By: Katie Misuraca
Frederick County senators withdrew the Frederick’s CREST funding bill after the bill was about to receive unfavorable votes from Senate committees.
The bill would of allowed spending for Frederick’s Center for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) through 2020.
Originally, the funding bill had been introduced after the planned regional higher education center initially received no funding in Gov. Hogan’s yearly budget for the state.
However in early March, when Hogan delivered his State of the State address, he included some of the funding for the Fredrick CREST in a supplemental budget.
The House and Senate committees retained the funding. The bill was also known as a bond bill.
“A bond bill which means rather than being legislative – writing policy – it is local districts requesting funding for very important projects,” Dominique Marsalek, chief of staff to Senator Ronald Young, said.
Each representative is limited to around three requests each because funding is limited. With a Republican governor, Larry Hogan, funding is “basically nonexistent,” Marsakel said.
“Last year, CREST, the funding for this project, passed which surprised everyone because the governor said no bond bill. Although it is passed, funding for the project was not included in the budget this year,” Marsalek said.
CREST is designed as a research and education facility for adult and graduate students who want to pursue training and graduate-level degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“We still were going to go forward with a request for additional funding, but I am assuming that it does not have the votes to pass because we have secured some funds,” Marsalek said.
Other member’s in the Frederick delegation understood as to why the senator withdrew the bill.
“It was determined that a bond bill was unnecessary as there is already money in the governor’s budget allocated for programs such as Frederick’s CREST program. It is my understanding however, that there is no guarantee that Frederick’s CREST program will be funded at the level requested,” Frederick Delegate Karen Young said.
According to a press release by Governor Hogan, he introduced a supplemental budget that “provided additional financial backing for several administration priorities such as K-12 education, new construction at five University System of Maryland institutions.”
Hogan stated that education has and always will be a top priority for his administration.
Hogan’s supplemental budget also directed $13.8 million in one-time funding for school systems with declining enrollment, including $12.7 million for the city of Baltimore. The budget also adds $46.2 million in higher education funding.
In Oct. 2013, the Frederick Regional Higher Education Advisory Board was established. In May 2015, the board was renamed the Frederick Center for Research and Education in Science and Technology.
Hood College, Mount St. Mary’s University, and Frederick Community College are working to help establish Frederick CREST.