Monday, February 9, Annapolis

Rallied together by the Coalition for Public School Funding, 12,000 parents, students, ngo’s, school administrators, union members, and others shouted slogans and listened to speeches supporting full funding of the Thornton Plan. Recommended by the Thornton Commission, the Plan was passed in the Maryland legislature in 2002 with the object of equalizing rich and poor school districts so all children can be adequately educated.

The Thornton Plan requires $1.3 billion dollars to be applied to the school system by 2008 with $331 million to be appropriated by July, 2004. But the Plan, which was one of Governor Ehrlich’s campaign promises and widely supported by the Democrat controlled legislature is now held hostage to the Governor’s slot machine proposal and the politics of a $800 million budget deficit.

Paying for the Plan requires new sources of revenue. Ehrlich’s insistence that the answer is slots has already been voted down once in Annapolis. In turn, the Governor has adamantly rejected other proposals such as closing corporate tax loopholes to increase revenue. Carefully avoiding a solution which might hurt the people who engineered his election, Ehrlich’s new approaches include adding a surcharge to traffic tickets to create new revenue just to pay back debts.

In spite of the grim situation facing citizens of Baltimore and Maryland whose children are the victims of underfunded schools, the rally participants reclaimed a public voice demanding justice through Thornton. As Carl Stokes, Baltimore City activist noted, “Fifty years after Brown versus the Board of Education, we’re still coming for justice. We seek funding by any means necessary. But this cannot be back door cuts in services like health care. We stand in this mall next to the statue of Maryland’s most renowned jurist, Thurgood Marshall who said, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’”

Several speakers pointed out that Maryland is one of the wealthiest states of the nation, a fact that has often been ignored in the political dialogue shaped by mainstream media. Dr. Alvin Thornton, the Chair of the Commission said, “Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, but we do not share the wealth with our babies. This is morally inexcusable!”

Other speakers included moderator Jann Jackson, Executive Director of Advocates for Children and Youth and Wendy Foy, ACORN activist who ran for City Council in the last election. Susan Goering of the ACLU, Maryland, said, “The State of Maryland’s constitution says that it’s the duty of the State Legislature to provide a thorough education…To the elected officials, the Maryland Constitution means something. Don’t make us wait. Every elected official is required to fund education.”

Many students attending the rally seemed exhilarated despite the cold and elbow-to-elbow crowd. The speeches went on until 8:30 p.m., but the youth and their parents were vocal, shouting slogans and carrying signs such as, “These children will be running your nursing homes – invest in the future!” and “Why is $2.9 million going to non-public schools for textbooks when public schools need textbooks?”

Along with expected participants such as the American Federation of Teachers, many others represented organizations as diverse as ACORN, AFSCME, Maryland Green Party, Student Peace Action and BRIDGE.

Though not an entirely grass-roots effort, the rally brought together influential groups to promote a single agenda and had the enthusiastic backing of parents, students and teachers.