Bonnie Cullison is the Chair of the Committee for Montgomery and leader of the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA). She has a guest column in today's Washington Post outlining the priorities of the Committee for Montgomery:
For the 2007 legislative session, we have identified six issues on which to focus. These include: education, workforce and economic development, health and human services, transportation, effective government and the environment.
One of the fundamental responsibilities of government is the education of our children. Committee for Montgomery does not consider our state and local education programs to be fully funded under the Thornton formula until the geographic cost of education index portion is funded. [This would provide additional money to Montgomery County schools.] We oppose all efforts that would negatively affect our share of education funding and are working with our county legislators on this issue.
We support the county's request for nearly $134 million in school construction funds and will urge the governor to fund $400 million in the state capital budget to address the state's school construction needs.
The state and the county must continue their efforts in workforce and economic development. Committee for Montgomery supports fiscal and regulatory strategies and incentives that cultivate a positive business climate that will make Maryland technologically and economically competitive. We support legislation that would result in increased procurement opportunities for small and minority businesses and significantly expanded funding for adult basic education, adult English for Speakers of Other Languages programs, literacy services and job training.
Our organization seeks to ensure financial, geographic, multicultural and multilingual access to affordable health care, prescription drugs and mental health services. Health-care costs are skyrocketing and are one of the biggest expenses to families. We urge the legislature to study this issue.
Transportation remains a serious concern. Improving our transportation infrastructure will provide social benefits while sustaining economic growth. The county must improve its infrastructure by increasing the availability of mass transit. We strongly support increased funding for mass transit, including accessing all available federal funding. Committee for Montgomery supports measures to make state and local government more effective and responsive. This could include a commission to study the redistricting process and state election laws that make voting accessible, easy, fair, accurate and secure, and funding for training, equipment and staff to implement those laws.
Finally, we seek to promote programs and policies that result in clean air, clean water and protection of Maryland's natural resources, including the Chesapeake Bay. We seek to promote public and private measures to optimize energy use and affordability.
We are aware of the fiscal constraints on the state. However, we are strongly opposed to using slots or casinos as a budget balancing tool. Gambling, as a source of revenue, runs contrary to the principle of shared responsibility for providing public services. We will ask that the legislature consider all options and to employ creative thinking in addressing the structural deficit.
