CITING GOVERNOR'S CLAIM OF "DECLINING REVENUES," GROUPS ASK FOR TRANSFER OF PUBLIC FUNDING FROM PRIVATE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Annapolis, Maryland - This morning, Senator Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery-District 18) joined ACLU of Maryland and the more than 72,000 educators of the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) in calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to withhold $5 million set aside for private school vouchers as part of the FY2017 budget. Earlier this week, the governor claimed the state is facing declining revenues in deciding to withhold $25 million that had been set aside for public schools, yet did not decide to hold back funding reserved for private schools. The groups asked the governor to instead send the $5 million in taxpayer dollars to public schools to offset some of the damage from the cuts Gov. Hogan made earlier this week. 

"If the state of Maryland cannot afford to spend taxpayer dollars on fixing aging school buildings and preventing class size increases, we certainly cannot afford to help subsidize tuition for those who are already enrolled in private schools," said Sen. Madaleno. "Budgets are about priorities, and it's disappointing that the governor is choosing to siphon funding from public schools to help private schools."

This is the second consecutive year that Gov. Hogan has decided to withhold school funding despite projected budget surpluses. Last year, he withheld $68 million passed in a bipartisan budget from thirteen counties that saw increased class sizes, eliminated educator positions, and cut programs. This year, he held back $25 million in funding that would have supported the maintenance of aging school facilities and helped counties pay for educator pensions without cutting funding levels for classroom instruction.