O'Malley Striving to Turn the Tables

Democrat Cites College Tuition Increases During Ehrlich Term

After weathering months of attacks over the performance of Baltimore schools, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martin O'Malley is trying to shift the spotlight to higher education and the effect that Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s budget cuts have had on college tuition.

The state's public university system received some sharp cuts at the beginning of Ehrlich's tenure and, in response, raised the price of admission: Tuition has gone up 40 percent at some campuses.

O'Malley told students at Bowie State University yesterday that Ehrlich has "turned our state institutions of higher education into toll colleges."

There is "nothing more important to growing our middle class, and yet we've seen it go up by 40 percent," O'Malley said at the gathering of several dozens students.

O'Malley's campaign also launched a television ad yesterday in the Washington and Baltimore markets that says Ehrlich "talks about his middle-class roots, but he's forgotten where he comes from."

Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver said the governor has a strong record on higher education that includes the doubling of need-based scholarship aid, substantial funding increases for historically black colleges and universities, and the investment of millions in new facilities across the state.

Moreover, DeLeaver said, it is "a fallacy" to say Ehrlich raised tuition -- the rate is actually set by university regents -- and she questioned whether O'Malley could hold down tuition as promised without raising taxes.

"Martin O'Malley has thrown around lofty ideas of lowering tuition without revealing the taxes he would raise to pay for such an initiative," DeLeaver said.

In an interview yesterday, O'Malley said he would work "very, very hard" to keep tuition frozen at current levels "until it is in the range of affordability again." He said he might propose a tuition reduction, depending on the state's revenue picture.

O'Malley's appearance at Bowie State was the first of two events he attended yesterday in Prince George's County, which is home to more Democrats than any other jurisdiction in the state. The Baltimore mayor, who drew about 1,000 participants to a Women for O'Malley rally later in the afternoon, is counting on strong turnout in the majority-black county, while Ehrlich is hoping to improve upon a disappointing performance there in 2002.

Ehrlich inherited a gaping hole in the state budget upon taking office in 2003, and he cut state spending on Maryland's public colleges and universities by about $120 million during the early part of his term.

University leaders responded by raising tuition at a much faster clip than in previous years. By fall 2005, tuition for in-state residents at the flagship campus in College Park, for example, had risen to $6,566 -- an increase of more than 43 percent from fall 2002, according to legislative analysts.

After two rounds of deep cuts, state spending on colleges and universities increased gradually during the third year of Ehrlich's term, with overall spending catching up in 2006 to what it had been in 2003.

For this academic year, Ehrlich proposed a $117 million increase, billed as the largest percentage increase in the nation. Ehrlich said he was rewarding university leaders for running a more efficient system, but Democrats accused the governor of an election year conversion.

In January, Ehrlich released a budget that assumed regents would raise tuition by 4.5 percent at most campuses. A day earlier, O'Malley had called for a freeze. Democratic lawmakers followed suit with a bill introduced in late February, and Ehrlich soon agreed to provide the necessary $19 million.

Maryland's tuition and fees were the sixth-highest in the nation for public four-year institutions, according to a 2005 report by the College Board. Virginia ranked 14th.

During an interview in January, Ehrlich said he was comfortable with tuition levels in Maryland. And during a debate with O'Malley over the weekend, he said he considered tuition at College Park to be a bargain, saying the university offered an Ivy League-quality education.

Last night, Ehrlich held an Athletes for Ehrlich fundraiser in Baltimore County, featuring current and former players and coaches of the Ravens, the Orioles, the Colts, the Redskins and the University of Maryland.