Education budget cuts meet resistance

Governor Robert Erlich's (R) plan to cut educational funding by $45 million has been protested by state legislators and teachers throughout Maryland. The Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA), select state university professors and state legislators have taken an initiative to help increase funding for public colleges and universities.

Maryland state senate members unveiled a plan yesterday that will arrest tuition hikes in public colleges and force Governor Erlich to increase state
aid to these schools. In the past two years, the public college system has borne 20 percent of all Maryland budget cuts.

According to a Silver Chips poll of last year's Blair graduates, almost 20 percent of seniors reported that they would attend a public college in Maryland.

Public universities have also been hurt by the budget shortfalls. A representative from the state university system told the Washington Post on January 21 that nearly 100 professors have decided to forego their
yearly raises in order to augment funds for student financial aid and "other pressing institutional needs."

Another initiative before state legislators is a sales tax increase, which proposes to add a penny to the current five-cents per dollar policy in Maryland. The additional revenue, which is projected at $1.4 billion over the next two years, would be dedicated to educational funding. The MSTA fully supports this plan, telling the Washington Post that recent polls indicate public approval.