Baltimore pastor sounds off after Maryland Education Dept. accused of test score 'cover-up'
Baltimore pastor P.M. Smith joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss allegations the Maryland Department of Education redacted test scores showing no students were proficient in math in 23 schools.
The Baltimore school system is being accused of a "cover-up" after officials removed test scores from an online database, previously indicating no students across 23 schools were proficient in math.
Baltimore pastor P.M. Smith slammed city officials during "Fox & Friends First," accusing the African Americans who lead the city of "stealing" from their own community as they funnel $1.6 billion into the public school system.
"They're stealing. What's happening in Baltimore City is Black-on-Black crime," Smith told Ashley Strohmier Wednesday. "The CEO is African American. The mayor is African American. The president of the city council is African American. Police commissioner is African American. What's happening in this city is Black-on-Black crime, especially if we talk about our education system. We're in trouble. They think we're stupid."
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"They're treating us like we're stupid, and that will continue as long as we keep putting the same type of person back in the office year after year after year," he continued. "That won't change until we change. We got to change our voting pattern."
Parents were outraged earlier this year when Maryland Comprehensive
Assessment Program (MCAP) data for 2022 indicated no students were proficient in math in 23 public schools.
Additionally, 93% of third through eighth graders tested below grade level in math.
Those numbers, however, were replaced by asterisks in the online database.
Baltimore schools accused of a 'cover-up' after officials redacted online test scores
"It's dangerous to the future of America," Smith said. "It's dangerous to the future of families. Education is the great equalizer. It's the great elevator. I'm a product of a great education in a segregated school system. $21,000 per student and we get zero. What are we talking about? Zero from the fifth grade to the 12th grade, and of the 23 schools, 12 of them were high schools."
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"Our children are being failed by government schools," he continued.
The dismal numbers come even as the Baltimore public school system boasted a $1.6 billion budget in 2022, according to Fox Baltimore.
When divided by the number of budgeted students, the average cost came out to $21,606 per student.
Smith emphasized the importance of Baltimore voters casting their ballot differently in future elections in order to prevent the same politicians, who are currently in office, from leading in the future.
"When we talk accountability, there are two Cs- number one, a choice, somebody made a choice to redact the name, the number of students, and the test scores," Smith said. "The consequence is the other C. When you do that, when there's a certain arrogance that borderlines ignorance, and you think I'm the ignorant one, there's a consequence. We don't put you back in the same place."
"Here in Baltimore, in the state of Maryland, there's only one party that's the Democrat party," he continued. "They are loyal to their donors, and they use us as voters. That will not change until we change. Don't put them back."
Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury pushed back against the allegations saying, "… prematurely posted by MSDE's web vendor. [And] was removed from the website because the data was still undergoing the federally required data disclosure methods."
Even so, Smith called out school officials for their "arrogance" as students within the public school system struggle to stay afloat academically.
"It's not an attack. It's a critique," Smith said. "There's a certain ignorance. There's a certain arrogance that's borderline ignorance, and that's what we see here in Baltimore."
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Fox News' Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
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