Lawmakers press MSDE on pre-K classroom shortfalls and role of private providers

Lawmakers at a joint Ways and Means and Appropriations briefing pressed state education officials on how the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future will meet demand for full-day pre-K seats, particularly given limits on public construction capacity.

Delegates pointed to an interagency commission estimate — relayed during the briefing — that full implementation could require 200 to 500 additional classrooms at about $1,000,000 apiece, and asked whether the state can realistically build that capacity. A committee member said the figure raised concerns about land, cost and timeline.

MSDE and AIB witnesses said the state is pursuing a mixed-delivery strategy that relies heavily on local partnerships and private providers. "Nearly 50 percent of new full-day seats are in private settings," one panelist noted, and AIB said local philanthropic investments have helped expand private pre-K participation in some counties.

Officials framed the classroom need as a multi-part challenge: capital capacity (classrooms), operating funding and provider participation. They said MSDE’s early-childhood assistant superintendent will lead cross-sector planning and that the department is prepared to share county-level breakdowns of private-provider seats and family child‑care participation when requested by the committee.

Lawmakers asked for more granular data: how many private family child‑care providers are delivering Blueprint seats, the county-level distribution of seats, and a clearer estimate of capital needs and potential funding options. The committee asked AIB and MSDE to provide county one-pagers and dashboards showing where new seats have been created and what gaps remain.

The briefing did not produce a specific funding plan for pre-K capital; lawmakers said they will use the NORC evaluation and the requested county breakdowns to weigh capital and operating options in forthcoming budget deliberations.