EHRLICH VOWS TO CUT EDUCATION FUNDING THE SAME DAY O'MALLEY PLEDGES CONTINUED INVESTMENTS IN SCHOOLS

Annapolis, MD (September 29, 2010) - What do you do when your opponent rolls out a new series of TV ads championing continued investments in public education? If you're Bob Ehrlich, you show your true colors and respond with a promise to cut public education funding.

In a shocking admission to the Associated Press, Ehrlich today said he would cut funding to Maryland's public schools in Prince George's County, Montgomery County, and Baltimore City.

The full article is available here and pasted below.

"Bob Ehrlich couldn't have done a better job of laying out the contrast between his own failures to invest in public education and Governor Martin O'Malley's record of making record investments in our schools," said Travis Tazelaar, Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party.

"While Ehrlich is openly pledging to cut off funding for schoolchildren in our most populous jurisdictions, Governor Martin O'Malley is talking to voters about  building new schools, keeping college affordable, and making sure that every child gets the quality education he or she deserves."

The O'Malley-Brown campaign's "Education" series of TV ads highlights Governor O'Malley's record investments in public education and school construction even in the toughest times, as well as the Governor's fight to make college more affordable for more Marylanders by freezing tuition for four years in a row. The ads will begin airing today in the Baltimore market and can be viewed here.

Ehrlich's admission today isn't surprising, given that Ehrlich cut school construction funding in better economic times--leading to a crisis in our public schools--and he voted to eliminate the Department of Education while serving in Congress.

Governor O'Malley has been recognized nationally for his efforts to advance public education in Maryland.  This year, he was named "America's Greatest Education Governor" by the National Education Association and Maryland recently won one of only ten federal Race to the Top Grants under O'Malley's leadership. Ehrlich Says He Wouldn't Fund GCEI

ANNAPOLIS,Md.(AP)― If former Gov. Robert Ehrlich gets his old job back,he says he would not fund Maryland's Geographic Cost of Education Index, which compensates jurisdictions where education is more expensive at a cost of about $126 million a year when fully funded.
Ehrlich discussed some of his thoughts about the state budget during an interview Tuesday afternoon at his home. Ehrlich never funded the GCEI when he was governor from 2003 to 2007.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, Ehrlich's Democratic opponent, did not fund the geographical index in his first year as governor in the budget he submitted in 2007. O'Malley funded it at 60 percent the next year. With help from federal stimulus money, O'Malley funded it 100 percent in fiscal year's 2010 and 2011.