Channel 2 provided excellent coverage of the county-wide rally to protest poor school funding and planning. The rally preceded a Baltimore County Council hearing where TFU and other concerned citizens went on record against the county executive’s budget.
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Archive for April, 2008
Cathi Forbes, chairperson of Towson Families United, says of County Executive Jim Smith: “He still has a chance to be a hero. He still has a chance to do the right thing. For the sake of our community, I urge him to take that chance.”
Cheryl Bost, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, thanked the parents for their efforts and advocacy. “We appreciate that you’ve included us, we include you, and together, this is what we’re here for,” she said, pointing to the children gathered around her.
Tonight’s countywide rally for better school funding and planning was a big success. More than 100 parents and children from throughout the central region of Baltimore County joined forces with a big contingent of teachers. And while they came representing different causes, they left a united force.
SPECIAL THANKS TO DR. LAURIE TAYLOR-MITCHELL, who organized and led the rally and is spearheading the opposition to a controversial Loch Raven High School addition. Also speaking tonight were Perry Hall’s David Marks, who has for years been pushing for a new high school in the northeast section of the county; Cheryl Bost of the TABCO teachers’ union; and Cathi Forbes from Towson Families United.
Towson Families United has launched a new online store filled with all sorts of “451″ merchandise.
Click here to enter the store.
Choose from t-shirts, stickers, buttons, magnets and more. It’s a great way to tell the world you support TFU’s goal of opening a new elementary school in Towson.
Towson Families United makes no money on the sale of merchandise. We kept prices at “cost” to get more of this merchandise on the streets. So think about buying sticker or button packs and distributing them to your friends and neighbors. And the shirts will definitely make great Mother’s Day gifts!
The Baltimore Sun published three letters to the editor today that acknowledge the politics involved in Comptroller Peter Franchot’s visit to Towson, but praise him nonetheless for listening to our concerns. A few excerpts:
“Yes, Mr. Franchot is a politician. But we’ll take a leader who listens to our concerns, rather than one who belittles them, any day,” writes TFU chairperson Cathi Forbes. Click here to read her letter.
“Mr. Franchot scores points with this parent for his willingness to listen, to physically view our schools and to acknowledge the overcrowding problems in Towson schools…My reply to Mr. Smith is this: What have you done for us lately?” asks Courtney McGee of Towson. Click here to read her letter.
“Was an element of politics involved in the comptroller’s visit? Probably. But at least it advanced the notion that new schools are needed in Baltimore County, not just bulky new additions,” writes David Marks of Perry Hall. Click here to read his letter.
When Baltimore’s business publications start writing about a school overcrowding issue, you know it’s serious. Click here to read the column by Heather Harlan Warnack, headlined, “Baltimore County leaders need to fix overcrowded schools before it’s too late.”
If you’re fed up with the lack of planning and funding for Baltimore County schools, join residents and groups from around the county TUESDAY from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., by the fountain in the courthouse plaza.
The frustration felt over Towson’s overcrowding is reverberating in many different parts of the county. People are tired of the secretive, political and short-sighted way decisions about our schools are made. It’s time to stand up and say “enough.”
IMPORTANT: At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the County Council will hold its one and only public hearing on the county executive’s new budget proposal. This is your only chance to speak out about your concerns with the budget — including the inadequate amount the county executive has allocated for a solution to Towson’s overcrowding. (For more on this, click here.) You should come to this meeting in the Council Chambers of the Old Courthouse. Anyone can sign up to speak for three minutes; sign-up begins at 6 p.m.
To read an article on the rally in the Baltimore Examiner, click here.
You don’t have to be good at math to understand the implications of County Executive Jim Smith’s new FY 2009 budget.
After months of intense public attention on the worst school overcrowding anywhere in his county, Mr. Smith has included $18 million to build a few undetermined additions along what he calls the “York Road Corridor.” That number is misleading, however; the county actually only wants to spend $12 million on the problem, with the other $6 million to eventually be paid by the state.
