Annapolis, MD — Maryland’s public schools, which were the best in the nation for five years in a row, have now slipped to 6th under Governor Larry Hogan according to Education Week’s annual ranking. Every year Hogan has been in office, Maryland schools have dropped a notch.
“Maryland public schools were ranked best in the nation for five straight years, but they have now slipped every year Governor Hogan has been in office, which is a result of his legacy of underfunding public schools,” said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews. “This year Maryland schools suffered the second steepest decline in the nation, and they are now ranked 6th. Governor Hogan has had Maryland’s public schools in his crosshairs since the day he was sworn in, he has taken steps to bring Betsy Devos’ war on public schools to Maryland, and now our children are now paying the price for it.”
Secretary of Education Betsy Devos was the very first Trump administration official hosted by Governor Larry Hogan in Maryland. He has also sided against supporting Maryland’s neighborhood public schools while nominating hardline extremists to the state board of education.
In his first budget, Hogan wanted to cut $275 million from Maryland’s public schools. Last year, he pushed to cut $30 million from new education spending that go towards after-school programs, college preparation, and teacher retention strategies. At the same time, Hogan proposed doubling taxpayer funding for private school scholarships. Hogan has also tried to take away local control of charter schools.
Hogan even took a page from the Trump-bullying playbook last year and called hardworking public school teachers “thugs.”