Doomsday for Md. education — and economy - William E. Kirwan, Baltimore Sun

Earlier this month, both houses of the Maryland General Assembly passed the state's fiscal 2013 operating budget, but both houses failed to pass tax legislation and a companion bill required to fund and implement the budget. As a result, our state faces two possibilities. Ideally, GovernorMartin O'Malleyand the legislative leadership will work out their differences, reconvene in a special session, and pass the legislation necessary for the FY 2013 budget to go into effect as lawmakers intended on July 1, 2012. However, if no action is taken, a drastically different budget will go into effect by default. This alternative budget — aptly labeled the "doomsday budget" — would force severe and sweeping cuts. To make matter worse, the lion's share of these cuts would directly target Maryland's K-12 public schools and Maryland's public colleges and universities.