Montgomery County Educators Join Growing Coalition of Support for Question 7

Educators, community leaders agree Question 7 would mean hundreds of millions for Maryland schools

ROCKVILLE, MD – Today, at the University of Maryland at Shady Grove, Montgomery C

ounty educators, business leaders and elected officials joined together in support of Question 7, a ballot initiative that would deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue to the Education Trust Fund to benefit Maryland schools.

Since its creation, the Education Trust Fund has already taken in $184 Million from gaming in Maryland. Through the addition of a new resort casino in Prince George’s County and adding table games like blackjack and poker to existing Maryland casinos, Question 7 would increase that amount by hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

“Passage of this legislation will create new jobs while helping us to avoid more painful spending cuts and tax increases,” said Bonnie Cullison, Maryland State Delegate representing Montgomery County and former President of the Montgomery County Education Association. “We need these new revenues to deliver needed services to Marylanders, including a nationally acclaimed education system.”

 

“MCCPTA’s top priority is focusing on Montgomery students and their education. As we look to the future and the very real possibility of federal cuts to education spending, we need to ensure that we have enough money to fund a successful education plan for Maryland schools,” said Larry Edmonds, Vice President for Legislation, The Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (MCCPTA). “In order to continue to be successful, we must meet the growing demand for education dollars here in Montgomery County, particularly as our student population grows both in number and in need of services. If funding to education is significantly increased as a result of the expansion of gambling through Question 7 that would potentially help provide the funds necessary to retain good teachers, fund new school construction, and further efforts to enable every student to achieve his or her potential.”

 

“The Rockville Chamber of Commerce is here today to join with the education community in staunch support of Question 7,” said Andrea Jolly, Executive Director of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce. “We represent the thousands of job creators and workers who are invested in this community, and we know that Question 7 represents a tremendous opportunity unlike any other to drive job growth and economic development in the state of Maryland.”

 

Supporting Question 7 on the ballot this November would create 2,000 new construction jobs, 4,000 permanent jobs at the new resort casino, 4,400 additional permanent jobs associated with the development, and 1,600 new jobs from the introduction of table games at all Maryland casinos. In addition to the job creation, the Department of Legislative Services estimates that Question 7 will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the Education Trust Fund, all without raising taxes.

 

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