"Failure Factory" Schools Run By Democrats Plague Baltimore And Chicago, Present Societal Crisis

Submitted by investigative reporter Chris Papst, author of „Failure Factory: How Baltimore City Public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future”,

Over Labor Day weekend, a series of posts on the X platform regarding student outcomes in Illinois went viral. According to one post, which cites 2022 state data, 30 Illinois schools had zero students test proficient in English. Another post, citing 2024 state data, indicates that 80 Illinois schools had zero students test proficient in math.

Wow

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2025

The likely reason these posts went viral is because the data are alarming and, for many, surprising. But it shouldn’t be. Disheartening educational outcomes, similar to Illinois, are not rare. Unfortunately, they are common. Especially in states such as Maryland.

For the past eight years, I’ve been investigating Baltimore City Public Schools as a reporter for Fox45 News’ Project Baltimore – a station owned and operated by Sinclair, Inc. When Project Baltimore launched in 2017, our mission was simple – to hold school leaders accountable by following the money, while shining a spotlight on why students continue to fail within a school system that’s failing Baltimore.

At White House @realDonaldTrump said, „In Baltimore, 40% of the high schools have zero students who can do basic mathematics.”

That stat is from this ’23 Project Baltimore report. We found 13 High Schools (40%) had ZERO students test proficient in math.https://t.co/CTDOdwSaff

— Chris Papst (@chrispapst) March 21, 2025

Now, after filing nearly 1,000 reports, I have written a book detailing our most shocking findings – Failure Factory: How Baltimore City Public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future.

U.S. News and World Reports, in July, ranked Baltimore as the nation’s fourth most dangerous city. But perhaps violence is not really the problem. Rather, the violence is a symptom of the real problem, which is a failing public school system that for decades has not provided city residents with a quality education.

Baltimore City Public Schools, in 2024, had a $1.7 billion budget, which makes it one of the nation’s most funded large school systems, according to the U.S. Census. But that same year, which is the most recent school year for which we have full data, just 10% of Baltimore students tested proficient in math. That means, about 90% of Baltimore’s students did not test proficient in math.

In 2023, Project Baltimore analyzed state testing data and found that 40% of the high schools in Baltimore City had zero students test proficient in math. When President Donald Trump signed an executive order, earlier this year, to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education he mentioned that grim fact uncovered by Fox45 News.

These issues are not unique to recent years. The failure is systemic. In 2017, Project Baltimore combed through state testing data and found six public schools in Baltimore City that did not have a single student test proficient on any state exam. You read that correctly. Despite being one of the most funded large school systems in America, Baltimore had six entire schools where zero students tested proficient in math and English.

As I promote Failure Factory on podcasts, radio shows and TV programs, I often get this question: „Are there any elected officials in Maryland who are calling for greater accountability from Baltimore City Schools, while demanding better student outcomes?”

The answer is largely, no. And this may be why: In Baltimore, there is no diversity of political thought.

The following is hard to believe, but it’s true. Every elected official in Maryland, who represents Baltimore City, is from the same political party. Every. Single. One.

Both U.S. Senators from Maryland, are Democrats. Each member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represent parts of Baltimore City, is a Democrat. Every State Senator and State House of Delegates member who represents the people of Baltimore, is a Democrat. Within city limits, there is not one Republican currently elected to any position. There hasn’t been a Republican mayor in Baltimore since the 1960s. There hasn’t been a Republican elected to City Council in generations.

This is not to suggest that Republicans have all the answers. But I do believe most Americans would agree that two-party control is more effective than one-party rule.

The aforementioned Project Baltimore reports regarding student proficiencies all went viral. But most of the outrage emanated from outside the state. Public officials in Maryland stayed relatively quiet. And remain so to this day.

What will happen in Illinois? Will public officials in that state demand that public schools improve the quality of education offered to students? I suppose we’ll find out. But as an investigative journalist who has been entrenched in Baltimore for nearly a decade, I’ll tell you this – a community with a failing public school system cannot thrive.

. . .

Chris Papst is a National Emmy award-winning investigative reporter for Fox45 News and the 2023 Maryland State Conference NAACP Vanguard Award recipient. Chris is also the author of Failure Factory: How Baltimore City Public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future.

* * *

Chris Papst featured on The Megyn Kelly Show …

And Newt Gingrich.

Chris Papst’s new book Failure Factory: How Baltimore public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future is an astonishing portrayal of a corrupt system which cheats the taxpayers and cheats the students. Chris spent years investigating the tragic and infuriating failures…

— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) August 29, 2025

The Trump administration’s move to restore law and order in crime-ridden Democrat-controlled cities could soon expand and shine a massive spotlight for the nation to see, revealing uncomfortable truths about how Democrats robbed America’s youngest generations of a future through corrupt grade-rigging and more.