Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Mild winter with few closings means school year will be shortened by four days.
A mild winter with fewer inclement weather closings than expected will mean a longer summer break for Baltimore County Public Schools students. The school year, originally scheduled to run through Thursday, June 14, will now close down on Friday, June 8, according to a school system statement. The Board of Education approved the amended school schedule at its April 17 meeting. County schools closed twice for inclement weather this year, according to spokesman Charles Herndon. Both closures occurred at the beginning of the year and were caused by the aftermath of a hurricane rather than ice or snow, he said Wednesday. "We couldn't quite open on time because of Hurricane Irene," Herndon said. "But that was pretty much the extent of the bad …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Baltimore County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve S. Dallas Dance as the next superintendent of schools Tuesday.
New Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent S. Dallas Dance set the tone for his tenure at his first press conference Tuesday, emphasizing communication, collaboration, technology and people as the key components of improving the school system. "The work before us is a collective effort," he said. "It's not something that Dallas Dance can do by himself." The school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the 30-year-old Dance, who takes over for Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston, who is retiring. A native of Virginia, Dance has been chief middle schools officer in the Houston school system for the past two years. The district is the seventh-largest in the country. While the superintendent doesn't take office until July 1…
Monday, April 9, 2012
A rule was adjusted in December 2011, following a complaint from a Perry Hall football coach about field closures following Hurricane Irene.
UPDATE (11:15 a.m.)—If inclement weather closes school fields to recreation organizations, Baltimore County Public Schools will coordinate with the county to close park fields as well, according to Superintendent Joe Hairston. "Therefore, there is consistency, between the school system and the Department of Recreation and Parks," Hairston stated in a letter to the County Council, dated March 30. The letter was in response to a request from County Councilman David Marks, on behalf of the County Council, for the adjustment of Rule 6303, which allows for the automatic closure of school fields whenever schools are closed countywide due to inclement weather. The County Council sent a request on March 20 for more flexibility to the rule, and to…
Friday, April 6, 2012
Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts hosted a countywide student art show.
The artwork of Baltimore County Public Schools students covered the walls and filled the floor space of the auditorium lobby at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Controversial bill passes 7-3 just one day after the same committee delayed its vote.
A state Senate committee Friday approved an amended version of a controversial Baltimore County school board bill. The Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee approved the bill by a vote of 7-3. Sens. Joanne Benson, Bill Ferguson, and Karen Montgomery—Democrats from Prince George's County, Baltimore City and Montgomery County, respectively—voted against the bill. Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore City Democrat and chairwoman of the committee, abstained. The committee voted to pass the bill after adopting amendments proposed by Sen. James Rosapepe, a Democrat who represents Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties. Rosapepe's amendment creates a hybrid board with six elected members and five appointed members. The …
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A Perry Hall football coach said his team should not have been restricted from a school field days after Hurricane Irene.
UPDATE (1:25 p.m.)—Shortly after Hurricane Irene in August 2011, a Perry Hall football coach wasn't allowed to hold practice on the fields of Perry Hall Elementary School. The fields were free of debris, but because schools had been closed countywide, fields were closed to recreation groups, as well. "The frustrating part was that kids were still practicing on the [Department of Recreation and Parks'] fields—it was only the schools' fields that were closed," said Bill Lutostanski, who coaches 9 and under football. "I thought it was absurd." Lutostanski, who works as a Baltimore County firefighter, contacted County Councilman David Marks about the incident and submitted an op-ed to Patch. County officials are now asking county school …
Friday, March 16, 2012
Young Artists Showcase is sponsored by The Optimist Club of Timonium and the Towson Arts Collective.
The artwork of three Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts students is included in the 2012 Young Artists Showcase display at the Towson Arts Collective Gallery. The annual exhibit is sponsored by The Optimist Club of Timonium and the Towson Arts Collective, according to a statement from Baltimore County Public Schools. This year's exhibition includes 75 entries by 37 students representing 28 public and independent schools. Patapsco students Erin Collins, Desia Jones and Connor Mathena have work displayed in the exhibit that runs through March 30. The artwork is available for public viewing at the Towson Arts Collective, 406 York Road, lower level.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Differences could derail plan to change the fully appointed Baltimore County school board for another year.
An expected amendment to a Senate bill could derail efforts to change how Baltimore County school board members are selected. The county's Senate delegation is expected to vote Wednesday to amend its version of a school board bill from a fully elected board to one that contains both elected and appointed members—the so-called hybrid school board. Currently, the bill, as proposed by Sen. Bobby Zirkin, calls for a fully elected school board made up of nine members. Sen. Zirkin, an Owings Mills Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday the amendment creates a partially elected school board with one member elected from each of the county's current council districts. The board would also include up to four other members appointed at …
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Renee Foose is the deputy superintendent for Baltimore County Public Schools.
(UPDATED) Renee Foose, a deputy superindentent for Baltimore County Public Schools, is a finalist for superintendent positions in Florida and Michigan. According to the The Voice newspaper in Michigan, the Board of Education for L'Anse Creuse Public Schools released the names of the three finalists for the superintendent position on Wednesday. The school district serves several townships in Michigan, with 10 elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools, according to the school system's website. The Orlando Sentinel also reported this week that Foose is one of six finalists for the superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in Florida. The Baltimore Sun reported last month that Foose had applied. Foose was hired by …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Comptroller Peter Franchot tells the Baltimore County Public Schools superintendent that he's "tired of saying pretty please" on air conditioning.
Baltimore County schools Superintendent Joe Hairston's final appearance before the Board of Public Works ended in a heated exchange about air conditioning. Hairston, who is in the final months of his 12-year career with the schools system, found himself on the bad side of Comptroller Peter Franchot as he asked for $70 million in state money. Franchot launched into a five minute monologue about the lack of air conditioning in Baltimore County schools. "I'm kind of tired of saying 'pretty please.' I really am," Franchot said. Franchot specifically highlighted conditions at Middleborough Elementary School in Essex. Parents from the school attended Wednesday's meeting as they did in October when county officials asked for $7 million in school…
Buzz Beeler
11:22 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wasn't there a classic TV Christmas show that featured the premise of a year without a winter - no snow, no Santa - well we just lived through one. Our presents will be bugs and more bugs followed by more bugs. I predict dirty cars when the water runs low and no diving into near empty pools. It could be a long hot summer. No joke, scientist now predict one of the next major events facing the … more ›