Good news. The Maryland House left in the 6 year stateaudit of local public school systems. However, there are issues tied to the politics of “No bid contracts” in Prince George’s County and elsewhere to cover their tracks to the detriment of many kids.
Bad News: They stripped the State Auditor of his powers. So yes, there will still be 6 year audits of local public schools, but the pages of the local public school audits will be blank. This follows the state auditors detailed allegations involving wastage within the counties and specific areas of concern. The state Auditor appears to have been demoted as fiscal agent of the state.
The vote to strip the State Auditor of his powers was UNANIMOUS in the full House!
With proper checks and balances, the benefits of having a fiscal agent is significant for residents because it improves the schools and keeps the administration in check. There is more to this because many local school District are managed by elected officials who have ties to the delegates and others in Annapolis. The Maryland citizens should wake up and demand accountability measures.
We believe that improved accountability systems at the local, state, and federal levels are central to advancing and broadening equal educational opportunity for each and every child in America. The current educational accountability system has become overly focused on narrow measures of success and, in some cases, has discouraged schools from providing a rich curriculum for all students focused on the 21st century skills they need to acquire. This particularly impacts under-resourced schools that disproportionately serve low-income students and students of color.
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