Around Maryland

Marilyn Mosby’s lead attorney says battling the prospect of criminal contempt charges for his conduct in her case means he’s no longer putting his full effort into her trial defense, a conflict that affects other attorneys at his firm. The argument came in a new filing Wednesday, after federal prosecutors said Mosby’s attorneys hadn’t given good cause to withdraw from her case two months before trial.

Baltimore County’s school system did not follow state recommendations to relocate its servers to a more secure data cloud prior to a 2020 cyberattack that wiped crucial data and affected thousands of students, employees, and retirees, state officials have found. The Maryland Office of the Inspector General of Education this week released a report based on its review of a complaint the office had received. While the inspector general did not substantiate numerous claims, it did find that Baltimore County Public Schools failed to follow recommendations by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits the year of the attack, as well as similar suggestions made five years prior.

The Baltimore City Fire Department is proposing three different options to recoup its dwindling vehicle fleet of fire trucks but the scenarios as suggested to city leaders, may force the city council to make some hard decisions next budget cycle. The fire department told city lawmakers last month that it is operating with 30% fewer fire engines than it needs to properly cover Baltimore City and keep residents safe when they call 911.

The Frederick County Board of Education on Wednesday voted 5-2 to add more than $5 million to its draft spending plan, an attempt to further increase employee salaries. The decision came after about an hour of impassioned discussion and debate among board members. Some appeared torn between a belief that higher salaries would help ease the staffing demands on a fast-growing school system and a reluctance to inflate an already-tight budget.

Baltimore-area students are showing signs of returning to pre-pandemic levels of proficiency in English language arts but continued to have setbacks in mathematics, according to newly released scores from a spring 2022 standardized assessment of Maryland public school students. The Maryland State Department of Education in December released a statewide snapshot of public-school students’ overall scores on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program assessment. This standardized test, which the state administered for the first time in spring 2022, hinted at resilience amid the coronavirus pandemic in English language arts — but also produced ominous scores in math.

Before the first COVID-19 vaccines were readily available in Maryland, Rachel Ledney Odom was already sick and getting sicker. A fever, accompanied by a headache, cough, fatigue and heart palpitations put her in the hospital for a week. At home, she developed recurring pneumonia, brain fog, chest pain and myocarditis, or inflammation around the heart muscle. Today, Odom still feels sick and said friends, family and doctors don’t understand the enormity of her burden. She’s sidelined from her work, struggled with family responsibilities and needs assistance with once-mundane tasks, like showering. Fearing bringing COVID-19 back into their home, Odom’s teenage son stopped going to in-person school.

The top two officials of a state college funding agency pledged Tuesday to improve communication while resolving interest calculation issues that have plagued at least 500 account holders. Maryland 529 Executive Director Anthony Savia and interim board chair Geoffrey Newman also told members of two state Senate committees that the agency would look to other states with 529 plans as models as it works to help families unable to access their Maryland Prepaid College Trust balances or whose accounts failed to accrue promised interest. In addition, the agency has hired a liaison to work with lawmakers and contracted with Pressley Media Group to handle communications, Maryland 529 spokesperson Michelle Winner confirmed via email.

Baltimore County Public Schools educator Lloyd Allen pulled up to the school system’s board of education meeting Tuesday night with two empty egg cartons. The average price of eggs has skyrocketed, making Allen’s cartons a visual and financial reminder of the rising inflation. And yet, Allen pointed out, Superintendent Darryl L. Williams’ budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 does not include a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for staff. The omission left Allen “quite surprised.” Teachers Association of Baltimore County President Cindy Sexton echoed Allen’s public comment and pointed out other Maryland counties, such as Anne Arundel and Prince George, that have already thought to provide COLAs for staff.