2008 May archive at Towson Families United

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Archive for May, 2008

SUN PEOPLE KNOW: Letter writer points out what Loch Raven editorial missed

An editorial in the Baltimore Sun this past week called the proposed addition to Loch Raven High School a “reasonable solution” to high school overcrowding in the area. The newspaper based its opinion solely on enrollment projections, ignoring both the recommendation of a school system consultant to build a new high school, and the impropriety of the county executive sneaking the addition into his budget without even telling school officials. (Apparently that’s still okay in Baltimore County.)

Yesterday, the Sun published a letter to the editor from George Ward of Towson, which points out a few things the Sun’s editorial missed:

The Sun’s support of an addition to Loch Raven High School fails to consider that the school’s library and hallways will not be expanded to handle 400 more students; that parking at the school, which is in short supply, will be further strained; that roads near the school cannot accommodate added traffic; and that students transferred from other areas will find it more difficult to take part in school activities vital to college admission…County Executive James T. Smith Jr. might think that he is acting in a fiscally responsible manner and in the best interests of taxpayers by backing the addition. However, his solution is shortsighted and definitely not in the best interest of parents and students.

Click here to read the entire letter.

Published by Towson Families United
May 31st, 2008 in Media coverage
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TFU plays big role at Jim Smith roast

Last night at Martin’s East, the Marine Trades Association of Baltimore County held a “roast” of County Executive James T. Smith, Jr.

According to several sources who were there, Towson Families United played a rather prominent role. Apparently, as Howard County Executive Ken Ulman approached the podium to begin his remarks about Mr. Smith, a very large “451″ banner was unfurled behind Mr. Ulman. The room then erupted in laughter.

No word yet on whether Mr. Smith joined in the laughter…

Published by Towson Families United
May 30th, 2008 in Meeting reports
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NEWSWEEK: Smaller high schools perform better

This week’s edition of Newsweek couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Just as County Executive James T. Smith, Jr. is attempting to stick a 400-seat addition onto Loch Raven High School — bumping its capacity to nearly 1,400 students — a Newsweek report finds that smaller high schools perform better.

Perhaps that’s why a BCPS study called for a new high school to be built between Towson and Perry Hall, rather than bloating the size of a current school. The magazine writes:

Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern, suburban high schools with students counted in the thousands. As baby boomers came of high-school age, big schools promised economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and, of course, better football teams. Only years later did we understand the trade-offs this involved: the creation of lumbering bureaucracies, the difficulty of forging personal connections between teachers and students.

Click here to read the entire Newsweek article. Especially if you are the Baltimore County Executive.

Published by Towson Families United
May 23rd, 2008 in Meeting reports
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Here you go, Governor O’Malley

Apparently, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is among the readers of the Towson Families United blog.

At the end of Wednesday’s meeting of the Board of Public Works, the governor leaned into his microphone and called for TFU chairperson Cathi Forbes to approach.

The governor said he wanted to let TFU’s membership know that the state has given Baltimore County considerably more for school construction in his first two years in office, than in the first two years of his predecessor’s administration.

He then handed Ms. Forbes a sheet of paper that compared the two levels of funding. “I hope you will post this chart on your fact-filled website,” he told her, smiling.

(Of course, we’ve never complained about the amount of money Baltimore County receives. We just wish the school system had some say over how it’s allocated.)

While TFU is a nonpartisan organization, we’re happy to oblige the governor’s request and post his chart here. After all, he is the governor. How could we say no?

Published by Towson Families United
May 23rd, 2008 in Meeting reports
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STATE SCHOOL OFFICIAL BLASTS “POOR” RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SMITH AND BCPS

The official responsible for recommending state funding for county school construction projects has sharply criticized the “poor” communication between county school officials and Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, Jr.

In an April 22 letter to state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick and four others, David Lever, executive director of Maryland’s Interagency Committee on School Construction (IAC), calls the county’s most recent request for funding “very deficient” and replete with errors. Portions of the letter were read out loud yesterday at a Board of Public Works meeting in Annapolis, at which the county attempted to make its case for state funding of projects including a controversial 400-seat addition to Loch Raven High School.

