On November 29, 2018, the Kirwan Commission to improve "innovation and excellence" in Maryland met to hear public testimony concerning what recommendations to give to the Maryland General Assembly in this matter. Speaking for my organizations, International Montessori Society and Trust Tutoring, I urged the commission to support more choice and competition as the best means to assure accountability, quality, and value in Maryland public education. From personal experience, I argued that there was no higher level of accountability possible than that of the child's parents choosing his education, rather than a remote government establishment, such as through the outdated and dysfunctional public school system. In my written remarks, I laid out about 10 different specific ways this could be done as a practical matter, including the repeal of compulsory attendance laws.
I also testified that Maryland education has been highly defective and degraded in value through its long pattern of censorship and monopoly control in the field. I urged the commission to recommend putting on the breaks to this pattern, to reduce the mismanagement and corruption brought about by bloated government employment and excessively high salaries in public education. I also pointed to the burden to parents and ordinary citizens alike caused by excessively high taxes make any choice of non-government education virtually impossible for many. When the final Kirwan report comes out, I sense that their recommendations are likely to urge more government control and higher tax recommendations, to conform to the majority sentiment among the many special interest groups and government agencies who testified for this direction. Soon, issues of implementing these Kirwan recommendations will come before the General Assembly this coming term. Citizens are encouraged to stay aware of these hearings to attend and speak out for sensible government policy to prevail in this area. Comments to Lee Havis: havis@imsmontessori.org and trusttutoring.com