February 19th, 2015 by WCBC Radio

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan plans to submit a measure to strengthen the state’s charter school law. Hogan says the measure will seek to expand choices for families and make it easier for more public charter schools to operate in the state. Hogan also says he will push for tax credits for people who make voluntary contributions to private or parochial schools. The measure has been debated in Maryland for more than a decade, winning passage in the Senate but failing to clear the House. Hogan said early this month that he is likely to push for changes to make it easier to open and operate charter schools. The report recommends creating an independent board to consider and approve applications to open charter schools. Currently, only local school boards can do that — and critics say that in some counties, the boards seldom say yes. Currently, local school systems bear the cost of charter schools, so approving them means increasing spending or cutting funds for existing schools. Allegany County School Superintendent David Cox said he isn’t opposed to the Charter school concept, but does have concerns about the financial impacts to the public school system…