Maryland citizens, teachers, and students deserve a seat at the table when the General Assembly decides whether to expand gambling.  More gambling must equal more dollars for our schools.

       Senator Bill Ferguson and I believe that this additional money should be used for pre-kindegarten classes so that kids come to elementary school ready to learn. 

        We wrote the following in response to a Baltimore Sun editorial, “Gambling’s most taxing issue.”

 Dear Editors:

        Public school students would be the big loser if the tax rate is reduced for the owners of slots licenses. 

        Under current law, the tax rate on slots is 67%.  Nearly half of the state’s revenue (48.5%) goes directly to the Education Trust Fund.  Those dollars can be used only for education.  With five fully operating sites, $513.3 million is projected for the Fund in Fiscal Year 2015. 

        However, that tax rate would be reduced by a third, to 42.5%, under a proposal by the developers of a sixth site at National Harbor in Price Georges County. 

         Instead of shrinking the allocation for education, we should expand it. 

        Academically enriched pre-kindergarten programs set students on a successful path of lifelong learning. Recent studies have highlighted both the short-term and long-term positive impacts that pre-k programs have on students’ academic outcomes and students’ preparedness for a 21st century skills-based economy.

        If we authorize table games and target 10% of that revenue to pre-k, we would enable students of all socioeconomic backgrounds to enter schools on a more equitable path to opportunity.  

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             I will be blogging from Israel daily, starting Thursday, at delsandy.com.