The Maryland Association of the Boards of Education (MABE) released their summary of the 2014 legislative session, including a description of bills that passed and failed  relating to education funding and school construction.

The Green Sheet, as the summary is named, shows where MABE joined MACo in supporting and opposing legislation, and the areas where our two organizations diverged.  MABE and MACo both opposed House Bill 727/Senate Bill 232 Procurement-Prevailing Wage-Applicability.  Unfortunately, despite the opposition, the legislation passed.   As MABE states, the result of this law is a dramatic expansion of the application of mandated prevailing wage rates, which will increase future costs of school construction projects.

However, MABE opposed HB 349 Education – Maintenance of Effort – Lease Payment Exclusion, which MACo supported. And MABE also opposed House Bill 1145 Maintenance of Effort – Qualifying Nonrecurring Costs – Methods of Approval, MACo’s initiative bill.  HB 349 would have encouraged private investment in school construction through allowing lease payments towards schools built with private funding to be excluded from other education funding calculations. HB 1145 would have created incentives for additional investment in education above required funding mandates.

The Green Sheet also list “Session Highlights,” of education legislation that passed and failed this session, including the passage of the Prekindergarten Expansion Act of 2014, and the failure of a bill to shift the burden of proof in due process hearings for children with disabilities.

For more information, see MABE’s Green Sheet.