Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget cuts released Wednesday eliminated nearly $40 million in education funds from early childhood through post-secondary education.
The University System of Maryland took the biggest hit with a $15.6 million reduction. In anticipation, the colleges instituted a hiring freeze last week, a spokesman said. Community colleges lost $8 million of their expected $16 million in state aid.
“We’re considering several proposals, including a hiring delay or freeze, restrictions on nonessential travel and a delay of major purchases,” said Elizabeth Homan, a spokeswoman for Montgomery College. Homan added the college expected further reductions from the Montgomery County Council and from a decline in investment revenues.
At the elementary and secondary levels, O’Malley focused on budget reductions outside of the classroom, including $312,000 from a free breakfast initiative and $144,000 from school-based health centers.
The state will save $2 million by delaying the implementation of a controversial standardized test for special-needs elementary students. That news comes one day after the Montgomery County school board requested a delay of the state’s plan to link high school standardized tests to diplomas.
Nearly $3 million, or 25 percent of the total, was cut from grant money available for outside agencies to run programs to effect achievement in struggling schools.
