A Cautionary Tale For Taxpayers And Parents
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I have been watching Chris Papst's news stories on FOX 45 Baltimore for years. Papst is the main architect and reporter of the "Project Baltimore" segment on the station. In fact, we have referenced many of his reports on the Baltimore City Public Schools in our Easton Gazette stories about education in Maryland. His reports point out problems in the City Schools that many were unaware of OR chose to ignore.
I often wondered why he didn't write a book about all that he has learned. He finally did.
The book is called FAILURE FACTORY and it was released on August 22, 2025. Shortly after, it was the # 1 New Release" in Local U.S. Politics worldwide on Amazon. Since then, it has garnered a great deal of attention from not only local Maryland media, but national as well. The book was mentioned by podcaster Megyn Kelly on her September 2nd show. We have no doubt that this is just the beginning of what will be national notice.
As a former educator of thirty years and a present parental rights advocate and blogger, I read many books about education. Most of them are theoretical in nature and many are not easy reads. Most of the time an author starts out making a good point and then devolves into repeating the same information to fill pages. The tone of these books is often somewhat clinical.
FAILURE FACTORY is completely different. Aside from the fact that the author, Chris Papst, has facts, interview quotes, anecdotal events and "receipts" to back up his points, he writes in a very engaging tone. When I read the book, I could hear his voice in the writing. That's important to me as a reader. It tells me that the author actually wrote the book AND it helps me relate to him.
Clearly, there is a good reason why Chris Papst is an Emmy Award winning investigative reporter and the winner of other prestigious awards such as the 2023 Vanguard Award from the Maryland State Conference NAACP. FAILURE FACTORY is not his first book, as his book CAPITAL MURDER, was #1 on Amazon in three categories. His second book, a novel entitled DEVOLUTION, was released in 2016. He tells the story as it is, without regard for political agendas. As stated on the introductory page of the book, "All voicemails, emails and quotes are presented, verbatim without edits." Truth, when it's told accurately and in a non-partisan manner, is a beautiful thing!
As Barbara Dezmon, Ph.D, Education Chairman of the Maryland State Conference NAACP (2010-2023) wrote in the forward, " In his writing, Papst provides the public with a lens by which to capture the internal functions of the districts, portraying both failures and successes. There are those who argue and try to dismiss the reporting on the realities in educational systems, such as that featured in this book, as incendiary and exacerbating to the current issues without resolving them. Mr. Papst views the positive and negative aspects of the situation. Using personal anecdotes, he provides insight that extends far beyond what is often afforded to the public, into the mechanisms of education. Accordingly, the facts put forth in this book consistently underlie the case for needed reforms in education, for the welfare of students."
The final sentence in this quote from Dezmon highlights another aspect of this book that is undeniable. In FAILURE FACTORY Papst chronicles dismal state test scores, grade changing, fraudulent promotions, meaningless graduations, school violence, and the counting of non-existent "ghost students" by the city system to garner more state funding. More than an expose about the Baltimore City Schools, this could be a harrowing glimpse into almost any school system in Maryland and/or the United States.
When one anonymous source using the pseudonym MCDONALDS discusses miserable test scores and changing grades at one city school, Papst is in disbelief. " I'm a product of America's school system. I wanted to believe that public schools are about the students. But I was just told it's really about the adults."
"As you do these reports, just remember," MCDONALDS explained before stepping into a car, "everything is about data, and data is money."
Like I said, this book could potentially be about almost any school system in our country. Many of us who had a career in education can attest to MCDONALD'S analysis.
While the book is factually impeccable, it is very engaging as the narrative moves quickly but accurately through Papst's investigation of the failing Baltimore City Public School system from 2017 to the present. It begins with a transcript of proceedings of a court case that FOX 45 News/Project Baltimore filed against the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners when they refused to provide information for a Maryland Public Information Act request regarding grade changing. From there, the book lays out an entire timeline of investigations into stories highlighting the people who were adversely affected by the actions of the Baltimore City Public Schools who stonewalled Papst at every turn.
Needless to say, I read the book in approximately six hours. I couldn't put it down.
I recommend this book to any parent of any child in the public school system in our country, large or small. It goes beyond detailing the disaster that is the Baltimore City Public Schools and becomes a cautionary tale to all of us about what happens when unscrupulous and greedy adults are given the sacred task of educating our precious children.
The book is available on AMAZON.
Christ Papst's Reports can be seen on FOX45 Baltimore under PROJECT BALTIMORE.
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