As students miss out on more classroom time, the lack of air conditioning is causing a big debate between Maryland's gubernatorial candidates.
Governor Larry Hogan and challenger Ben Jealous are both weighing in on how state funding is being used for education. Both candidates are pointing fingers trying to figure out who's to blame for the lack of air conditioning.
Governor Larry Hogan blames local officials, while Jealous says Hogan should take responsibility. Hogan says he's come up with solutions and funds that school administrators aren't using properly, calling the lack of air conditioning outrageous and disgraceful.
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Ben Jealous says Governor Hogan has failed for four years to fix this problem. He believes the state surplus should be used to update the HVAC systems in all of the schools in the city and the county.
But Governor Hogan says Baltimore County and Baltimore City are the only places in the state who can’t seem to figure out how to air condition their schools.
"We actually tried to penalize them for not doing it, yet still 10 schools closed in Baltimore County because they don't have air conditioning. It's just outrageous," said Hogan.
Jealous came back by saying, "He's chosen to throw local officials under the bus and talk about lawyers. When what we need to be doing is pulling all the officials together and talking about bold solutions."
This could continue to be a heated debate between the two candidates leading into November's election.
