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Washington County teachers' union urges local fixes as state 'Blueprint' funding pause is discussed
Summary
The Washington County Teachers Association told the school board the state Blueprint for Education’s pause to certain implementation timelines will make local planning harder and emphasized teachers need more planning time and staffing to meet state mandates and multi‑tiered supports.
Carol Mallon, president of the Washington County Teachers Association, urged the Board of Education on Jan. 21 to seek local solutions to staffing and time‑allocation shortfalls tied to Maryland’s Blueprint for Education.
Mallon told the board the Blueprint, enacted as state law in 2020, aims to improve outcomes for historically underserved students and includes a goal to give teachers up to 40% of their working day for planning, grading, family communication and small‑group instruction. She said Governor Wes Moore’s public comment that the state will “pause the elements that need a closer look” does not mean the Blueprint’s goals will be abandoned; rather, Mallon said the pause will slow the timeline for collaborative‑time implementation and that local districts will still face the same operational demands.
"Teachers need more planning time in the school day to do the work," Mallon said, adding that achieving collaborative time will require more staff hires at a time when districts face teacher shortages and fiscal constraints.
Mallon told the board collaborative time is not a separate line item but is embedded in the foundation of the state school‑funding formula and that details about Fiscal Year 2026 funding remain to be worked out during the legislative session. She also said Workforce supports tied to the Blueprint — including high‑quality instructional materials (HQIM) as defined by the Maryland State Department of Education and expanded multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS) — add planning and tracking responsibilities for classroom teachers.
Mallon said Washington County teachers are already carrying much of that work without sufficient in‑day collaborative time and that local solutions are needed regardless of state timing. She said the union has raised workload and equity concerns with district leadership in quarterly meetings but that the parties have not yet found an adequate resolution.
Board members did not vote on policy changes during Mallon’s remarks. Mallon emphasized the union’s support for the Blueprint’s overall goals while pressing for clearer local plans to fund positions and schedule time that the law envisions.