The IAC falls under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Works, the three-member panel that includes the governor, comptroller and treasurer.

Writing about the county’s FY ‘09 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) request, Dr. Lever’s letter continues:

The CIP was replete with scope and calculation errors; with late project submissions; with continuing changes of scope; with projects of undetermined local status; and with lack of documentation…More important, it appears that communication between the local government and the (Local Education Authority) is very poor, resulting in miscommunications, hasty changes of scope and lack of direction on major projects.

The Loch Raven addition took both the community and the school system by surprise, as the county executive placed funding for it into his budget without alerting school officials.

Dr. Lever writes that sorting out the problems between Mr. Smith’s office and BCPS has taken an inordinate amount of time, which should have been spent on other counties’ funding requests. Dr. Lever said the problems were so bad, his office would have to meet with school and county government officials this summer to explain the process for future funding requests, and show them the requests from other, more organized school systems.

And, he said his office would be carefully monitoring how the county spends the state money it has received for FY ‘09 “to determine if the State’s funds have been used efficiently.”

Dr. Lever’s letter reports on county funding requests throughout the state. Read the full text of the Baltimore County portion of the letter here.

The Washington Times today also writes about this letter. Click here to read that article.

Published by Towson Families United
May 22nd, 2008 in Correspondence, Media coverage
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SUN: Plan tabled due to “mounting questions”

Today’s Baltimore Sun reports:

The state Board of Public Works took the unusual step yesterday of withholding full approval of Baltimore County school officials’ request for nearly $4 million to help expand Loch Raven High School, a move that fell short of calls to reject the project outright.

The board’s conditional approval was a response to mounting questions from local legislators and residents about the school system’s plans to build the addition to alleviate crowding at high schools in the county’s central and northeast regions.

Click here to read the entire article.

Published by Towson Families United
May 22nd, 2008 in Meeting reports, Media coverage
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FRANCHOT ON WBAL: “Sounds like a real mess”

WBAL-TV reported on the Board of Public Works’ decision Wednesday to table a proposed 400-seat addition to Loch Raven High School, pending a 30-day investigation by the state’s Interagency Committee for Public School Construction.

To view the story, click here.

At the meeting, Senator Jim Brochin, Delegates Susan Aumann, Bill Frank and Steve Lafferty, and County Councilman T. Bryan McIntire stood together in opposing the addition. The delegation, community leaders, an even a BCPS-commissioned study have all called for a new high school to be built in the northeast area of the county, to alleviate crowding at Towson, Perry Hall and Loch Raven high schools.

Senator Brochin and Councilman McIntire both testified that school superintendent Joe Hairston has said, at two different meetings, that he opposed the addition as well. Brochin said Hairston called it “a tragic mistake.”

Dr. Hairston did eventually sign on to the county executive’s request to fund the addition, and the Board of Education did approve it. But the Baltimore Sun reported Monday that was only because they were given no other choice by the county executive. In other words, if they didn’t approve Mr. Smith’s plan for an addition, he would not fund anything to solve the area’s high school overcrowding problem.

Confused? So was the Board of Public Works. As Comptroller Peter Franchot said at the meeting, “This sounds like a real mess.”

Published by Towson Families United
May 21st, 2008 in Meeting reports, Media coverage
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STATE BOARD TABLES LOCH RAVEN ADDITION PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION

The state Board of Public Works today tabled Baltimore County’s request for funding for a controversial, 400-seat addition to Loch Raven High School. The project was sent back to the Board’s Interagency Committee for Public School Construction (IAC) for further investigation.

The decision follows an appeal by our 42nd District Delegation — including Senator Jim Brochin and Delegates Susan Aumann, Bill Frank and Steve Lafferty — to withhold funding until the project is at least submitted to the community for review. Baltimore County has attempted to “fast track” the project by eliminating public comment, and the project itself was suggested by the county executive’s office — not the school system.

Published by Towson Families United
May 21st, 2008 in Meeting reports
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Sign an online petition for a new high school

The Perry Hall Improvement Association has an online petition that you can sign in support of a new high school in the northeast area of the county. It would help alleviate overcrowding in Towson High School, among others. Click here to add your voice to the cause.

