ANNAPOLIS, Md. – From today’s joint hearing on Governor Moore’s Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, members of the House Republican Caucus issued the following comments. The hearing is being held jointly with the House Ways & Means Committee, the House Appropriations Committee as well as Senate committees of jurisdiction.
“The largest takeaway for everyone today should be that Governor Moore’s Administration and the Democratic leaders in Annapolis acknowledged what has been obvious to us for years – that taxes will have to be raised significantly to pay for the Blueprint,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. “This certainly counters the ongoing fallacy that the Blueprint does not contribute to Maryland’s budget crisis.”
“It is incredibly telling that according to the State Superintendent, Maryland’s reading assessments have been largely declining over the last 10 years while year after year they were receiving historic levels of funding,” said Delegate Jeff Ghrist, the ranking Republican member of the House Appropriations Committee. “Sitting on the budget committee we have, year after year, tied ourselves in knots to increase funding for education, often at the expense of other state functions. Now we see little evidence these historic investments have benefitted our students and no guarantee that we will see any improvement in outcomes with the massive infusion of Blueprint dollars.”
“I appreciate the Moore Administration’s willingness to acknowledge that the Blueprint as it currently stands is unsustainable,” said Chief Deputy Minority Whip Delegate Wayne Hartman, the ranking Republican member on the House Ways and Means Committee. “Our citizens cannot afford the level of taxation they will have to absorb to pay for the Blueprint as it stands. We must change course.”