Around Maryland

An investigation into enrollment and attendance discrepancies in Maryland public schools has found nearly $23.4 million in state and local funding was misallocated over a five-year period. The Office of the Inspector General for Education on Tuesday released findings of separate investigative audits into the Maryland State Department of Education and four school systems including Baltimore City. From 2016 to 2021, investigators discovered nearly 3,000 instances across the state of students who were improperly counted as eligible for state and local aid distributed to school systems.

The state has received $6.9 million in federal grant funding to create more affordable housing for residents with disabilities, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced Thursday. Maryland is one of 16 states to receive Section 811 funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Project Rental Assistance Program Grant, which helps finance and subsidize rental housing that “allows persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible,” according to the federal agency’s website.

A proposed operating budget of $173 million was submitted to county leaders this week. On Tuesday, Acting County Executive John Psota presented the Wicomico County Council with his proposed operating budget beginning July 1. He said the spending plan, totaling $173,908,637, represents an 7.6% increase over the current year’s budget. “The budget is balanced as required by the charter,” he said. “The focus of the budget is to address the county’s core service needs: public safety, health, education and infrastructure.”

Though Carroll County’s sheriff and commissioners said they don’t believe the county needs a police accountability board, they are charged by the state with creating one by July 1. On Thursday, they began debating who may be chosen to serve on the board. Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees said members should be thoroughly vetted and anyone who has had an adverse interaction with law enforcement should not be eligible to participate.

A civilian employee of the Baltimore Police Department was fired after a background investigation failed to turn up a past gun charge and the employee was identified as a “person of interest” in a homicide investigation, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said Wednesday. The incident prompted Mayor Brandon Scott to call for a “comprehensive review of BPD’s civilian hiring practices,” just a week after his administration and Harrison announced plans to expand the number of civilians within a department that has struggled to hire enough new officers.

The Montgomery County Council is boosting funding for services offered to students in the county amid an escalating mental health crisis among children during the coronavirus pandemic. The $8 million investment would include $2 million toward immediately establishing interim wellness centers at county high schools in existing space and relocatable classrooms, county officials said. More permanent facilities would be built at each high school over a five-year period.

Baltimore’s spending board voted Wednesday to approve a $345,000 settlement payment to the family of late high school football player Elijah Gorham, who died about a month after suffering a traumatic brain injury during a game last September. In the settlement agreement with Gorham’s family, city schools vowed to hire athletic trainers at every high school that offers interscholastic athletics by the 2024-2025 school year, to collaborate with the city fire department to enhance emergency response times at school athletic events, and to expand emergency response training for coaches, volunteers and students.

Funding from a regional transportation group will go toward a Frederick County project to create a bike trail from Frederick to the C&O Canal.The  National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board voted Wednesday to approve $35,000 for a study on preliminary cost estimates and schematic drawings for a segment of New Design Road that will be part of a bike trail from the city of Frederick to the C&O Canal National Historical Park in southern Frederick County.

After hours of public input, county officials voted 4-3 to move forward with purchasing land west of Stephen Decatur High School for a sports complex. The Worcester County Commissioners voted 4-3 Tuesday to proceed with buying 95 acres for a sports complex and to bond $11.2 million for the project. The decision came after more than 50 people — roughly half in favor of the proposal and half opposed — shared comments during a three-hour public hearing.