On the real cost of Kirwin – from the Maryland Public Policy Institute,
According to Dr. Stephen Walters, an economics professor at Loyola University, a fellow of Applied Economics at John’s Hopkins University and the Chief Economist at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, state taxpayers are simply not being told what the Kirwan Commission to revamp Maryland public schools will really cost. It’s often said Kirwan reforms will cost state taxpayers about four billion over ten years. We’ve heard that amount in committee hearings and news reports. But a chart, found on page 137 of the Kirwan report, says something different. Turns out four billion, is just the amount for year ten. If you add up the increased funding for years one through nine, the actual cost of Kirwan is $31.9 billion. “You just did arithmetic, and this is about schools and you would think that the commission members would be doing that arithmetic, but they didn’t,” said Walters.
“This is a hugely expensive program and I’m not sure that the localities can afford it. I’m not sure that the state can afford it,” explained Dr. Stephen Walters.
Click here to watch his interview with Fox 45 News
Click here to see chart from the Kirwan Report
Click here to view the full Kirwan Report (Jan 2019)
First there was the massive tax increase on services that was proposed but failed (thankfully!). Now, Democrats are proposing to move forward with nine tax bills that would bring in over $700 million revenue annually to pay for the Kirwan plan. Among these bills, HB 1354 proposes that the state extend the 6 percent sales tax to a small number of “luxury services,” to raise about $72 million revenue by 2025.
Click here to view the text of HB1354 – a sales tax on “luxury services”