PUBLIC EDUCATION

When the history of this General Assembly and this Administration
is written, I should not be surprised if the advancement we have
made in public education is not set down as our greatest single
achievement. The school-aid bill, passed here in 1964, sharply re-
vising the formula for State aid and increasing substantially the
State's assistance to the local school systems, has been labeled a mile-
stone in Maryland education. It was called, with justification I think,
the greatest stride forward in education in 40 years and earned the
generous applause of educators and the general public alike. The
progress in the field of public higher education has been no less
pronounced, and I think our successors in the administration of the
affairs of State will be grateful to us for years to come for leaving
them such an excellent system for the operation of Maryland's public
institutions of higher learning. With a great State University as the
nucleus, supported by a strong State-college and flourishing com-
munity college system, Maryland not only has provided for the higher
education of the youth of this generation but has laid the foundation
for the education of the youth of the future.

All this is not to imply that we have reached a plateau, so to speak,
in our educational advancement. Education is an investment in our
human resources, and we must move always upward if we are to
meet our responsibilities to society. This ascent toward a better edu-
cational system — an educational system capable of providing edu-
cation of the highest quality for every boy and girl — is reflected in
the budget which I am submitting to you today. By far the largest
single expenditure in general funds in the budget is the allotment
to the State Department of Education — $167, 838, 550, or an increase
of $15, 471, 373.

Comparable increases in appropriations were required to carry
on our program of higher education. The University of Maryland
and the other State-supported educational institutions received sub-
stantial increases for their operational needs, as well as capital funds
for the expansion of their plants. It is worthy of note, I think, that
54. 1 per cent of the total capital budget which I am proposing is
earmarked for higher and special education. The figure for that
purpose is $19, 906, 500. In total funds, the University of Maryland
will receive $60, 142, 054, an increase of some $8 million over the
current budget. Proportionate increases are provided for the continued
strengthening and improvement of the five state colleges which

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