Annapolis, MD—Larry Hogan is trying to pull a fast one on Maryland voters again with his latest video, in which Hogan repeatedly misrepresents his education record. Voters won’t be fooled by Hogan’s record of shortchanging our students and failure to invest in our teachers.
Hogan’s failures on education are adding up. Since Hogan entered office, Maryland public schools have dropped in national rankings three straight years, including a 16-spot drop in 8th grade reading achievement and an 11-spot drop in 8th grade math achievement, according to Education Week and the National Assessment of Education Progress.
Voters are taking notice, with the Washington Post poll reporting that only 43 percent of all Marylanders approving of Hogan’s performance on education.
Hoax: Hogan tries to take credit for education funding increases that are mandated by law.
FACT: Less than a month into his term, Hogan tried to cut $144 million from Maryland’s public schools in his first budget. In 2016, he pushed to cut $30 million from new education spending that go towards after-school programs, college preparation, and teacher retention strategies. Overall, Hogan has tried to cut $206 million and successfully blocked nearly $100 million from students in public schools. In the last three years, Hogan diverted $18 million in funding from public schools to subsidize expensive private schools.
Hoax: Hogan tries to take credit for the education funding lockbox constitutional amendment passed by Democrats during 2018 legislative session.
FACT: Ben Jealous has been advocating for a lockbox since June 2017, and has been a strong advocate on the issue ever since. Hogan, meanwhile, didn’t announce a plan until February 2018—a full eight months after Ben and two months after Democrats in the legislature announced their plan to introduce a Constitutional Amendment to commit these funds to education. And worse, as Democrats in the legislature were fighting to pass the bill, Hogan tried to undermine that effort and used legislative gimmicks to offer a weakened bill that would have retained his power to steal from students to fund other parts of his budget. The truth is, Larry Hogan is the person responsible for redirecting casino gaming revenue away from public schools to the tune of $1.4 billion since he became governor, including more than $300 million at the exact same time he asked the legislature to require him to take action he already had the power to do.
Hoax: Hogan tries to convince voters that he has held down higher education costs and made adequate investment in Maryland’s universities and colleges.
FACT: Since Hogan entered office, tuition at Maryland’s public universities have increased by more than 10 percent.
Hoax: Hogan tries to paint himself as an champion of Baltimore schools.
FACT: In January, Hogan denied a request from legislators for $2.5 million in emergency funding to fix heating issues in Baltimore schools. In 2015, Hogan refused to release nearly $70 million in Geographic Cost of Education Index funding to high-need jurisdictions in Maryland, including $12 million for Baltimore City schools.
Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews issued the following statement:
“Larry Hogan has spent four years shortchanging our students, attacking our teachers and trying to pull funds from public schools, while sending millions to private schools. Marylanders have told us that education is a top priority, so we’ll be making sure voters learn the truth about Hogan’s real record. Maryland’s teachers have endorsed Ben Jealous, because they know he will fully fund our schools and give every Maryland student access to a world class education.”