Our Focus
I’m running to remove practical barriers that families feel every day. This page lays out the changes I'll prioritize from day one.
On time, every time.
safe, reliable rides so students can reach the schools that fit them
Baltimore City is the only school district in Maryland that doesn't provide yellow bus service beyond 5th grade. Instead, 25,000 middle and high school students rely on MTA public transit – a system where 1 in 4 buses doesn't show up on time or at all. The average city student spends 40 minutes getting to school. Some spend 90 minutes. The result is a chronic absenteeism rate of nearly 50%, and measurably worse grades and attendance in first-period classes across the district. This is a solvable problem. The current board hasn't treated it like one.
What I'll push for on the board: safe, reliable ways for students to reach the schools that fit them. School Choice isn't real unless kids can actually get to the schools they choose. I will:
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Demand a rewrite of the MOU between BCPS and MTA to include student-specific on-time performance standards – right now, the MTA has no metrics it's required to hit for student riders.
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Champion a yellow bus pilot program for the longest and most unreliable choice-school routes. A 2025 analysis found a full city bus network could cost as little as 5% of the district's operating budget – the district's own officials haven't seriously evaluated it.
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Push for bell-time coordination with MTA so school start times are aligned with actual bus frequency. Some students are waking up before 6 a.m. for a 7:30 bell they still miss.
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Require public monthly reporting on MTA on-time performance by route, so families have real data instead of assurances.
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Address the after-school access gap: student transit passes have limited hours, which prevents participation in sports, clubs, and tutoring. Fix the pass window or fund alternative solutions.
After the bell, not out the door.
athletics, arts, clubs, and tutoring in every neighborhood
Baltimore City just lost $48 million in federal funding — and the first programs cut were tutoring and after-school activities. That's not a coincidence. After-school programs are always treated as extras. They're not. Students who are engaged after the bell have lower absenteeism, fewer discipline issues, and better outcomes. For many families in Baltimore, after-school isn't enrichment — it's childcare, safety, and a reason to show up.
What I'll push for on the board:
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Protect what exists first. The new middle school athletics program is fragile. A $2M budget at $50 per student is not a real commitment. I'll push to make it permanent and funded at a level that doesn't depend on volunteer coaches and overloaded principals.
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Fix the transit pass gap. Students can't stay for sports, tutoring, or clubs if their MTA pass stops working at 4. I'll advocate for extended pass hours tied to school program schedules – this is a solvable coordination problem between BCPS and MTA.
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Streamline the nonprofit and university partnership process. Baltimore has extraordinary anchor institutions – Hopkins, Loyola, Morgan State, UMB, BCRP – whose after-school resources don't reach every neighborhood. I'll push to cut the bureaucratic friction that keeps those partnerships from scaling.
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Make participation data public. We don't have a clear picture of which schools have robust after-school programming and which have nothing. A simple public dashboard by school is the first step to closing the gap.
Safe Healthy Buildings.
no excuses
Baltimore City Schools operates 151 buildings. Most were built between the 1890s and 1950s – when the city had nearly a million residents. Today, enrollment is half that, but most of those buildings are still open, still aging, and still underfunded.
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The numbers are straightforward: industry standards say a district should spend 1.5–2.5% of its buildings' replacement value on maintenance every year. For Baltimore, that's roughly $105–225 million annually. The district spends about $23 million. The gap compounds every year.
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The result is what you see: HVAC that fails in winter, roofs that leak, water systems that require bottled water over a decade after lead contamination was first documented, and classroom doors that only lock from the outside.
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These aren't surprises. They're the predictable outcome of deferring maintenance for decades while keeping too many underutilized buildings open.
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What I'll push for on the board:
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A plain-language, school-by-school facilities dashboard
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Prioritization of life-safety repairs: fire suppression, water quality, structural integrity
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Honest accounting of which buildings should be renovated, which consolidated, and which replaced
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Transparency on the 21st Century Schools surplus process: 26 buildings were committed for disposal; the public deserves to know where that stands
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Direct net savings and proceeds to student-facing needs (transportation, after-school, repairs).
