Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future, a 10-year education reform plan with a multi-million dollar annual price tag, faces growing scrutiny as state leaders wrestle with a massive budget deficit.

Gov. Wes Moore announced his proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 at a news conference Wednesday, where he and his budget secretary explained how the state plans to sustain the Blueprint, while making some adjustments to ease budget concerns.

“We have preserved record funding for K-12 schools to ensure Maryland has the best education system in the country,” said Moore, a Democrat.

The investment in education called for in the Blueprint poses a central challenge to the state’s spending sustainability. The initiative has been criticized for its high cost to the state and the spending mandates for local governments.

Approved in 2021, the Blueprint aims to address inequities, prepare students for the workforce and make Maryland’s education system competitive. The plan requires a $3.8 billion annual investment in education once fully implemented by 2032, according to the state Blueprint website.

“The administration tackled very challenging policy reviews with an eye toward ensuring effectiveness of state investment and sustainability,” said Helene Grady, secretary of Budget and Management.

The Moore administration intends to propose adjustments to the Blueprint to strengthen its implementation and secure its funding through 2030, Grady said.

The Moore budget’s $550 million increase in K-12 education spending to reach $9.7 billion will coincide with changes to the Blueprint reform plan and, separately, cutbacks to aid for public universities. The Blueprint shifts would save $2.5 billion over five years, including $141 million in the next fiscal year.

Grandy also described efforts to rein in spending on public universities, which will see a smaller amount of new funding compared to previous years, about $48 million in a $2.3 billion line item.

“We’ve had significant growth in state funding for our four-year institutions of higher ed since fiscal year 2022. It is not sustainable for the general fund to continue to support these levels of growth going forward,” said Grandy.

Other cost-saving changes to Blueprint announced Wednesday include suspending the requirement that teachers spend no more than 60% of their time teaching and the funding increases tied to this requirement, and freezing funding for community schools at fiscal year 2026 levels.

Under the Blueprint, community schools act as “hubs” for social services such as medical care and family resources, including academic support. These schools, which are determined by the number of students who fall below the federal poverty threshold, receive additional funding from state grants that must be used for specific purposes.

School districts are beginning to determine what next year’s budgets will look like and are watching developments in Annapolis carefully.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools held their first public budget hearing last week, gathering feedback on Superintendent Mark Bedell‘s nearly $1.8 billion 2025-26 budget proposal. Howard County also will hold work sessions on Superintendent Bill Barnes’ $1.219 proposed budget next Tuesday and Baltimore County Public Schools has upcoming work sessions to discuss their proposed $2.98 billion budget and the potential impact of Moore’s budget announcement.

Sean Bulson, superintendent of Harford County Public Schools, said his plan “conservatively estimated” the county’s anticipated state funding.

“We recognize the financial position of the state and recognize the Blueprint requires adjustments to ensure its future success,” Bulson said. “That said, I agree with my superintendent colleagues who have recommended adjustments to reduce Blueprint expenditures.”

“The [state] proposal would leave our funding approximately $1.4 million below our initial conservative estimates,” he said. “So, we will have to find ways to fill that gap.”

Baltimore Sun reporters Matthew Hubbard and Kiersten Hacker contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Bridget Byrne at bbyrne@baltsun.com, 443-690-7205 and x.com/brdgtbyrn.