Around Maryland

If you’re curious about how your local school district is spending its money, you can download data from the “Contracted Out” database. But if you want to know exactly why school districts spend what they spend, you’re out of luck — that is, unless you’re interested in data from Baltimore County. Thanks to what appear to be two random acts of legislation that took place eight years apart, the General Assembly requires every public school district in the state to report every contract expenditure of more than $25,000, but only requires Baltimore County Public Schools to list a purpose for each payment.

Most Maryland students will return to school Monday morning, so 11 News asked Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises about her agenda for 2023. Santelises said she spent the better part of the summer making investments in school safety. The district put more money into the paychecks of school police officers. They were often the first to leave for jobs outside of the school district.

The Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) will host a buyback event Saturday where gun owners can receive gift cards in exchange for functional firearms. RCPD, in partnership with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office and Montgomery County Public Schools, will host the event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at RedGate Park at 14500 Avery Road in Rockville.

The number of students receiving free and reduced-price meals across Frederick County Public Schools is on track to rise again this year. Officials hope that confusion arising from the end of pandemic-era subsidies has passed. At the start of the last school year, FCPS leaders said they were bracing for logistical challenges because families had to apply to receive free meals for the first time since COVID-19 hit.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office will soon use driving simulators to train recruits to navigate high-speed chases, emergency response calls and other real-world situations police encounter regularly. On Thursday, The Board of Carroll County Commissioners unanimously approved acceptance of a grant in the amount of $126,400 to purchase seven law enforcement driving simulators, including accessories and a four-year extended warranty.

A federal judge Thursday denied a request to let Montgomery County parents pull their children out of the classroom when books with LGBTQ characters are read aloud. Several Muslim and Christian families sued Montgomery County Public Schools in May, saying the use of LGBTQ storybooks forces religious parents to either forgo their beliefs or depart the public school system. They asked to allow their children to opt out of such readings before the school year begins Aug. 28, at least on a temporary basis while litigation over a permanent exemption proceeds.]

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department unveiled a dashboard Thursday that allows members of the public to take an in-depth look at its response and transport data. Available on the county government’s website, the dashboard allows users to take a deeper dive into the thousands of calls the department and its 31 stations respond to every month. Specifically, data can be filtered by month, call type (EMS, fire, service, and vehicle or rescue), hospital transport destination, location or council districts.