In a recent interview that has sparked alarm across the country, education freedom advocate Corey DeAngelis delivered a sharp indictment of Baltimore’s public school system, citing numbers that brutally expose the city’s educational decline under the leadership of Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott.

“The reality is undeniable: 40% of high schools in Baltimore don’t have a single student proficient in math. Not one,” DeAngelis stated. “That’s not a school. That’s a taxpayer-funded failure factory.”

His comments come at a critical moment for urban education, where millions of dollars are poured into public institutions every year—yet those same institutions are failing to accomplish their most basic purpose: teaching children how to read, write, and perform basic arithmetic.

Institutional Failure: Schools Without Standards or Accountability

According to DeAngelis, the problem isn’t just the abysmal academic outcomes—it’s the system’s deliberately passive response. Rather than demanding more from students and educators, school officials are lowering academic standards.

“Failing report cards are everywhere, but no one seems to care. Instead of strengthening academic content, they water it down. Instead of encouraging effort, they normalize mediocrity. All to manipulate the data and protect political interests,” he explained.

That, DeAngelis argues, isn’t education. It’s institutional abandonment.

Baltimore, long governed by Democrat-controlled administrations, stands as a textbook example of what happens when partisan ideology replaces common sense. Millions in taxpayer funding flow into districts more concerned with ideological agendas than actual student achievement. And as always, it’s low-income students who suffer the most.

An Education Monopoly: No Competition, No Excellence

DeAngelis also pointed to powerful teachers’ unions and entrenched bureaucracy as key enablers of the system’s failures.

“The system doesn’t answer to families. It answers to political interests. Funding goes to institutions, not students. That’s why there’s no accountability. That’s why nothing changes,” he said.

What exists today, he continued, is a government monopoly disguised as public education, offering parents no real alternatives—and punishing excellence instead of rewarding it.

At the heart of the problem, DeAngelis explained, is a total lack of competition. In cities like Baltimore, families have no real choice. They’re forced to send their children to schools that offer no safety, no quality, and no future.

Meanwhile, Democrat bureaucrats like Mayor Brandon Scott continue repeating empty promises, announcing flashy “reform plans” that don’t deliver real change.

The Solution: Put Power Back in the Hands of Parents

Faced with this bleak reality, DeAngelis is crystal clear: the only viable path forward is to fund families, not the failing system.

“Public dollars should follow the student—not the bureaucracy. When parents are empowered to choose what kind of education is best for their children—whether public, private, religious, or home-based—competition kicks in, and systems improve. School choice is the only real antidote to institutionalized failure,” he asserted.

This approach, supported by the current Republican administration and conservative governors across the country, represents a bold structural reform. It’s not about shutting down public schools—it’s about forcing them to compete and deliver results, just like any other taxpayer-funded institution.

Conclusion: Failure Is Not an Option—Educational Freedom Is

The numbers coming out of Baltimore are a direct result of Democrat policies that have prioritized unions and bureaucracies over students. Brandon Scott’s leadership—like that of so many Democratic mayors—has failed in the most fundamental task: ensuring that children actually learn.

This is not about ideology. This is about facts. When 40% of high schools can’t produce even one student proficient in math, the system is broken.

Republicans aren’t offering empty rhetoric. We’re offering real solutions: competition, accountability, responsibility, and excellence.

As Corey DeAngelis puts it: