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School Deal Disappoints Montgomery
Sen. Rona E. Kramer (D) says the governor is "taking the county for granted."
(By Robert A. Reeder For The Washington Post)
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O'Malley, who has made spending on school construction a statewide priority since taking office last year, has close ties to four of the five members of the committee that crafted the proposed allocations. The members include his Cabinet secretaries for planning and general services.
O'Malley is also close to two members, Timothy Maloney and Frederick W. Puddester, appointed by legislative leaders. Maloney, a former state delegate, served on O'Malley's transition committee and continues to be an informal adviser. Puddester, a former state budget secretary, was tapped by O'Malley to lead the campaign to legalize slots in November.
The chair of the committee is State Schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.
Recollections differ over the degree to which O'Malley committed to $55 million for Montgomery. Asked about the figure in January, he said: "That's their goal, and I'm going to do my best to get to it."
Leggett cited the figure the previous month in his State of the County address, saying: "I believe that one of the achievements of the special session is that we now anticipate receiving as much as $55 million from the state to help meet our critical school construction needs in next year's budget."
Del. Brian Feldman (D), chairman of the county's House delegation, said $46.3 million was certainly short of what he anticipated. If the figure does not increase, "it may or may not affect our dealings with the governor going forward on other votes in the next two years," Feldman said.
Staff writer Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.