The sum of $18 million may seem like a lot. Until you compare it with how much the county executive decided to spend on the new Vincent Farms Elementary School in northeast Baltimore County: $29 million.
When Chapel Hill and Perry Hall elementary schools were found to be overcrowded, Mr. Smith saw the need and built a new school. Not an addition. He “forward-funded” the total amount to build the new school, which opens this fall. Eventually, $11 million of the total amount will be paid by the state.
Why the disparity?
Why, in Mr. Smith’s eyes, would one community deserve a school, and another community deserve some poorly thought out additions? Why would one community merit $29 million, and another just $18?
We don’t begrudge any other community a school. We simply expect to receive equal treatment from the county executive’s office.
Clearly, the $18 million figure Mr. Smith has set aside is guiding the so-called “feasibility studies” being conducted right now by Baltimore County Public Schools. That’s so wrong. It virtually eliminates the possibility of a new school being built in Towson. (For a list of schools being considered for additions, click here.)
The county executive continues to claim he is “waiting” to hear what the school system recommends to solve the overcrowding question. But to anyone paying attention, to anyone with a brain, he’s already decided on the answer.
The lead editorial in the Baltimore Sun today argues that Comptroller Peter Franchot’s “notable” visit to Towson yesterday not only rubbed salt in the wounds of County Executive Jim Smith. It also was meant to embarrass Governor Martin O’Malley, a key Smith ally, the Sun wrote. Here is an excerpt:
If the Towson school overcrowding mess has put Mr. Smith on the hot seat, the comptroller was not averse to fanning the flames…It’s no secret that Mr. Smith’s potential 2010 candidacy has been promoted by Gov. Martin O’Malley as a way to keep Mr. Franchot in line. The governor isn’t happy that the comptroller is spearheading efforts to defeat his slots proposal at the ballot box this November. So Mr. Franchot wasn’t just pushing back on Mr. Smith, he was giving a poke to his party’s top dog as well.
Read the entire editorial here.
The 6 p.m. ABC2 News report covers Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot’s fact-finding visit to Rodgers Forge Elementary School. After seeing the severity of the overcrowding first-hand, and learning about the enrollment projections at all of Towson’s schools, Mr. Franchot calls for a new school to be built in the community as quickly as possible.
Channel 13’s in-depth coverage of the Maryland Comptroller’s visit is available by clicking here. “There are twice as many kids in this school as there are seats. That’s wrong,” Mr. Franchot says in the broadcast. “We need to rally everyone together and get a new school — a new elementary school — in the Towson area.”
Thursday’s Baltimore Sun reports on Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot’s visit to Rodgers Forge Elementary, and his reaction upon seeing the overcrowding here.
“We need an entirely new school,” he told the newspaper. “The situation here is one of the worst I’ve seen in the state. I can’t imagine anybody visiting this school” and concluding there wasn’t a problem.
County Executive Jim Smith’s spokesperson (does he ever speak for himself?) dismissed the comptroller’s visit as a “political stunt.” Which is kind of an ironic statement considering the politics Mr. Smith has injected into this situation since the day he pulled the funding for a new school in Mays Chapel.
For the record, Towson Families United invited Mr. Franchot to visit, and we are grateful that he came. We are not interested in politics. We are only interested in the well-being of our children. We have reached out to the governor and the state treasurer, as well, and are happy to talk to anyone who will listen. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to include the county executive.
Click here to read the full Sun article. And to read the Examiner’s account of the visit, click here.
It’s working. The mysterious signs popping up all over Towson are getting attention. The Towson Times today features a front-page article on the campaign. Haven’t gotten your sign yet? Click here. And to see our growing photo gallery of signs, click here.
Read this powerful editorial from today’s Towson Times. An excerpt follows:
Leadership is sorely lacking. School board members appear pressured by County Executive Jim Smith, who has said he favors additions over new schools. Schools Superintendent Joe Hairston points out the county must supply the money for any plan. And Smith says he’s waiting for a doable plan from the school system. And around it goes.
Next year, the number on the signs likely will be higher. That is, unless parents get disgusted and move.
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