December 6th, 2018 by WCBC Radio

A Maryland commission is recommending the state increase spending on K-12 education by an estimated $4.4 billion a year about a decade from now. The panel known as the Kirwan Commission released the estimated costs at a meeting Thursday in Annapolis. It will make final recommendations to the Maryland General Assembly in a final report by the end of the year. The recommended increases would begin in the next fiscal year, when they would total about $807 million. They go up each year for a decade.

The increases are in four main areas. They include early childhood education such as pre-K programs, teacher pay, college and career readiness and additional resources for at-risk students.

Lawmakers will be considering the recommendations in the legislative session that begins in January.