Montgomery County School Construction Press Conference

April 17, 2009

 

Good morning. And thank you for all being here today. Isn’t it great to see the weather cooperating with us, too?

I know Senator Frosh had to run to St. Mary’s, but I want to applaud his leadership in Annapolis. We worked closely this session to pass measures that will take guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. It was important work and work that will save lives.

And thank you to all the other members of the General Assembly who are here today, especially Delegate Feldman, the chair of the House Delegation and Delegates Lee, Bronrott and Frick who have welcomed us into their district.

Principal Garran – thank you for letting me invite myself over today. This school is constantly mentioned as a national model for public high schools. (In fact, I heard the Wall Street Journal was here yesterday researching a story about WJ’s success.) That success isn’t accidental – it’s because of Principal Garran and the teachers and the faculty who devote their lives to educating our kids.

Let me also thank the men and women – the parents – who commit themselves to public service on the Montgomery County School Board, especially Patricia O’Neill, who I understand is a graduate of this great school.

And finally, thank you Duane Wilson and all the other students for choosing to invest in their own success by working hard and learning the skills that will be necessary to succeed in the workforce and in college…

This year’s legislative session was perhaps the most challenging I’ve ever been a part of. The national economic downturn threatened our progress. We were looking at a $2 billion budget gap when we all arrived in Annapolis in January. Despite that challenge and because of Governor O’Malley’s leadership and a restored partnership with a new tenant at the White House, we were successful; we were able to protect our priorities; and we were able to make the important investments that put our Families and our Kids First.

And there is no investment more important than the investments we made in public education. I believe that deeply because I believe that it’s important that we survive this downtown, but we must also ensure that we are able to thrive for years to come.

With the help of the General Assembly and the Federal Recovery Package, we were able to fully fund K-12 education. That means $5.4 billion – more than any administration before us. That means we protected teacher pensions so we can retain the nation’s best teachers. And it means that we were able to fully fund the GCEI for the first time ever – something that means a great deal to the students in Montgomery County.

These investments are essential to protect our progress. We have the nation’s top ranked public school system. We have the country’s highest AP participation rate and we lead the nation in AP performance. And since we passed the Thornton bill in 2002, we’ve seen scores go up in every subject, in every grade, in every county and across every demographic…

Our investment truly is paying off dividends.

Perhaps, though, the most important investments we’ve made in education these past three years have been our investments in school construction. We have the best schools in America, but unfortunately, far too many of our students are being educated in temporary learning shacks.

When we took office, we promised that school construction would be a top priority ever year, not just during election years. And we made good on that promise.

We invested more than $400 million in our first year, and today I’m proud to be able to announce that even during tough times we have invested more than $1 billion in school construction across the state in just three years – more than the previous administration invested in four relatively prosperous years.

And of that, nearly $125 million has come to Montgomery County, a 150 percent increase over what the previous administration invested in Montgomery County in its first three years and $34.5 million more than they did in four years.

And of those projects in Montgomery County, the one here at Walter Johnson High School has been one of the top priorities. Last year, we invested $13.7 million in this renovation. And in the FY10 budget that your delegation helped to pass last week, we successfully protected a second $13.6 million investment.

It’s not an investment in bricks and mortar, even though that’s what it looks like on paper. It’s an investment in the young people who walk through those doors. It’s an investment in their future. And it’s an investment that will ensure that Walter Johnson High School, along with every other school in our state, lives up to its full potential…

So, without any further ado, let me invite Principal Garran, Vice President O’Neill and Duane back to the podium. And it’s now my distinct pleasure to present this check, signed by Maryland’s taxpayers and representing their $13.6 million contribution to complete this essential renovation.

Thank you very much.

 

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