Baltimore Seen Less As Economic Engine For Maryland, Survey Says

BALTIMORE, MD — Is Baltimore the economic engine for the state of Maryland? That was one of the Baltimore-centered questions Marylanders were asked during the most recent Goucher Poll.

There were 800 people surveyed in the poll between Feb. 12 and 17 on social, economic and political issues. Conducted by Goucher College, the poll has a margin of error of +/-3.5 percent.

The results showed that the perception of Baltimore as the hub of economic activity in Maryland is waning.

• 25 percent of those surveyed said that Baltimore was the economic engine for the state
• 67 percent disagreed that Baltimore was the economic engine for the state

In 2017, the poll found 33 percent agreed and 58 percent disagreed that Baltimore was the state's economic engine.

Another question about Baltimore addressed the cold conditions that resulted in closures in Baltimore City Public Schools this winter.

The plight of students in frigid schools in Baltimore City drew national attention after former NFL player-turned-teacher Aaron Maybin posted an Instagram video of his pupils bundled up in a classroom he said was 40 degrees. CNN, CBS and USA Today were among the national outlets taking note.

It was so cold that children could "barely hold a number 2 pencil in their hand," Tamika Snead, who has five children, said at a school board meeting in January.

"Our children are trying to learn in a third-world environment," said Snead. She described water fountains that were out of service because they were "filled with lead" and nonfunctional bathrooms in school buildings.

"Baltimore City kids matter too," Snead said. "All kids matter. It's our duty to give these kids a fighting chance."

RELATED: Cold Schools In Baltimore And Around U.S. Compared To 3rd World

When pollsters asked: "What led to lack of heating in Baltimore City Public Schools?" this is what people around the state had to say:

• 39 percent said Baltimore City Public Schools administrators mismanaged funds
• 24 percent said Maryland state government underfunded the schools
• 14 percent said Baltimore City government underfunded the schools

What do you think about the Goucher Poll results? Tell us in the comments!

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced an emergency $2.5 million in funding last month for repairs to heating systems in Baltimore City schools. The money will come from the state's Catastrophic Event Account and will be overseen by the Maryland Department of General Services for the purposes of accountability.

Accountability issues have been plaguing school systems across the state and have not just been limited to Baltimore, the governor said at the time, citing problems in Baltimore, Howard and Prince George's counties.

Hogan has proposed creating an Office of the State Education Investigator General within the Maryland State Department of Education to investigate complaints about conduct related to grading, facilities, budgets, graduation requirements, procurement and education assets. The bill is called the Accountability in Education Act of 2018 (Senate bill 302 and House bill 355).

Under Hogan’s plan, the Investigator General is selected by a commission consisting of appointees by the Senate president, speaker of the House, and the governor, and would be charged with investigating complaints of unethical conduct in Maryland public schools.

“This lack of accountability in education systems all across our state cannot and will not be tolerated by our administration,” Hogan said in a statement. “Not addressing it would mean that we are failing Maryland taxpayers, and – more importantly – failing our children who need help the most.”

Others disagree with the approach.

“We don’t think the answer is to politicize the schools,” Steven Hershkowitz, press secretary for the Maryland State Education Association, told Capital News Service. “This bill would do exactly that, give full control (to Hogan) over the Inspector General to create negative publicity around the schools that he has cut funding from and continues to underfund.”

Another bill, sponsored by Delegate Alonzo T. Washington, D-Prince George's, puts power in local hands by authorizing county commissioners or the city or county to establish an Office of the Investigator General in a local school system. These local offices would be able to conduct their own investigations without the need for state involvement under this legislation, House bill 1492.

“I don’t think it is necessary to have a statewide inspector,” Washington told Capital News Service this week. “Our local jurisdictions can handle this issue.”

Through a third bill, House bill 184, Washington is also working to establish an Inspector General solely in Prince George’s County.

The bills come after state Department of Education officials hired a Washington-based firm, Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services, to audit graduation rates in the Prince George’s County public school system, following a letter that several school board members wrote to Hogan citing “widespread systemic corruption.”

The audit used sample groups taken from the 2016 and 2017 graduating classes and found that, on average, nearly 5 percent of the students had been ineligible to graduate. An additional 24.5 percent, on average, were lacking documentation to verify that they were qualified to graduate.

Because it was based on a sample, the audit report did not identify system-wide fraud in the Prince George’s County school system.

In addition to alleged grade-fixing in Prince George's County Public Schools, other issues that prompted the governor to propose the accountability bill were perjury allegations in Baltimore County and admitted theft in Baltimore City Public Schools.

Former Baltimore County Superintendent Dallas Dance was indicted earlier this year on four counts of perjury following an investigation that concluded he failed to disclose almost $147,000 from private consulting firms. His successor, Verletta White, was also reported to have failed to disclose money earned from private firms.

In the city, former Baltimore Community High School principal Leslie Lewis pleaded guilty to stealing more than $58,000 from the school. She was sentenced earlier this month to serve a 90-day sentence.

Lewis was the third principal in Baltimore City Public Schools convicted of stealing from student activity accounts in the past five years, according to the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor. Former principal of Western High School Alisha Trusty admitted to stealing $54,000 from the school's student activity fund in 2015, and former principal of Coppin Academy William Howard II pleaded guilty to stealing more than $10,000 from his school's student activity account as well.

SEE ALSO: Goucher Poll Shows Most Marylanders Agree On Opioid Addiction, Split On Tackle Football

Capital News Service contributed to this article.

Photo of Baltimore waterfront by Elizabeth Janney.