Around Maryland

Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell has proposed a $1.7 billion fiscal 2025 budget that would continue to fund the implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, provide pay increases for teachers and bus drivers and compensate for the Elementary Secondary School Emergency Relief funding that will end next year. Bedell’s request represents a 3.71% increase over the current budget, which is the lowest increase in the last nine years. Nearly 61.5% of that increase would go toward compensation and benefits enhancements for employees.

Despite prior warnings, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future will not require Carroll County to move large numbers of teachers from some schools to staff others, Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Blueprint Coordinator Jon O’Neal told the county school board on Dec. 13. Superintendent Cynthia McCabe previously had said to expect teachers to be shifted to schools with higher concentrations of students who receive free or reduced-price meals and those deemed to have special needs to help recover from COVID-19 pandemic learning losses.

Allegany and Garrett counties will receive a combined $1 million in grant awards through the State Revitalization Program, including $750,000 for the Prichard Building renovation project in Frostburg, according to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Gov. Wes Moore said the program, which includes additional funds for other projects across the state, is designed to promote community development and economic growth.

Frederick County has launched more resources about strokes and stroke symptoms in Spanish as part of the county’s stroke awareness efforts and educating more community members on the signs and dangers of strokes. In addition to a Spanish version of the county’s public service announcement video on strokes, the county has also created a Spanish mnemonic, “AHORA,” for people to remember where to look for stroke symptoms.

Unique play features, including a sway glider, we-go swing and merry-go-all, as well as a sensory-friendly rock abacus with special textures and shapes, and innovative musical stations were installed recently at Centennial Park North in Ellicott City, designed to allow anyone with physical challenges to play freely by themselves or with others. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Recreation and Parks Director Nick Mooneyhan celebrated the opening of the park’s sensory trail loop and all-access playground area on Nov. 17.

Christmas being right around the corner means holiday traffic is likely to pick up as everyone tries to make it in time to see their loved ones. As December’s busiest travel days are upon us, the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) gave flyers some tips on how to tackle the hustle and bustle. Flyers should arrive early and ahead of time. For domestic travel, come two hours before your flight and arrive three hours earlier for international flights to allow time for parking, ticketing, checking in security and more.

Baltimore will record fewer than 300 homicides in a year for the first time since Freddie Gray’s death, a grim benchmark city leaders have sought to sink below for the better part of a decade. This year’s decrease comes as cities across the country see similar declines in killings. Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia and New Orleans are all seeing significant drops compared to a year ago. Even with the reduction — Baltimore will record its lowest homicide total since there were 211 in 2014 — the city’s murder rate remains among the highest in the nation and is similar to what it was in the 1990s, the last time killings consistently topped 300 a year.

The number of five-star rated schools in the Howard County Public School System has fallen, according to new state data. In Howard, 16% of schools earned a 5-star rating for 2022-2023; 43% were given four stars, while 37% earned three stars. Seventeen Howard schools fell from a five-star rating in 2021-2022 to a four-star rating in 2022-2023. River Hill was the only high school to score five stars in 2022-2023.