Press Release: Maryland Receives Grant to Help Strengthen Underperfo... http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/090302b.asp Maryland Receives Grant to Help Strengthen Underperforming Schools National Governor’s Association grant is funded by Gates and Prudential Foundations ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 2, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley announced today that Maryland has received a grant from the National Governors Association (NGA) for a one-year project designed to spur improvement in chronically low-performing schools. The grant, one of just four funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Prudential Foundation, will provide the State with up to $150,000, plus assistance in research and development of new strategies to increase academic achievement in underperforming schools. The NGA’s Center for Best Practices will assist Maryland in the development of its plan. “America’s number one public school system must do everything it can to remain the best in the nation while ensuring that every Maryland child receives a quality education regardless of where they live,” said Governor O’Malley. “The National Governor’s Association shares these principles, and we are grateful for this support. Their partnership in this endeavor demonstrates that we all have a stake in the future of our children.” Maryland has gained a well-deserved reputation for its high academic standards and strong accountability measures, and those measures have paid off over time. All 24 school systems across the state have posted steady academic improvement for five straight years, and Education Week Magazine recently cited the state’s public school system as the nation’s best. However, like states elsewhere, Maryland has some schools that continue to underperform. This grant project is aimed at developing new strategies for improving those underperforming schools. The grant runs through April 2010. “We have a long history of working with low performing schools, and we’ve seen dozens of schools exit the improvement process over the past few years,” said State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. “With this assistance, we believe our improvement program for other schools will gain significant momentum. We are pleased to be working with so many partners to develop this new initiative.” The Governor’s office, MSDE, and the State Board of Education will be working with members of the General Assembly, Maryland Higher Education Commission, Maryland State Teachers Association, Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, local school systems, and local nonprofits to develop the new plan. Last week, Governor O’Malley address the State Board of Education where he outlined seven specific goals he believes Maryland should strive for in order to elevate Maryland’s public schools among the world’s best: Pursue competitive educational grants available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Establish international benchmarking in Maryland, creating metrics that compare the achievement of Maryland’s students against their counterparts around the world. Create a single, continual, longitudinal data system that follows students as they move from elementary school through higher education. Create a strategic framework for improving college readiness in Maryland. Improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Meth (STEM) education throughout the State by including environmental and financial literacy. Strengthen our efforts in Career and Technology Education (CTE) to prepare students for modern careers in a knowledge-based economy. Recruit and retain the very best teachers and principals for our schools. Since the passage of the Thornton Bridge to Excellence Plan, State funding for local school systems has increased by 6/12/2014 7:59 AM Press Release: Maryland Receives Grant to Help Strengthen Underperfo... http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/090302b.asp $1.97 billion dollars, a 76-percent increase. Governor O’Malley proposed a record $5.4 billion funding level for FY2010 despite difficult economic times. In addition, for the first time ever, Maryland will have invested more than $1 billion in school construction funding over a three year period, including over $260 million proposed for FY2010 alone. Additional Press Releases 6/12/2014 7:59 AM Press Release: Governor Martin O'Malley Introduces Legislation for 'Rat... http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/090302.asp Governor Martin O'Malley Introduces Legislation for 'Rational Reregulation' of Energy in Maryland ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 2, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley announced today the introduction of legislation that will apply a “rational reregulation” policy for energy markets in Maryland moving forward. The legislation will call for reregulation of electricity markets in Maryland moving forward when the Public Service Commission (PSC) deems it is in the best interest of consumers. “Deregulation has failed us. Today, we announce that the days of blind faith in broken, deregulated markets are over in Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “We will reregulate Maryland’s electricity supply going forward whenever it is in the best interests of Maryland consumers and families. Rather than relying on the market forces that have failed to deliver for us, we’ll put those important decisions about securing our energy future into the hands of the Public Service Commission.” Governor O’Malley, joined by Maryland Energy Administration Director Malcolm Woolf, outlined the major themes of the legislation: 1. We will re-regulate Maryland’s electricity supply going forward when it is in the best interest of Maryland consumers. Currently, deregulation allows important decisions, like the construction of new power plants, to be made by energy companies when it suits their own economic interests. Governor O’Malley’s plan requires the PSC to make these decisions in the interests of consumers. 2. We will give the PSC the responsibility and authority to determine when new energy generation is needed, rather than relying on broken energy markets to make the determination. These decisions will no longer be made based on the private economic interests of energy utilities, but rather on the public interest, giving the PSC more tools with which to protect consumers and greater leverage to develop renewable energy sources in Maryland. 3. We will direct the establishment of new generation plants when it is determined by the PSC that an energy company is not developing a generating site due to private economic interests. Despite the urgent need for new generation, some energy companies are not building new plants, even when they have land on which to build. This legislation would grant the PSC the authority to direct the development of a plant on those sites when it is in the 6/12/2014 8:05 AM Press Release: Governor Martin O'Malley Introduces Legislation for 'Rat... http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/090302.asp public interest to do so. “The promise of deregulation – that the free market would drive energy prices down through competition – has failed the people of Maryland,” said Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration. “Taking control of the decision making process will ensure that these important matters will be decided in the best interest of consumers.” Governor O’Malley stressed the prohibitive cost and risk to taxpayers of returning to full, retrospective reregulation. The immediate cost of buying back the energy plants from private utilities would be passed on to consumers, thus having an increasing effect on utility bills. In addition, $1.5 billion of the $2 billion settlement won by the State from Constellation Energy would be lost, since returning Constellation’s nuclear power plants would return to ratepayers the cost of decommissioning them. Buying back these plants could also jeopardize the development of Calvert Cliffs 3 and the thousands of jobs it will create. In August, Governor O’Malley delivered the keynote address before the Maryland Association of Counties, and pledged to do everything within his power to fight for Maryland families who are struggling to afford out-of-control home energy bills. There, the Governor outlined policy to secure Maryland’s energy future, including the use of the Public Service Commission to direct utilities to either find or build new generation to address any future supply shortfalls that the market is not reasonably expected to deliver in time to keep the lights on in 2011, 2012, and the years that follow. Additional Press Releases 6/12/2014 8:05 AM Press Release: Statement from Governor Martin O'Malley Following Sen... http://www.governor.maryland.gov/pressreleases/090304b.asp Governor O'Malley Announces First Transportation Project Funded by Recovery Act to Begin this Week Improvement of New Hampshire Avenue Is First Project Approved by the Federal Highway Administration Under Recovery and Reinvestment Act ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 4, 2009) – Moving quickly to preserve jobs in Maryland by investing in its infrastructure, Governor Martin O’Malley today announced construction will start this week on a $2.1 million road resurfacing and improvement project along New Hampshire Avenue in Montgomery County. The New Hampshire Avenue project is the first project in the nation approved by the Federal Highway Administration under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “Just two weeks after President Obama signed the Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, we are putting people to work in Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “With the start of this project, we begin the aggressive investment in our roads, bridges and transit systems that has the potential to support up to 17,500 jobs. The road to recovery begins here as we start our effort to build a stronger Maryland.” Within 24 hours of President Obama signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, Governor O’Malley announced the state was ready to proceed with the first wave of Maryland transportation projects eligible for federal recovery dollars. Maryland’s commitment to move projects forward quickly in an effort to stimulate the economy was recognized today by President Barack Obama and United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.