Chapter 20: Maryland

Passed in 1978, the Education Article of the Maryland Code entrusted the supervision and administration of the public K-12 schools to the state’s Board of Education and superintendent of schools. No longer used, the 1978 funding model established a per-pupil base level of annual spending to be shared by local and state taxes. Local contributions were based on a combination of a flat tax rate and the school district’s wealth. State contributions filled the remaining base level, and provided supplemental funding “regardless of district wealth, based on the enrollment of children with special needs and the population density of a district.”¹