The following statement is attributed to Betty Weller, president of the Maryland State Education Association:
“Inexplicably, Gov. Hogan appears prepared to punish Maryland’s public schools and our students as revenge for not getting his way on his initiatives, including a misguided voucher scheme to send $5 million in public funds to private schools. Despite overwhelming, bipartisan support in the General Assembly just three weeks ago to restore $132 million in Gov. Hogan’s school funding cuts, he upended an outcome supported by the vast majority of legislators and Marylanders.
“There is still time for Gov. Hogan to do the right thing and prevent rising class sizes and educator layoffs by releasing the nearly $70 million in funding that he is withholding from Maryland’s schools. As educators, parents, and district and county leaders plead for Gov. Hogan to change his mind, he continues to vindictively prevent this funding from reaching our students and classrooms. We would not accept this kind of bullying behavior from Maryland’s students, and do not accept it from Maryland’s governor either.
“We appreciate the hard work of Speaker Busch, President Miller, and budget committee leaders over the last 90 days to develop a budget that continues the state’s commitment to our world class public schools.”
