Gov. Robert Ehrlich touted his record on school construction funding and test score improvements during his tenure while blasting Baltimore Mayor Martin O?Malley?s leadership over city schools Tuesday.
In the second of a series of horn-tooting press conferences his campaign dubbed “A Tale of Two Records,” Ehrlich distributed charts comparing his record with that of his Democratic challenger O?Malley.
He said he provided a record $1.4 billion increase in public school funding since taking office and trumpeted the success of 23 pubic charter schools under the first charter school law, which he penned.
Maryland received a $13 million federal grand in 2004 following a law that permitted public charter schools and parents alternatives to failing city schools, he said. He said he hopes to double the number of charter schools in the next two years.
O?Malley, he said, increased funding for city schools by a “paltry” $541,000 and blamed 54 schools failing under federal standards and the second worst graduation rate among the country?s 50 biggest school districts on his oversight.
He said Democratic lawmakers postponed solutions to the city?s failures to avoid election year embarrassment.
“Inconvenience and embarrassment is of no consequence to me,” Ehrlich said. “This is about your future.”
Representatives from O?Malley?s campaign responded with counter-attacks, accusing Ehrlich of actually cutting construction funding and increasing college tuition 40 percent.
They said he underfunded teacher pensions, only raising them during the election year.
Test scores in the city?s elementary schools and high school graduation rates are improving and the mayor increased per-pupil funding by more than 18 percent.
“It?s ridiculous for a governor to attack a school system for which he has joint control,” said Rick Abbruzzese, O?Malley campaign spokesman.
“He should have worked for progress instead of failing to fully-fund Thorton and cutting school construction by $176 million.”
The state has paid for-profit corporations to run three failing Baltimore city schools. The camps are debating progress at those.
? Staff report
