FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA INQUIRIES
240-686-3510 | media@mdpolicy.org

ROCKVILLE, MD (March 24, 2022) - One year ago, journalists in Baltimore discovered that city schools claimed to be educating thousands of students that do not exist and collecting nearly $93 million of Marylanders’ money to pay for their education. On Monday, bill—HB 1365—aimed at addressing this massive fraud perpetrated against the people of Maryland was ignored in the state General Assembly.
 

Maryland Public Policy Institute President and CEO Christopher Summers issued the following statement in response:

House Bill 1365, drafted by Delegate April Rose, is as simple as it is needed. It would require that schools count their enrolled students four times per year, rather than the current one time per year, and report the average to the state. Yet, as Delegate Rose attempted to propose this uncontroversial bill to the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, Delegate Maggie McIntosh, who chairs the committee, ghosted on the hearing. Like the students who cannot be found in Baltimore City schools, Delegate McIntosh was unable to be found by media and has not explained when she plans to allow debate on the bill.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot has said, “It's unacceptable for taxpayers’ money to go for students that are knowingly not in the school system.”

Nevertheless, members of the Maryland General Assembly appear to accept this continuing theft of their constituents.

Left unchecked, ghost student fraud in Baltimore City schools could cost taxpayers more than $1 billion over a decade. This cannot be allowed to continue.

It is our hope that Monday’s hearing is a mere hiccup on the road to an honest debate and successful reform of school enrollment counting policies. We call on the General Assembly and Delegate McIntosh to bring HB 1365 up for debate and a vote as soon as possible.

In addition, The Maryland Public Policy Institute calls for:
 

• An audit by the Maryland Inspector General for Education of annual enrollment data for every public K-12 school in Baltimore dating back to the 2015/2016 school year;
• An immediate and accurate enrollment count for all public K-12 schools in Baltimore today;
• All findings of the Inspector General audit to be shared with the state’s attorney general, governor, comptroller, treasurer, state legislature, and the citizens of Maryland.

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