State Del. Ryan Nawrocki is one of several Maryland lawmakers raising concerns about the costs of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the multi-million-dollar education reform bill passed in 2021.

Nawrocki, a Baltimore County Republican, joined FOX45 News in Depth with Mikenzie Frost on Thursday to discuss the future of the Blueprint, and whether it will continue.

“It’s not affordable for the state, and I don’t believe that it’s gonna be affordable in the future for the state.” Nawrocki said. “We’re talking about the $3 billion budget shortfall that we have. But if you look further into the out years, that number is much larger. It gets up to like $6 billion in some of the out years, for the shortfall. So it’s just completely unaffordable for the state.”

Maryland’s education scores raise questions about whether pouring more money into the classroom will yield better academic success. On the most recent Maryland state test, the MCAP, 48% of students scored proficient in English Language Arts. In math, just 24% of students tested scored proficient. In Baltimore City, the numbers are worse.

According to the MCAP, 10.2% of students scored proficient in math, meaning nearly 90% of Baltimore City students who took the state math exam aren’t proficient. Baltimore City tested the lowest in the state. The numbers reflected similar outcomes to federal testing data, where Baltimore City 4th and 8th grade students scored near the bottom in math and reading. In Maryland and nationally, test scores dropped after COVID-19 because of learning loss caused by shutdowns and virtual education.

Nawrocki questioned forcing districts to foot the bill for Blueprint, when academic success is supposed to be the primary goal.

“We’re already top in the country in education spending in the state of Maryland. So my question is, how many more dollars will get us to have the outcomes that we’re looking for?” Nawrocki said. “I have an elementary school in my district that on any given day has 63% of the children not in the classroom in chronic absenteeism. I’m not understanding how spending more money there — whether it’s with a better school or better textbooks or any of those sorts of things — solves that problem.”

When pressed on the absenteeism issue, Nawrocki blamed Democrats for a lack of legislation, saying, “There’s been no appetite by the Democratic leadership to move bills like that forward.”

While the joint hearing held Feb. 19 to debate Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed Blueprint changes lasted nearly five hours, a vote wasn’t held. It’s unclear what changes will make it through the General Assembly before lawmakers adjourn on April 7.

Have a news tip? Contact Mikenzie Frost at mbfrost@sbgtv.com.