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Failure Factory: How Baltimore City Public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future
“Educational institutions have evolved into a new bureaucracy. Chris Papst demonstrates the courage to challenge powerful bureaucracies by holding those at the top accountable. He deeply explores topics such as grading, promotions, discipline, school safety, and violence. Failure Factory raises the question, are children failing school or are schools failing children?"—Barbara Dezmon, Maryland State Conference NAACP
Baltimore City Public Schools is one of America’s largest and most funded school systems. Yet, historically, it is among the lowest performing. In 2024, despite a $1.7 billion budget, just 10% of students tested proficient in math. Investigative journalist Chris Papst follows the money to uncover why students continue to fail within a school system that’s failing Baltimore.
Failure Factory shines a critical light on America’s public education system by exposing what’s really happening inside classrooms and behind administrative doors. Reporting for Fox45 News in Baltimore, Papst spent eight years investigating public schools. What he learned is shocking.
A significant realignment has recently occurred in public education. The focus has shifted to value data and funding over students and futures. Failure Factory highlights this transition by exposing how academic outcomes are manipulated, while students are promoted through the grade levels without receiving the education they need. When students fail classes, their grades are often changed to passing. If schools appear dangerous, arrests and suspensions are no longer recorded. If graduation rates decline, academic metrics are adjusted - making it easier to receive a diploma.
For many, a career in education remains a noble calling. But a growing number of educators now view public schools as a means to acquire wealth. As Baltimore’s student enrollment has plummeted, budgets have surged. Taxpayers are funding staggering increases in six-figure salary jobs, as declining student outcomes cripple entire neighborhoods.
What’s happening in Baltimore schools is not unique; it’s ubiquitous. That new educational mindset, which prioritizes data over students and funding over futures, is quickly spreading across the country with equally dire consequences for local communities. Is your school system next? This book is your warning.
Baltimore City Public Schools is one of America’s largest and most funded school systems. Yet, historically, it is among the lowest performing. In 2024, despite a $1.7 billion budget, just 10% of students tested proficient in math. Investigative journalist Chris Papst follows the money to uncover why students continue to fail within a school system that’s failing Baltimore.
Failure Factory shines a critical light on America’s public education system by exposing what’s really happening inside classrooms and behind administrative doors. Reporting for Fox45 News in Baltimore, Papst spent eight years investigating public schools. What he learned is shocking.
A significant realignment has recently occurred in public education. The focus has shifted to value data and funding over students and futures. Failure Factory highlights this transition by exposing how academic outcomes are manipulated, while students are promoted through the grade levels without receiving the education they need. When students fail classes, their grades are often changed to passing. If schools appear dangerous, arrests and suspensions are no longer recorded. If graduation rates decline, academic metrics are adjusted - making it easier to receive a diploma.
For many, a career in education remains a noble calling. But a growing number of educators now view public schools as a means to acquire wealth. As Baltimore’s student enrollment has plummeted, budgets have surged. Taxpayers are funding staggering increases in six-figure salary jobs, as declining student outcomes cripple entire neighborhoods.
What’s happening in Baltimore schools is not unique; it’s ubiquitous. That new educational mindset, which prioritizes data over students and funding over futures, is quickly spreading across the country with equally dire consequences for local communities. Is your school system next? This book is your warning.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2025
19 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2025
Any parent or citizen who is curious about the reason why Baltimore and other Democrat-run cities are hotbeds of violence need to read Failure Factory. Bottom line is that the school system has a bar that’s below failure: they actually don’t even require any standards whatsoever for graduation.
Kids are graduating without even the ability to read the diploma they receive, to the point where a parent whose child had a 0.13GPA - that’s zero point one three - questioned why her son was graduating in the TOP HALF of the class.
Over 12,500 grades were changed from fail (including 0% - not even showing up for any of the class) to PASS.
Kids cannot be held back more than once over the course of pre-K-9th grade so kids are being passed through without the most basic knowledge.
Chronic absenteeism is not just a problem; literally 48% of kids in Baltimore City Public Schools are chronically absent. They don’t attend school and they pass, year after year, eventually graduating!
The end result is that kids feel emboldened to join gangs, deal drugs and cause violence because they are never held accountable. They understand that the adults in their lives do not care about their success, so why even try?
Chris spent years exposing the crime and corruption happening in BCPS, where the jobs of teachers and admins are much more valued than the safety and education of kids, and are explained with detail in Failure Factory.
We are paying literally billions of dollars to educate thousands of kids who have completely dropped out of school or are incarcerated!! Yet these kids are on the books, enrolled in the system, so that the schools receive taxpayer funding.
We need a major reform of Baltimore City schools as well as other school systems just like it, starting with the firing of admins and teachers who don’t do their jobs.
