FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2015
Contact: Ray Baker
(410) 764-3030
Baltimore, MD—AFT-Maryland President Marietta English released the following statement on the 2015 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Session.
"After a long and sometimes hotly debated legislative session, the state is better for the admirable bi-partisan work done by the legislators. I want to start by thanking the state legislature for its efforts in finding the funds to educate our children across the state and also for keeping state worker pay as it is.
I'm also thankful the legislature worked together in bi-partisan fashion to develop a common sense plan for governing charter schools. The plan is a compromise that is both practical and fair for teachers, school districts as well as charter operators; but most importantly the charter law is in the best interest of students and their families.
With all of the gains that have come from the General Assembly during this session we are still calling on the Governor to fully fund education. We hope and expect that he will recognize the will of the countless Maryland families who value education across the state. Governor Hogan should commit, with no strings attached, to fully funding education for our young people statewide. The legislature has done its job in finding the money, now it's up to the Governor to allocate the funds.
We also anticipate Governor Hogan funding state workers. To the Governor and his supporters, two percent may not be much money, but to the hard-workers who make state government function it is essential to their lives. Again, this is another place where the legislature has done the difficult task of governing and found the money to maintain state workers' salaries; yet Mr. Hogan simply will not release the funds.
Though this session has seen its share of ups-and-downs, we applaud the hard work of each and every one of the elected men and women of the General Assembly. We praise them for the difficult task of governing and appreciate them for identifying Maryland's priorities. We look forward to Governor Hogan doing the same."
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