Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Governor calls budget package "good for all Marylanders." Republicans say burden to local governments may force county governments to increase taxes.
The Maryland House of Delegates gave final approval Wednesday to a package of three bills that increases taxes on some state residents, shifts part of teacher pensions to local governments and undoes the so-called "doomsday budget." The votes Wednesday afternoon capped the three-day special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley in order to override more than $500 million in cuts made in a budget passed in early April. The Senate approved the same three bills Tuesday. As part of the package, legislators approved by a vote of 86-51 what amounts to a 50-50 split of teacher pension costs with local governments. The split will be phased in over the next four years beginning July 1 with the new budget year. That bill also includes a doubling of…
Join Patch on Wedneday afternoon for a Liveblog with Howard County School Board Member Brian Meshkin.
Patch will be hosting a liveblog with Howard County Board of Education member Brian Meshkin on Wednesday afternoon. The blog will start at 2 p.m. and Patch users are invited to join in with questions or comments during the liveblog. The liveblog will be the first in a planned series of public blogs with local officials on issues throughout Howard County. Meshkin has served on the Board since 2010. He currently lives in Fulton and is the CEO of Proove Biosciences, which is based in Los Angeles. Meshkin often travels to California as part of his work with Proove, a company that provides information to help improve the selection, dosing and evaluation of pain medications, according to its website. Meshkin previously served as executive …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Lia Berry is one of four area educators chosen for Library of Congress program.
Lia Berry, a teacher at Laurel's Eisenhower Middle School, has won a national award to attend the Library of Congress' Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute, taking place in Washington, DC later this month. Attendees are "a carefully chosen group," according to a Library of Congress press release. Berry is one of only four teachers chosen from the DC region, and is among 300 K-12 educators selected nationally. The other area teachers are Pat Brown, DC Public Schools; Keisha Evans, Woodson Elementary, Crisfield, MD; and Jennifer Gutleber, Marsteller Middle School, Bristow, VA. The educators will work with Library of Congress education specialists and experts to learn about teaching using primary sources--which include …
Plan to fix "Doomsday Budget" includes $247 million in tax increases and elimination of exemptions for single filers earning $100,000 or more and joint filers earning $150,000 or more.
UPDATE (5:59 p.m.)—Some Maryland residents will pay more taxes in the coming year under a plan worked out between Gov. Martin O'Malley and legislative leaders. O'Malley, accompanied by House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, announced the nearly $35.8 billion plan during a Wednesday morning news conference in Annapolis to discuss the upcoming special session. "To leave this budget incomplete, to leave this budget as it stands right now, would damage the very forward motion that all of us, together, have worked so hard to achieve for our state," O'Malley said. "Progress is a choice," O'Malley said. "Job creation is a choice. Building America's number one schools, making a college education affordable, …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The last day of school for students in the Prince George's County Public School system is Friday, June 8.
Kids, circle June 8. Draw stars around it. Make big plans for the day. The last day of school for students in Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) will be Friday, June 8. The last day for teachers will be Monday, June 11. Other employees scheduled to work a 10- or 11-month schedule should confirm their last day of work with their supervisors. Although all Prince George’s County schools were closed on Aug. 24 due to the earthquake and on Aug. 29 due to Hurricane Irene, make-up days were held on Oct. 21 and Feb. 13—both previously scheduled "off" days. Individual schools closed for additional days due to the earthquake or hurricane adjusted the length of their school day to make up instructional time..
Friday, April 27, 2012
The four-year, $250,000 annual contract for Howard County's new superintendent Renee Foose was unanimously approved Thursday.
The Howard County Board of Education formally approved superintendent Renee Foose’s contract at a reception on Thursday in Ellicott City. Foose was selected as the new superintendent on March 27. On Thursday, she signed a four-year contract that will pay her $250,000 annually, according to the Howard County Times. In addition, Foose will receive a $700 monthly vehicle allowance and $25,000 for relocation costs, according to the article. (Foose must live in Howard County as part of the deal) Tell us in comments: How would you like to see Foose improve Howard County schools? Foose, 45, previously served a year as the deputy superintendent for Baltimore County schools. Foose was paid $214,000 in her old job. Before Baltimore, Foose served as…
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Demonstrations this week focused on drinking and driving on prom night.
High schools across the region, including in Howard County, are conducting demonstrations this week to educate teens about the danger of drinking and driving. What do you think is the bigger issue among teens: drinking and driving or texting and driving? Tell us in comments or in the poll. Alcohol awareness has been a focus this prom season. On Monday, students from Liberty High School in Eldersburg went to the Sykesville Driver Training Facility and, donning glasses designed to simulate drunkenness, got behind the wheel. “That was crazy,” one teen said. “I don’t think I’ll ever drink and drive.” The event was organized by The Maryland Community Crime Prevention Institute, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
A "freeze mob" on Tuesday at Howard High was one of several events aimed at bringing awareness to the emotionally charged topic.
After Glenelg student Grace McComas, 15, killed herself on Easter Sunday, her friends began a movement called "Blue4Grace" in which they wore blue at her wake to take a stand against bullying. Grace's parents said she was harassed online for months, according to The Baltimore Sun. "Can children not take a minute and realize they’re killing each other over petty things?" wrote one commenter on the Blue4Grace page. Students at Howard High School took more than a minute on Tuesday. Time stood still between second and third periods as they collectively paused during what is called a "freeze mob" while the song "Lean on Me" played. In Laurel, advocates have created anti-bullying programs to help young people being bullied or who are bullies …
Monday, April 23, 2012
Lillian M. Lowery, Delaware's secretary of education, will assume the state's top education spot July 1.
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Monday, April 23
The Howard County Board of Education isn't the only board that is electing a new superintendent. The Maryland State Board of Education on Friday announced the selection of Lillian M. Lowery as the next state superintendent of schools. Lowery will assume the top position of the nation's number one-ranked state school system on July 1. She will succeed Bernard J. Sadusky, who accepted the job on an interim basis upon the July 1, 2011, retirement of Nancy S. Grasmick. Lowery is the secretary of education for the Delaware Department of Education and is credited with "facilitating a broad-based statewide strategic planning and grant application process" that resulted in Delaware being selected as the first state to be awarded the federal Race …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Speak up about the artificial turf joint use agreement and learn about cyberbullying, sexting and more.
Richard Hertz
8:52 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
By the way...are all you libs on here OK with Owe'Malley and his merry band of tax hikers creating a marriage penalty? They finally pass the same sex marriage bill and then just a couple months later they set out to screw these folks at the wallet by creating a marriage penalty. All these years struggling to get the same sex marriage thing passed, and now they might as well just skip the wedding … more ›