Published by Towson Families United
May 20th, 2008 in TFU Member Suggestions
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SUN: Loch Raven only option “based on funding”

Today’s Baltimore Sun writes about the mounting opposition to County Executive James T. Smith, Jr.’s plan for a 400-seat addition to Loch Raven High School. While school Superintendent Joe Hairston did publicly sign on to the project, his spokesperson said it was the “only option based on funding” from the county executive.

“He has said additions aren’t always the best option for schools,” spokesperson Kara Calder told the Sun. “Rather than reject the funding, the [school] board approved the project.” Click here to read the article.

Published by Towson Families United
May 20th, 2008 in Media coverage
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State lawmakers attempt to block funding for Loch Raven High School addition

Senator Jim Brochin and Delegates Susan Aumann, Bill Frank and Steve Lafferty will attend a Board of Public Works meeting in Annapolis Wednesday in an attempt to thwart state funding for a controversial addition to Loch Raven High School.

Last week, the bipartisan delegation from the 42nd District sent a letter the governor, comptroller and treasurer, the three people who make up the Board and must approve requests for funding. The letter asked the Board to withhold funding at least until Baltimore County allows for public input on the proposed addition.

County Executive James T. Smith, Jr. added money last year to his FY ‘08 budget for an addition to the school. The school system did not recommend the project; in fact, they weren’t even aware it existed until they saw the county executive’s budget. Community members say they weren’t aware of the project, either, until it was too late to comment on it.

And on April 14, the county won approval from the Development Review Committee for the project to proceed without any community input. The county won’t even have to show plans for the addition to community members.

School officials have long hoped to build a new high school in the northeast part of the county that would alleviate overcrowding at Towson, Perry Hall and Loch Raven high schools. In 2003, a BCPS-commissioned study recommended constructing a new high school in that area. Since then, parents in Perry Hall have been pushing the county to at least buy the land necessary for a new high school, before it was lost to developers.

Click on the pdf below to read the letter from the 42nd District delegation.

delegation-letter-re-board-of-public-works-meeting-52108.pdf

Published by Towson Families United
May 19th, 2008 in Upcoming events, Correspondence
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County Council presses BCPS for more seats

The Baltimore County Council Thursday questioned school officials about their plans for finding additional elementary school seats in Towson. School officials said they’re working on it.

The meeting was attended by virtually every key player in the county school system and county government, including Superintendent Joe Hairston, facilities director Michael Sines, and Fred Homan, the county’s administrative officer and No. 2 to County Executive Jim Smith.

The meeting was an annual public session where council members can question elements of the county executive’s proposed budget, prior to voting on it. The vote is scheduled for May 22.

Council Chairman Kevin Kamenetz (pictured above, right) led the questioning. He told Dr. Hairston (above left) that the Council appreciated the new elementary school planned for Towson, but wanted to know what other plans were underway to find the additional 400+ seats to meet projected enrollments.

CROMWELL VALLEY A POSSIBILITY

While Dr. Hairston was not ready to commit to any specific plan, he did indicate that one possibility will include some use of the Cromwell Valley technology magnet school. Mr. Kamenetz asked whether the school could be converted over time back to a traditional elementary school, by allowing existing magnet-program students to finish their schooling. Dr. Hairston said yes.

The proposed 400-seat addition to Loch Raven High School also came up at the meeting. Mr. Kamentz told Dr. Hairston that council members have been hearing many public complaints about the project, which was originally proposed by the county executive’s office — not the school system.

Dr. Hairston replied that since he has been the superintendent, BCPS has been looking for possible land in the northeast corridor of the county to build a new high school. But, he said, the school system is not the “funding authority.” In other words, despite a recommendation from a BCPS-commissioned study that called for a new high school five years ago, the county executive would not pay for it.

A new high school in that part of the county would alleviate current and future crowding at Towson, Loch Raven and Perry Hall high schools.

The meeting ran a half-hour longer than scheduled. And despite the many factions represented in the room, it was a collegial environment.

