Around Maryland

In the world of education, July isn’t just a month of squeezing in beach weeks or backyard barbecues. It’s a time of transition for school districts, when new superintendents begin the work of settling in to demanding jobs, and in Maryland, those jobs will require them to work through the implementation of a long-term school reform plan called the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

The Worcester County Board of Education voted unanimously this week to extend negotiations with the teachers association. The school board on Tuesday agreed to extend negotiations with the Worcester County Teachers Association (WCTA) and the Worcester County Education Support Personnel Association. Though the groups had initially agreed to certain salary increases for staff, administration said the school system could not afford those increases with the maintenance of effort (MOE) level of funding Worcester County provided this year.

Anne Arundel Superintendent Mark Bedell is recommending that the Board of Education adopt a redistricting plan that will “put students first” and leave no school in the northern part of the county over its state-rated capacity. Bedell’s recommended redistricting plan was announced Wednesday afternoon — the same day the school board voted down a controversial proposal to ban flags that do not “promote national, state, and local government pride.”

The Montgomery County District Court announced July 6 that they rejected a challenge to Bill 21-22, a county law signed in November that prohibits carrying firearms within 100 yards of places of public assembly, including a park, church, school and public buildings, according to a press release. “It was a good day for public safety in Montgomery County,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in the release.

While Tonii Gedin has only officially held the role of Anne Arundel County health officer for about two weeks, she already has some lofty ambitions. Gedin took over as acting health officer in March when Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman was tapped by the state’s health department to serve as deputy secretary for public health services. She was approved to be his permanent replacement last week in a unanimous vote by the County Council.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts has agreed to pay its former executive director, Donna Drew Sawyer, an $83,232 settlement in exchange for her resignation as the leader of the city’s embattled arts council. Though Sawyer stepped down Jan. 10, four days after Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called publicly for her ouster as CEO of the arts council known as BOPA, the settlement agreement wasn’t inked until May 11.

Perhaps the way Brooklyn came to be part of the city of Baltimore is symbolic of the way residents sometimes feel about their neighborhood today. Although there are many things they love about where they live, they say they sometimes feel shut off from the city and an afterthought to more known neighborhoods in the same district, such as Locust Point and Federal Hill, which tend to be more vocal and politically active.

A divided Anne Arundel County school board on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal that would have restricted what flags could be displayed on school property — a measure that critics said was written to ban flags such as the rainbow Pride flag. The board voted 4 to 3 not to adopt the proposed policy, with one board member abstaining.

The 11 News I-Team obtained the most comprehensive data so far that details how many youths that curfew staff have interacted with each night since the curfew program began over Memorial Day weekend. While the numbers aren’t perfect — they don’t tell everything about how the team of social workers, school police and others are engaging with youths who are staying out past the permitted times — but they are the most substantive data made available so far.