Focus on the Facts: “F” is for Maryland

The institute’s Focus on the Facts No. 2 described Marylanders’ relatively low utilization of public schools, compared to other states. And can you blame them? Regardless of all the educrat back-patting following the release last December of the most recent scores on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) test, two recent, independent studies of […]

Unfinished Work: Baltimore Academy of Excellence Looks to Future

The Baltimore Academy of Excellence (BAE) is located on the 4200 block of Belair Road in Baltimore, next to Herring Run Park.1 It was founded by Jacqui Gough (see photo 1) almost three years ago, supported by the Greater Grace World Outreach, a nationwide, nondenominational church that places great emphasis on urban outreach projects. Though […]

The Agreement: How Federal, State and Union Regulations Are Destroying Public Education in Maryland

About the Author George W. Liebmann, J.D. George W. Liebmann is a practicing lawyer in Baltimore City. He is the author of two books, The Little Platoons: Sub-Local Governments in Modern History (Praeger, 1995) and The Gallows in the Grove: Civil Society in American Law (Praeger, 1997). He has also authored numerous articles on constitutional […]

Padded Payroll: An Examination of Municipal Employment Practices in Baltimore City

About the Author Kantayhanee Whitt is currently an assistant program manager with a Baltimore-based non-profit enterprise that provides training and technical assistance to organizations and institutions involved in community development. She received her master of arts degree in policy studies at the Johns Hopkins University in 1997. In 1995, she received her bachelor of science […]

Focus on the Facts: Deadly Maryland

Despite recent self-congratulation due to Maryland’s declining crime rate over 1997, the fact remains that this state compares most unfavorably. According to FBI violent crime data taken from the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States for 1996, in 1990 Marylanders experienced 919 violent crimes per 100,000 state residents. This made the Free State […]

The Interview: Ellen R. Sauerbrey, Former House Minority Leader

We continue our series of interviews with the major contenders in the 1998 gubernatorial race. In this issue, we talk with Ellen Sauerbrey, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1994 and the former minority leader in the Maryland House of Delegates. Calvert Question. What accomplishments were you most proud of as minority leader in the House […]

Private Schools Challenge Students to Achieve

One of the easiest ways to ignite a fire storm among a group of inner-city educators is to ask them how best to challenge students. Educators from the slums of Baltimore to the barrios of Los Angeles have cried out that their children cannot achieve unless we reform “the system.” There have been calls for […]

A HOPEless Cause

Though it looks as though Governor Glendening’s plans for a middle-class education entitlement will be dashed this legislative session, we are disturbed to note that some legislators are committed to further “study” of the government-provided scholarship issue. From the point of view of fiscal responsibility, this is a scheme with nothing to recommend it. Deep-six […]

Keiffer Mitchell to Back Vouchers?

At a recent symposium hosted by United Citizens for Maryland’s Future,1 state education Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick rhetorically asked, “Should any student, by accident of where he lives, have to attend a failing school?” Having solicited the requisite negative nods from the audience, Dr. Grasmick went on to describe how the Maryland School Performance Assessment […]

Cutting Taxes: Why and Why Now

The year is 2002. Maryland is flourishing, with robust economic growth – well above the 1.5 percent anemic growth of the mid-l980s. Businesses are moving to Maryland and expanding by the score. Small businesses are appearing all over to fill the niches vacated by retreating big government and merging companies. Location consultants brag about Maryland. […]