Published by Towson Families United
May 17th, 2008 in Meeting reports
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A LACK OF TRUST: Highlights of the contentious May 6 Board of Education meeting

By now we all know the outcome of the May 6, 2008 Board of Education meeting: A new elementary school is to be built on the same grounds as Ridge Ruxton School. But what led up to the vote that night was shocking. One after another, Board members publicly displayed a lack of trust in the presentation being made by BCPS facilities director Michael Sines.

First, watch Mr. Sines present the plan to the Board, telling members repeatedly they must act now if they want to open a school by the fall of 2010. Mr. Sines is accompanied by Michelle Prumo, executive director of planning and support operations.

Board member Meg O’Hare had the most vocal argument with Mr. Sines, who made an unfortunate statement that the Board is responsible for the delay in solving our overcrowding problem. Ms. O’Hare rightly pointed out that the Board recommended a solution — to relocate Ridge Ruxton students to a new building in Mays Chapel — last year. But that plan was killed by County Executive Jim Smith.

Board member Roger Janssen, a self-described “cynic,” told Mr. Sines that he didn’t trust him to actually build a free-standing school. He said he worried that in a few month’s time, BCPS would announce that upon further review, only an addition would fit on the site. He said he felt like BCPS was putting a “gun to my head.”

Finally, Board Vice President Edward Parker asked Mr. Sines to once again say that this plan was for a free-standing elementary school, complete with its own cafeteria and gym. Board President JoAnn Murphy, who seemed almost embarrassed by the Board’s public expressions of distrust, then called for a vote. Only Mr. Janssen voted against the new plan.

Published by Towson Families United
May 11th, 2008 in Meeting reports
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SUN EDITORIAL: PERSEVERANCE HAS PAID OFF

Today’s editorial in the Baltimore Sun is worth featuring here in its entirety.

Relief’s on the way
Our view: Another look made the impossible real
May 9, 2008

Perseverance has paid off for Towson-area families who led the charge for a new school to solve a severe classroom overcrowding problem in their area. The Baltimore County school board also deserves credit for not relying solely on the county administration’s solution to the problem. Its members pushed for an alternative that seems to satisfy the overcrowding concerns without uprooting a special-education program that also had fiercely loyal supporters. The result - a win-win for all, for now.

County Executive James T. Smith Jr., who has been harshly criticized for his proposed solution to the problem, is standing by his commitment to provide $18 million to help finance the new school on the site of the Ridge Ruxton school for the disabled.

The struggle for a new school, led by parents organized as Towson Families United, shows that with determination, strong arguments and a fact-filled Web site, citizens can fight City Hall, or in this case, the county equivalent.

The parents went on the offensive, using statistics on projected overcrowding to show why an addition to the Ridge Ruxton school - the proposal backed by Mr. Smith - was unacceptable. They joined forces with parents of disabled children who argued that an addition would put their medically fragile students at risk and potentially violate the law. Faced with the concerns of the two groups, the school board was determined to find a better solution. A consultant reviewed the Ridge Ruxton site and concluded that it was big enough to also hold a new 400-seat school.

But parents must realize that a new school alone won’t resolve the overcrowding entirely. An addition may be needed later on, and they will have to appeal to the next county executive to pay for it. Parents of disabled children at Ridge Ruxton also must recognize that such facilities are being phased out as more innovative ways to integrate special-ed kids into schools are found.

But in the end, an organized, vocal and politically astute group of citizens showed that a good offense is the best defense.

Published by Towson Families United
May 9th, 2008 in Media coverage
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TOWSON TIMES: Why other sites were rejected

For months the community has been feeding the school system ideas for where to locate a new school. For the most part, these ideas seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Or have they…

The Towson Times has a new online article that includes information on a few of the 24 total sites the school system says it considered. Here they are, along with the reasons the sites were rejected:

• Bykota Senior Center (formerly Towson Elementary) — would take too long to condemn land next to it for a new elementary school
• YMCA — no fiscal support (meaning, the county wasn’t interested in buying the land)
• Carver High School — considered, but officials have decided instead to replace it with a new high school
• Greenwood school headquarters — unbuildable because it’s in a flood plain
• Loch Raven Elementary — project cost for renovation is prohibitive

Published by Towson Families United
May 8th, 2008 in Media coverage
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