Kids are graduating without even the ability to read the diploma they receive, to the point where a parent whose child had a 0.13GPA - that’s zero point one three - questioned why her son was graduating in the TOP HALF of the class.
Over 12,500 grades were changed from fail (including 0% - not even showing up for any of the class) to PASS.
Kids cannot be held back more than once over the course of pre-K-9th grade so kids are being passed through without the most basic knowledge.
Chronic absenteeism is not just a problem; literally 48% of kids in Baltimore City Public Schools are chronically absent. They don’t attend school and they pass, year after year, eventually graduating!
The end result is that kids feel emboldened to join gangs, deal drugs and cause violence because they are never held accountable. They understand that the adults in their lives do not care about their success, so why even try?
Chris spent years exposing the crime and corruption happening in BCPS, where the jobs of teachers and admins are much more valued than the safety and education of kids, and are explained with detail in Failure Factory.
We are paying literally billions of dollars to educate thousands of kids who have completely dropped out of school or are incarcerated!! Yet these kids are on the books, enrolled in the system, so that the schools receive taxpayer funding.
We need a major reform of Baltimore City schools as well as other school systems just like it, starting with the firing of admins and teachers who don’t do their jobs.
November 12, 2025
This book brings to light the infuriating corruption and malfeasance that plagues Baltimore City Public Schools, problems which also persist in school districts across the country. Education may be the civil rights issue of our era and it is heartbreaking to see the politicians and administrators who will sacrifice the education, safety, and futures of children in their care to boost their own salaries and funding.
September 9, 2025
After reading this, it’s title couldn’t be more accurate.
It’s infuriating all the tax money that goes to this school system, and these are the results. Pushing kids grade through grade that can’t read or do basic math, then can’t even read the diploma they’ve hardly earned.
But year after year, as enrollment goes down, their budget keeps going up, benefiting mostly principals and administrators, who are definitely being overpaid. And when a sitting governor (Larry Hogan), calls this school system out and says there should be criminal charges brought up, our General Assembly ignores facts and keeps sending more and more money, our tax money.
Great read, it’s a shame more can’t be done to end this corruption.
It’s infuriating all the tax money that goes to this school system, and these are the results. Pushing kids grade through grade that can’t read or do basic math, then can’t even read the diploma they’ve hardly earned.
But year after year, as enrollment goes down, their budget keeps going up, benefiting mostly principals and administrators, who are definitely being overpaid. And when a sitting governor (Larry Hogan), calls this school system out and says there should be criminal charges brought up, our General Assembly ignores facts and keeps sending more and more money, our tax money.
Great read, it’s a shame more can’t be done to end this corruption.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2025
As a retired Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal (U.S. Department of Justice), a Marine Corps veteran, a former federal law enforcement executive, and a lifelong public integrity and accountability advocate, I’ve spent decades studying the root causes of crime, poverty, and community collapse.
Very few books have ever broken down the truth as clearly and as courageously as Failure Factory.
Chris Papst has done something extraordinary here. He has connected the dots between education, political leadership, and generational poverty in a way that the average parent has NEVER been told especially in Maryland’s most vulnerable school systems. He exposes how failing school systems don’t just happen.
They are engineered, protected, and sustained through political decisions, financial mismanagement, and a system of accountability that simply doesn’t exist.
This book is a wake-up call for:
• Parents
• Educators
• Voters
• Taxpayers
• And especially elected officials at every level
Through hard data, investigative reporting, and historical truth, Papst explains how the pipeline from failing schools → to poverty → to crime begins with the collapse of foundational education. And he demonstrates how political leadership shapes and too often shields these failures.
As someone who has worked inside federal systems, including protecting communities impacted by crime, I cannot emphasize this enough:
There is a direct line between educational neglect and public safety collapse.
There is a direct line between political decisions and community suffering.
There is a direct line between ignored school failure and generational trauma.
Failure Factory should be required reading:
• In every Maryland school district
• For every Maryland parent
• For every state and local elected official
• And in every school of public policy nationwide
The federal government may not run public education, but it absolutely plays a role in ensuring that states do not normalize “failure factories” that mass-produce poverty, incarceration, violence, and hopelessness. Papst’s work makes that responsibility undeniable.
This book is not just an investigation —
It is a service.
A warning.
And a blueprint for accountability.
Chris Papst has written what I believe should be a New York Times–level required text for anyone who truly wants to understand how we got here — and how we can finally break the cycle.
A powerful, necessary, culture-shifting book.
Dave J. Grogan
Retired Federal Law Enforcement Executive
Marine Corps Veteran
Public Integrity & Accountability Advocate
Healthy Aging & Wellness Advocate
Very few books have ever broken down the truth as clearly and as courageously as Failure Factory.
