Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Floyd Starnes remains principal despite complaints from former school employees
Montgomery County has settled out of court with a group of teachers who brought a lawsuit against the county's board of education and Floyd Starnes, the principal at Kemp Mill Elementary School since 2007, The Washington Post reported. The former school employees accused Starnes of "unabated and outrageous bullying behavior directed toward the Kemp Mill teachers, as well as the administrative and custodial staff," according to the lawsuit. Both sides signed a confidentiality agreement preventing them from disclosing the terms of the settlement, The Washington Post reported. When the suit was filed in March 2012, MCPS released this statement: “It is unfortunate that a group of people is using the media to make accusations—thus far proven to…
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Montgomery County Board of Education meets regularly in Rockville.
The Montgomery County Board of Education will approve a bevy of school building improvements at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 14 at 9 a.m. in Rockville. Projects at Judith A. Resnik, Sequoyah, Summit Hall, Arcola and Rosemary Hills Elementary Schools are on the agenda. (To see the full agenda, click on the PDF above.)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
"Students are the largest stakeholders, but we are noticeably underrepresented in making critical decisions" in the school system, said Justin Kim, 18, of Gaithersburg.
Meet Justin Kim, junior at Poolesville High and an 18-year-old Gaithersburg native who will serve as student member of the Montgomery County Board of Education next year. Kim was elected to the position with 65 percent of the student vote, Montgomery County Public Schools announced April 26. All secondary students in the system were eligible to participate in the election. Patch spoke to Kim about what he hopes to achieve during his term and the challenges the school system faces. Patch: Why did you want to become a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education? Justin Kim: I’ve always had a passion for service and working with others towards a common goal. Throughout my life, I am always looking for new ways to help others and …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
County officials will take questions about the $2.23 billion budget request adopted by the Montgomery County Board of Education Monday.
The Montgomery County Board of Education voted Monday evening to submit a $2.23 billion budget request to the county executive and the county council for consideration on March 1. The budget request for fiscal year 2014 represents a 2.6 percent increase over the current year’s budget, according to a statement released by Montgomery County Public Schools. Tuesday night, board members and the school superintendent will join the county executive and five councilmembers at a forum hosted by the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations. The forum is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville. County Executive Isiah Leggett, Superintendent Joshua P…
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Wheaton high school principal spoke before the Montgomery County Board of Education last Tuesday about efforts to close the achievement gap.
"Frustration." That's the first word that comes to Dr. Eric Minus's mind when he thinks about the achievement gap--the disparity in academic successes between white or Asian students and African American or Latino students. Minus is the principal at John F. Kennedy High School in Wheaton, a school where 84 percent of the students are African American or Latino, he said. Speaking before the Montgomery County Board of Education on Feb. 12, Minus shared his school's approach, which is to emphasize ninth grade students. Minus has assembled a "Destination Graduation" team that includes teachers, administrators and counselors focused on helping ninth grade students succeed. The school is also working with a nonprofit that conducted home visits …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Get caught up on headlines you might've missed in Montgomery County.
With more than a dozen websites across Montgomery County, Patch brings you news from every corner of our community. Catch up on headlines you might have missed this week, including a burglary ring uncovered, national signing day, life sentence for a stabbing death and more. Rockville Woman Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Drug Test Results in Bribery Scheme ROCKVILLE—A Rockville woman pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to falsify results of court-ordered drug tests in exchange for bribes and then lying about it to a federal grand jury. Read more on Rockville Patch. 6 Charged in North Potomac Burglary Heists NORTH POTOMAC—Six males were charged in a North Potomac burglary ring that netted more than $100,000 worth of goods from 30 …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The hearing on Superintendent Starr's $2.2 billion plan will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Montgomery County Board of Education will hold a public hearing Thursday on Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s $2.2 billion operating budget request for the 2013-2014 school year. The hearing, the first of two before the board, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Carver Educational Services Center, at 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. The hearing also will be broadcast live on the web and on MCPS TV (Comcast channel 34, Verizon FIOS channel 36, and RCN channel 88). A second hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Carver Center. Click here for more information, including how to testify. The proposed spending plan for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1, is a $48.95 million increase (2.3 percent) over the current budget. Starr’s plan aims…
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The world could end Dec. 21 if the Mayan calendar is correct.
If the Mayans are right, the world is supposed to end Dec. 21. Though many scholars have debunked the end of the world myth, across the DMV, people are throwing parties to celebrate. So we want to know, if Friday is your last day on Earth, what would you do to make it special? What's on your doomsday bucket list?
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Superintendent remains confident that he can win over the County Council.
Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s proposed $2.2 billion fiscal 2014 budget for Montgomery County schools could face a familiar challenge—how to comply with a state law on school funding minimums while winning approval from a County Council determined to rein in spending on schools. Starr's spending plan, unveiled Tuesday, is $10 million—less than half a percent—above the funding floor mandated by the state’s maintenance of effort law, which requires counties’ per-pupil spending to remain the same or increase from year to year. But the half percent increase could have major implications. County school budgets that dip below the funding level can have the difference withheld by the state comptroller when passing through income tax revenues to…
The $2.2 billion budget adds teachers and targets middle school instruction.
A $2.2 billion county schools operating budget proposed Tuesday by Superintendent Joshua P. Starr increases spending to manage growing enrollment, seeks to address persistent achievement gaps and invests in a curriculum aimed at meeting new state and national standards. It also sets the school system up for yet another debate with the Montgomery County Council over spending on K-12 education. “This is a responsible budget that allows us to keep up with growing enrollment, while making strategic investments that will benefit our students today and in the future,” Starr said in a statement. “A budget is a reflection of our values and I know that Montgomery County understands the direct connections between the quality of our schools and …
Costco Gas Man
5:24 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
By the way Corbetto. I am moving and hopefully before September. I have a beautiful house which sits in a private lot and is near a Metro station. I dropped about a $100,000 in it to completely rebuild it. Even at that I will still clear close to $150,000 when I leave it all behind. The new house I'm buying is in a beach area community with low property taxes and with the money I make by selling … more ›