Future of Education Podcast S2E314: Superintendents, Salaries, and Scandals: The "Adult-First" Corruption Coming to Your City
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Mar 12, 2026 Chris Pabst, Emmy-winning investigative reporter and author of Failure Factory, uncovers systemic rot in Baltimore City Schools. He reveals massive grade changes, administrative bloat, and how funding can fuel dysfunction. The conversation highlights political incentives, parental power, and warning signs that similar corruption may be hiding in other districts.
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Funding Rewards Enrollment Not Learning
- School funding incentives encourage enrollment over learning outcomes.
- Chris Pabst shows Baltimore raised funding 38% while proficiency remained near 12% in math, creating no incentive to improve instruction.
Executive Job Security Blocks Reform
- High administrative pay and job security remove pressure to improve student outcomes.
- The Baltimore CEO kept her job for nine years with nearly $500,000 compensation despite minimal academic gains and a lawsuit loss.
Mother Who Reached High School Illiterate
- A Baltimore mother reached high school illiterate and only discovered dyslexia in her thirties.
- Chris Pabst recounts Michelle Bradley's story to illustrate multi-generational failures of the system.