Chris Papst has done something extraordinary here. He has connected the dots between education, political leadership, and generational poverty in a way that the average parent has NEVER been told especially in Maryland’s most vulnerable school systems. He exposes how failing school systems don’t just happen.
They are engineered, protected, and sustained through political decisions, financial mismanagement, and a system of accountability that simply doesn’t exist.
This book is a wake-up call for:
• Parents
• Educators
• Voters
• Taxpayers
• And especially elected officials at every level
Through hard data, investigative reporting, and historical truth, Papst explains how the pipeline from failing schools → to poverty → to crime begins with the collapse of foundational education. And he demonstrates how political leadership shapes and too often shields these failures.
As someone who has worked inside federal systems, including protecting communities impacted by crime, I cannot emphasize this enough:
There is a direct line between educational neglect and public safety collapse.
There is a direct line between political decisions and community suffering.
There is a direct line between ignored school failure and generational trauma.
Failure Factory should be required reading:
• In every Maryland school district
• For every Maryland parent
• For every state and local elected official
• And in every school of public policy nationwide
The federal government may not run public education, but it absolutely plays a role in ensuring that states do not normalize “failure factories” that mass-produce poverty, incarceration, violence, and hopelessness. Papst’s work makes that responsibility undeniable.
This book is not just an investigation —
It is a service.
A warning.
And a blueprint for accountability.
Chris Papst has written what I believe should be a New York Times–level required text for anyone who truly wants to understand how we got here — and how we can finally break the cycle.
A powerful, necessary, culture-shifting book.
Dave J. Grogan
Retired Federal Law Enforcement Executive
Marine Corps Veteran
Public Integrity & Accountability Advocate
Healthy Aging & Wellness Advocate
October 20, 2025
I just finished reading Failure Factory by Chris Papst, Project Baltimore's Investigative Reporter at FOX45 WBFF. What an eye opening book. Did you know that to graduate in Maryland students do not need to take and pass a state assessment exam? They need 21 credits and 75 service hours to graduate. This book exposes grade changing schemes, ghost students (students on the books but not attending classes), students passing without ever attending classes, etc. I expect more from our school systems. This book focuses on Baltimore City, but I assume these practices are taking place elsewhere. Did you ever wonder why you get a deer in the headlights stare when you give a cashier $20.56 to pay a bill of $17.56? Read the book and you will find out why. Hopefully this book will help to change what Maryland Legislators do in Annapolis next session.
October 9, 2025
When my husband and I lived in the Baltimore area, we used to watch Chris's reports on TV. Seeing all of his work, in this one book, over an eight-year period, is incredibly eye-opening and shocking.
Reading Failure Factory triggered many emotions for me; sadness, anger, and frustration. Hearing from the parents about the lack of education their children are receiving was sad. Seeing the massive salaries the school employees earn as the students are undereducated is angering. And knowing that I, as a taxpayer, am paying for all of it is frustrating.
We cannot allow our public-school systems to continue this way. There's too much at stake. If you pay taxes, you should read Failure Factory. Thank you, Chris, for writing this book.
Reading Failure Factory triggered many emotions for me; sadness, anger, and frustration. Hearing from the parents about the lack of education their children are receiving was sad. Seeing the massive salaries the school employees earn as the students are undereducated is angering. And knowing that I, as a taxpayer, am paying for all of it is frustrating.
We cannot allow our public-school systems to continue this way. There's too much at stake. If you pay taxes, you should read Failure Factory. Thank you, Chris, for writing this book.
October 10, 2025
Failure Factory is a powerful and eye-opening book that exposes the deep, systemic failures of Baltimore City’s public education system. Written in a clear and compelling style, it reads like a documentary in print, blending well-documented data with riveting, heartbreaking interviews from parents and students.
This book lays bare how a school system that receives some of the highest funding in the nation continues to fail its children year after year. Every lawmaker, policymaker, and taxpayer should read Failure Factory to understand how decades of mismanagement and misplaced priorities have devastated generations of students.
An essential and unforgettable read.
This book lays bare how a school system that receives some of the highest funding in the nation continues to fail its children year after year. Every lawmaker, policymaker, and taxpayer should read Failure Factory to understand how decades of mismanagement and misplaced priorities have devastated generations of students.
An essential and unforgettable read.
November 25, 2025
Read your book today I did enjoy it but it did make me sad at the same time . There’s some deep realization that the School Police Department was never intended to Protect Children , but more intentionally designed to Be a Personal Police Force for North Ave its Administrators , and very Silently the Mayor /City Council and Protecting their interests within the School System. The kids , there Families never came first they’ve always been disposable to the System. So disposable even when they were no longer there they kept them on the books and collected money from their poverty and misery..
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews