Tuesday, May 22, 2012
After eliminating 196 positions in this year's budget, school officials respond to reports that class sizes have gone up significantly at the high school level.
Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe Hairston Tuesday night defended the loss of 196 teaching positions, resulting in larger high school class sizes, saying he had no alternative given state and county budgets. Hairston told the Baltimore County Board of Education at its meeting in Towson that the economy has forced tough decisions. "We have no control over the economy. We have no control over the budget," Hairston said to members of the board. "We preserved our employees." The school system's budget did not include furloughs or layoffs and had to account for an increase in insurance costs and a small pay raise for teachers. Hairston and several school staff said that eliminating positions was the only way to balance a budget…
Maryland 2A softball semifinals played Tuesday afternoon at Bachman Park in Glen Burnie.
The commencement ceremonies wrapped up Monday.
More than 1,600 students received diplomas from UMBC at its 57th commencement ceremony. On Monday, 1,252 undergraduates received diplomas at First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, according to a news release. Subra Suresh, director of the National Science Foundation, delivered the address to the graduates. Suresh also received an honorary doctor of science degree for his national leadership in the sciences and engineering and for research in the field of nanobiomechanics. On Friday, 403 graduates received diplomas on campus at UMBC and on Thursday, the Erickson School held a ceremony also on campus. Rebecca M. Blank, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, delivered the address. To read profiles of the Class of 2012, visit this …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Daryl Cobb used names of school teachers and staff in customized book read to students.
Squirt guns, toilet paper and chickens are just some of the props used in senior pranks.
The list of senior pranks rippling across the region and the country as graduation approaches is as long as it is varied. But students walk a fine line with pranks. Last year, an 18-year-old senior at a high school in Indiana was arrested after his attempts to smuggle a blow up doll into the girls’ restroom resulted in the Indiana Bomb Squad being called. "In this post-Columbine world, that's what you get when these kinds of things happen," the county prosecutor, Phil Caviness, told WGRZ.com, referring to the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado in 1999. Weigh in: Are senior pranks escalating into vandalism? Or are parents and school officials overreacting?
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…
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Boys and girls teams march from Hollywood Theatre to middle school athletic field to launch baseball and softball season.
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Arbutus Middle School
5525 Shelbourne Rd, Arbutus, MD
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Saturday, May 12, 2012
First annual game played Friday afternoon.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
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, …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Officials released a report on combating bullying in schools during Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting.
Bad news for bullies in Baltimore County public schools—suspensions are increasing among students who intimidate and harass their classmates. A report released during Tuesday night's Baltimore County Public Schools Board of Education meeting detailed the county's efforts to combat bullying, action mandated by the state's Safe Schools Reporting Act of 2005. The county's anti-bullying efforts include preventative measures and swift disciplinary actions—including suspension—according to Glenda Myrick, the county schools coordinator of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, who presented the report to the board. Reported incidents of bullying have increased more than 350 percent between 2007 and 2011, going from 142 to 510. During that same time, …
Chuck
12:49 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Did he bring Antero Pietela's book with him again ? Can't forget the crutch...... more ›