Maryland students, education advocates raise concerns about proposed 2026 budget cuts

Maryland students and education advocates are expected to hold a rally Monday evening in opposition to potential cuts in the 2026 proposed budget.
The rally in Annapolis is being held on Crossover Day, known as one of the busiest days of the legislative session.
Rally organizers say Gov. Wes Moore's proposed budget includes cuts to education that would strip essential resources from schools and disproportionately impact students with the highest needs.
Gov. Moore's proposed budget aims to address a $2.7 billion deficit through spending cuts and tax increases for residents who earn more than $500,000 annually.
The budget would also increase taxes for sports betting and recreational cannabis, and would add a surcharge on deliveries from companies that make more than $500,000 per year.
During an
interview in January
, shortly after the proposed budget was introduced, Gov. Moore told WJZ the $2 billion in cuts will impact programs that are determined to be ineffective.
"There are certain programs that, as we looked at and really did deep dives, I question their efficacy," Gov. Moore said. "So you'll see certain programs, for example, certain tax credits, the enterprise tax credit is one. There's no evidence of efficacy that we have seen."
The governor also said there would be cuts to education programs that do not impact the state's Blueprint initiative and cuts to higher education spending.
Gov. Moore's proposed budget would cut $111 million from the
University System of Maryland
. The higher education system would get $2.21 billion in state funding, under the 2026 budget, down from $2.32 billion in 2025.
The system is comprised of 12 institutions and three regional centers. Gov. Moore predicts that tuition rates will increase by a projected 2.2% in 2026.
Under the proposed budget, local community colleges would receive $63.2 million.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore would receive $42.9 million for construction, and Towson University would receive $71.1 million for construction. Morgan State University would get $119.2 million for construction and other upgrades.
The budget also includes $8 million for projects at three private institutions.

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