Around Maryland

Exterior improvements are complete on nearly a dozen downtown buildings. The mayor and City Council received an update on the facade makeovers at a work session Tuesday. The updates are part of a $950,000 downtown comprehensive investment program that matches grant funds for capital improvement projects including outside appearance of buildings, infrastructure and residential development.

A state audit shows at least eight Maryland school systems didn’t use $12.3 million designated for students in underserved communities. According to the document from the Office of the Inspector General for Education, officials with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) didn’t provide training and guidance for local school officials to utilize what are known as concentration of poverty grants.

The Harford County school board backed Superintendent Sean Bulson’s budget request Monday night in a 6-3 vote. Bulson proposed a budget with a $47.3 million or 7.7% increase over the current school year mostly by asking the county government for an increase in local funding of $40 million.

When Geraldine Giordano started classes at Anne Arundel Community College, the native of Colombia spoke little English. On her way to earning her associate’s degree in business and administration, she took nine courses in English, progressing to reading and writing academic papers in her second language.

Baltimore County Public Schools will no longer pay for all secondary students to take college courses at the Community College of Baltimore County. Facing a tight budget and new academic standards set by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s education reform plan, BCPS will conclude the “Tuition Free” program, which included the cost of students’ books and fees, for ninth and 10th-grade students at the end of this academic year.

It may not look like much, but the empty Baltimore County shopping center surrounded by a sea of empty gray concrete is one of Maryland’s most divisive, and consequential, pieces of land. Purchased by a Baltimore-based developer in 2020, Lutherville Station stands a few yards away from a light rail stop that connects Baltimore County to the city and Anne Arundel County. It has been eyed for new development that would add retail stores, commercial tenants and housing — lots of it — to the grounds.

The federal government recently gave some climate homework to each state’s department of transportation, and Maryland believes it was the only state to turn it in early. Maryland’s DOT has set new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the state’s 716 sections of the National Highway System. By the end of next year, MDOT hopes to reduce emissions by 4% from what was recorded in 2022 on its portion of roadway.

Maryland leaders are launching investigations into school systems statewide amid confusion over state funding. Millions of dollars are being sent from the state government to nearly two dozen schools under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. A new report by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General found a serious lack of oversight for how the funds are being used, leaving millions unspent or even sent back to the state.

Rockville-based health system Kaiser Permanente announced Monday a call for grant proposals for up to four $50,000 grants to be awarded to community organizations and nonprofits in the Maryland, Washington and northern Virginia areas. The grants will be used to improve community health and promote health equity in the region.