ANNAPOLIS, MD — There's a smattering of disagreements around Maryland's education funding plan.
Governor Wes Moore proposed cuts to community schools and collaborative time for teachers to make the funding plan easier for the state to maintain.
The House restored those cuts to the blueprint, then the Senate kept the cuts to collaborative time but restored the funding to community schools.
"This is just a common sense amendment," said Senator Mary Beth Carozza, Republican from the Eastern Shore.
Maryland republicans saw the Maryland Excellence in Public Schools Act as a chance to get some changes to the funding plan.
Proposing a few amendments as the bill was before the Senate.
"This amendment requires that the accountability and implementation board to develop and the state board of education to approve metrics to measure student outcomes that are directly related to programs under the blueprint," said Senator Jack Bailey, a Republican from Calvert and St. Mary's counties.
The amendment also froze funding at the upcoming year's levels.
Senator Ron Watson stood strong against the amendments.
"Freezing funds at FY26 levels will have a negative consequence on the ability of local school systems to provide basic levels of service to our students," said Watson.
Ultimately the bill passed onto the third reader.
It's not done yet.
The disagreements between the two chambers will have to be ironed out in a conference committee.
