GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $370 MILLION IN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $370 MILLION IN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUNDING AND UPGRADES FOR MARYLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Funds will support an estimated 11,650 jobs for Marylanders

ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 10, 2012) – Governor Martin O’Malley today joined by House Speaker Michael E. Busch, and surrounded by students, educators and other officials, announced that the O'Malley-Brown Administration will propose more than $370 million in school construction funding and upgrades for Maryland public schools in the FY2013 budget to support an estimated 11,650 jobs with the local dollars these funds will leverage. The Governor is proposing more than $350 million in capital funding for the Public School Construction Program (PSCP), the second highest single-year funding level in State history, bringing the Administration’s six-year school construction commitment to $1.94 billion and creating an estimated 2,400 direct construction jobs each year over the last six years (including FY2013).

Additionally, the Administration will include $15.3 million in the Qualified Zone Academy Bond Program (QZAB), under which the State sells bonds and allocates proceeds to public school systems for capital improvements at eligible public school buildings and $6.1 million in the Aging Schools Program.

“It was only a few short years ago, when the Kopp Commission rightfully declared that we had a ‘crisis in school construction in our State,’” said Governor O’Malley. “In December 2005, Anthony Brown and I came to what was then Germantown Elementary’s 43-year old building. We saw the temporary learning shacks, and began an honest dialogue with the people of our State about choices and priorities Today, we’re asking the General Assembly to invest $372 million in FY2013 to create 11,650 jobs and recapitalize Maryland’s future with new investment in school construction because these investments we make together are literally the building blocks of greater job creation and opportunity.”

The Governor made the announcement at Germantown Elementary School in Annapolis, where in December 2005, one day after announcing the official O’Malley-Brown ticket, he and Lt. Governor Brown joined by Speaker Busch declared their commitment to investing in school construction, and released a comprehensive plan to accept the recommendations of the Kopp Commission, which in 2004 provided an unprecedented statewide assessment of the condition of Maryland’s public schools as a “crisis in school construction.”

The Kopp Commission noted:

• Students in poor buildings perform less well than students in functional buildings.

• Most researchers found students in poor buildings scored between 5 to 10 percentile rank points lower than students in functional buildings, after controlling for socioeconomic status.

• The difference in scores for students in poor buildings can be as high as 17 percentile rank points.

In order to move children out of crowded classrooms, crumbling school buildings and portable trailers, and position Maryland as a global leader in education, the Kopp Commission recommended that the State adopt a $250 million annual minimum for public school construction in order to reach the $2 billion investment that Maryland schools required.

Publishers Notes: There was a LOT more to this press release but it wnt on so long we simply cannot provide more space. I will ask the Governor's Office to provide a link on line and possibly update this Post with a link.