Maryland's teachers union spent $509,000 on travel, while counties struggle to fund public education

...According to MSEA’s federal non-profit filings, the union spent $509,013 on travel expenses last year. That amount does not include “Conferences, conventions, and meetings,” which is another $35,010.

“There is no justification to spend half a million dollars a year on travel. The receipts need to be provided,” said David Williams with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. “And this money is going to the unions. It's not ultimately getting to the kids. And the stated purpose of the union is to help the children.”

n the last 10 years, the union has spent a lot on travel. In fact, $509,000 is on the low end. In 2013, the union spent $543,214 on travel expenses. By 2016, that number topped $1.1 million. During the COVID years, the numbers came down. But the union still managed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on travel as most schools were shut down.

In all, over the last decade, the union spent $6,448,327 on travel expenses. That comes out to an average of $53,736 a month, every month, for 10 straight years. How does that fulfill the union’s tax-exempt mission to “elevate the quality of public education for all students”?

In addition to the travel expenses, Project Baltimore found that MSEA’s revenue and assets have reached record highs. And at least 11 employees of the union earned more than $200,000 last year in total compensation. Meanwhile, test scores in the state have been steadily declining.

“Teachers are always complaining that they don't have enough supplies,” Williams told Project Baltimore. “The union could take millions of dollars that they have and buy supplies for the teachers to make the kids have a better educational experience. The unions are failing the kids. They're failing the state.”..

Maryland's teachers union spent $509K on travel, while counties struggle to fund public ed | WBFF (foxbaltimore.com)