For parent Kristin Brown, the $130 million funding gap for next year’s Baltimore City Public Schools’ budget looms heavily over her daughter’s place of learning, Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School in Bolton Hill. That school alone faces an $800,000 deficit for 2017-18, she said, which could mean letting teachers go.
Tag: baltimore city public schools
Baltimore Art Teacher Among Four Finalists for National Teacher of the Year

One Baltimore high school art instructor is carrying on Maryland’s legacy of having inspiring, nationally recognized teachers.
Councilman Cries Foul on Changes to Free Transit Rides for City Students

For years, students in Baltimore City public schools have been able to use passes that let them ride MTA buses and trains around the city for free from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. Today, a newly elected city councilman has taken a stand against recent changes to the pass system that cut back on those free rides and their hours, which he said leaves some students shut out of after school activities.
New Report Makes Bus Company Open to Liability in Fatal Accident

Chad McCoy is a personal injury attorney covering cases such as car accidents, distracted driving, and medical malpractice. He is licensed to practice in Kentucky.
The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an incident report on a bus accident in Baltimore, Maryland on November 1st, 2016. A man, Glen Chappell, was driving a school bus and wound up crashing into a Ford Mustang and then a Maryland Transit Administration bus.
DeRay Mckesson Gets a Job (Not Mayor) in Baltimore
DeRay Mckesson‘s bid to become Baltimore’s next mayor may have failed, but the Black Lives Matter activist will have a new job working for the city next year.
Roland Park Civic League Backs Plan to Keep Clay Tile Roof on School

In a city where some public schools don’t even have working water fountains, should the school system spend $1 million to put a historically-accurate clay tile roof on a school in Roland Park?
That was the issue debated Wednesday night during the monthly meeting of the Roland Park Civic League, the community organization whose jurisdiction includes the Roland Park Elementary/Middle School at 5207 Roland Avenue.
Baltimore City Schools Issue 150 Pink Slips
Baltimore to Steal Public Schools Chief from Milwaukee

Baltimore City Public Schools’ search for a new CEO ends today with their decision to hire Greg Thornton, the current superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, according to WBAL’s sources.
On the face of it, Thornton is well equipped to take over the position. Milwaukee’s school district is about the same size as Baltimore’s, with 78,000 students (to our 84,000 students) and a budget of a little over $1 billion (same here). Not only that, but Thornton oversaw enactment of a “major school facility plan” in Milwaukee, something we’re staring down the $1-billion barrel of, ourselves!
A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article — written after he took over managment of Milwaukee Public Schools in 2010 — describes Thornton as “an optimistic sort who exudes energy and enthusiasm.” A WTMJ article from eight months later details his “losing battle” with “a micromanaging, fickle school board” that was preventing him from making changes necessary to raise up Milwaukee’s underperforming district.
Baltimore City Schools Alter Zero-Tolerance Weapons Policy
When Park Elementary second grader Josh Welch was suspended for biting his Pop-Tart into the shape of a handgun and waving it around back in March, “zero tolerance” began to look more than a little absurd. And now Baltimore city schools have revised their own zero-tolerance weapons policy to remove the automatic suspension for the possession of items such as toy guns, water pistols, and butter knives.
Even in cases that involve more serious weapons-that-are-not-firearms, principals are now required to try other avenues before suspension, such as a conference with parents. But school officials note that these alternative interventions do not preclude the use of suspension, even in the case of a first offense, if the principal deems it appropriate.