Government

Hogan $46.6B Budget Proposal Emphasizes Education

WASHINGTON INFORMER — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan released copies of his $46.6 billion fiscal 2020 budget proposal Friday

Published

5 years ago

January 24, 2019

By William J. Ford

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan released copies of his $46.6 billion fiscal 2020 budget proposal Friday that increases education spending, seeks to cut taxes and provide at least a 3 percent raise for state employees.

The fifth budget from Hogan, which doesn’t include a tax increase, outlines a 4.2 percent increase from last year’s spending plan.

“Over the next four years, we have a tremendous opportunity not only to building upon the success we’re already experiencing, but to continue to make truly transformative changes all across the state,” Hogan said in a letter address to the legislature. “With your help, we will continue to make Maryland a better place to live, work, raise a family and retire.”

The budget allocates $200 million in recommendations from the ongoing work by the Kirwan Commission, a group the legislature created in 2016 to analyze ideas to revamp the state’s public education.

The budget also proposes using $65 million of the $125 million from dedicated casino revenues toward school construction projects and loans to assist local governments. Voters approved in November to use at least half of the revenue from the casinos toward education based on a “lockbox” initiative.

However, legislatures and education advocates want the majority of the money to go toward the classroom, teacher salaries and other instruction enhancements.

Some education groups have criticized Hogan’s BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) education initiative that allows public money for students in low-income areas to attend private schools. The proposed budget asks for another $3 million to increase funding for the program to $10 million.

“It’s a program utilized mostly by families which already send their kids to private schools and research demonstrates that private school voucher programs result in worse academic outcomes,” said Steven Hershkowitz, a spokesman and policy director with the Maryland State Education Association. “Before this program, which drains much-needed resources away from our underfunded public schools [and] grows even larger, the legislature should instead phase it out.”

Other parts of the budget include:

• About $7 billion for state aid for public schools with an additional $11 million for Baltimore City and nearly $800,000 for Cecil County.
• More than $3 billion for transportation projects that include $10 million to complete a new interchange at the intersection of Route 210 and Kerby Hill and Livingston roads in Oxon Hill.
• About $248 million for the opioid crisis and other substance abuse.
• Nearly $57 million for businesses located in the state’s 149 “opportunity zones, which offer waiver fees and tax incentives.

The budget also earmarks at least $20 million to combat violent crime in Baltimore, including about $4 million for the city’s Safe Streets program managed by the city’s health department.

Hogan, who in November became Maryland’s first Republican governor in 64 years elected to a second term, announced this month a series of initiatives to target crime. He also introduced two pieces of legislation, one to increase the minimum sentence to 10 years for repeat offenders who use a gun to commit a violent crime, and the other to give transparency to sentencing guidelines for how judges deliberate and rule on cases regarding violent crimes.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. expressed displeasure that the budget provides no specific funding for police training in Baltimore, something he said the Senate will work to rectify.

“There is a major crime problem in Baltimore City,” Miller said. “They’ve got a 15-minute response time. That is embarrassing. Baltimore City [police] should be responding to crime in seconds, not minutes. When Baltimore City hurts, our entire state hurts.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Civil Rights Org, Muslim Advocates, Settles Pool Discrimination Lawsuit

Don't Miss

MLK@90: NBA legend Bill Walton brings levity, laughter to Grizzlies MLK symposium

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.