Hogan urged to release cash set aside for schools
Public pressure mounted Tuesday on Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to release $68 million in school funding.
Top education advocates, prominent state Democrats and some Republicans called an Annapolis news conference to implore Hogan to agree to spend cash that the legislature set aside for the state’s 13 costliest school districts. They warned that failing to deliver the aid would cause larger classes and teacher layoffs.
“That money is essential to the wellbeing of our education system,” said House Speaker Michael E. Busch. “We’re here today to ask the governor to take the obligation that was put in front of you by the General Assembly.”
The head of the state school superintendents association, Stephen H. Guthrie of Carroll County, said school systems could not absorb the cuts without losing employees.
And the man who helped design Maryland’s school funding system, Alvin Thornton, said that while the spending is technically up to Hogan’s discretion, the fact it has been paid out every year for the past several has made it an integral part of the success of the state’s public schools.
“That has been shown to be working,” Thornton said.
The public campaign to persuade to Hogan to spend more on schools comes after a legislative session that adjourned in acrimony last week over a budget fight.
Hogan said in a brief interview Monday that he has not made a decision on the school funding or the rest of the $200 million at the center of the rift between the governor and the legislature.
“It’s only been a week since the legislature ended,” Hogan said. “We’ve got a hundred people weighing in on what they did, and we’re going to make the best decision we can on behalf of the taxpayers.”
The General Assembly set aside $200 million for schools, employee pay raises and health care initiatives, but Hogan has described the move as fiscally irresponsible and said it robbed the state pension system of $75 million it needs.
When first asked whether he would spend the money as intended by lawmakers, Hogan answered, “Nope.” Two days later, in the final hours of the legislative session, the governor said it was “very unlikely,” and the next morning he told reporters that his administration would “see how much money we have to spend on what.”
The president of the Maryland Association of Counties, Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett, said Hogan must make his decision soon because county governments are building their budgets and 13 school districts are facing cuts. The districts are Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s and St. Mary’s counties.
The counties association sent Hogan a letter Monday signed by three Republicans and three Democrats, telling him the money has become a crucial component of state support for schools.
“For the thirteen jurisdictions with ... funds still pending, the state would be casting a cloud of uncertainty over their own budgeting priorities, with enormous pressure on local tax rates,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by Leggett, Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, all Democrats; and by Cecil County Executive Tari Moore, Washington County Commissioner John Barr and Anne Arundel County Council Chair Jerry Walker, all Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, questioned whether those seeking the money were overstating the impact of not getting it. “How come they always keep saying ‘cutting teachers?’ ” he said, noting there are other ways to cut spending. “I’ve never heard them say they’re going to cut administrators or other expenses within the system.”
At issue is a funding formula called the Geographic Cost of Education Index. It distributes added state aid to the 13 systems where it costs more to run schools. The formula is one piece of Maryland’s signature education funding program established by the Thornton Commission, which was put into law more than a decade ago and has been credited with pushing Maryland’s schools to the top of national rankings.
While other pieces of school funding are mandatory, this index is not. The past two governors — Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Democrat Martin O’Malley — did not fully fund it every year.
“It is unfortunate that Governor Hogan’s opponents are using students and teachers for their partisan agendas,” said House Minority Leader Nic Kipke, an Anne Arundel Republican. “It’s also disingenuous, considering they were silent when O’Malley made similar moves with the budget in tight years.”
The coalition trying to persuade Hogan to spend the money has co-opted his campaign slogan, replacing the phrase “Change Maryland” with “Don’t Shortchange Maryland.”
The state’s teachers union said it has patched through 30 calls a day to the governor’s office asking him to release the money. Hogan can choose not to spend it on schools, but he cannot spend it on anything else.
Hogan aides point out that his budget includes $109 million more for schools than last year’s and contest the suggestion that the governor underfunded education, though advocates say the extra money isn’t enough to keep up with rising enrollment and costs.
Republicans defended Hogan for doing exactly what he told voters he would do during the campaign: curb state spending.
“The governor put forth a budget that gave record funding for education, and he’s trying to get the structural budget deficit in line,” said Del. Susan W. Krebs of Carroll County. “That’s why he was elected.”