In the following letter to Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick, a former educator requests an independent investigation into Drama Therapy, the controversial drama production shown to students at Havre de Grace High School at a school-wide assembly held in early December, 2009. The letter to Dr. Grasmick generated a response of sorts. More on that in a minute. First, here’s the letter from Churchville resident, Barbara Falukner-Davis.
Ms. Faulkner-Davis told The Dagger that she first heard about Drama Therapy from an upset friend who is a parent in the Havre de Grace district. Faulkner-Davis is not a parent herself; she says she got involved as a former educator, a taxpayer and a concerned citizen. She says she isn’t trying to get anyone fired, but Faulkner-Davis thinks Drama Therapy should not be shown during the school day and that program’s therapeutic efforts were inappropriate. After viewing a ...Continue Reading
Legislative Updates on the education bills under consideration in the Maryland General Assembly are coming fast and furious now. A second set of updates was presented to the Harford County Board of Education by the schools’ governmental liaison Kathy Carmello, at a business meeting held Monday, February 22 in Bel Air. This time around, Harford School Board Member John Smilko raised the possibility of intrigue among the sundry list of legislative initiatives for the 2010 session.
Background: After first asserting that legislative changes were not needed for Maryland to win a chunk of the $4 billion federal, Race to the Top money, Governor Martin O’Malley has now requested changes geared toward getting the loot in the proposed Education Reform Act of 2010. The legislation extends the probationary period from 2 to 3 years before new teachers can earn tenure; requires that student outcomes be a ...Continue Reading
The 2010 Maryland General Assembly session is just about to the mid-point, and well over a hundred bills relating to schools and their employees have been filed for legislators to consider. Of course, not every bill portends big changes to the state of education in the State, but some do. And they’re worth noting while there’s still time to rally support or stamp them out, depending on your point of view.
To that end, a Legislative Update presented to the Harford County Board of Education by the school system’s governmental relations liaison Kathy Carmello, recently highlighted a number of education bills. The school board voted to support some, oppose others, and some were presented for informational purposes only.
Here are a few of those bills worth watching, followed by their currently scheduled hearing dates. In lieu of attending a hearing, letters and e-mails can also be sent directly to ...Continue Reading
The Board of Education of Harford County is seeking applications from interested county citizens to fill an opening on the school system’s Ethics Panel. The purpose of the five-member Ethics Panel is to review any inquiries concerning potential violations of ethics on the part of school employees or board members. The panel also reviews a yearly financial disclosure form submitted by board members and specified school employees.
The board is seeking a person to fill the vacancy on the Ethics Panel created by the resignation of Dr. Edward R. Sieracki, which was effective January 14, 2010. The person selected to fill Dr. Sieracki’s position will serve the balance of his term, which expires February 2011. Thereafter, the person so selected would be eligible for an additional two terms as described below.
Ethics Panel members serve for a term of five years appointed at staggered intervals. Members are appointed ...Continue Reading
The Dagger has obtained the following memo to the members of the Harford County Education Association from President Randy Cerveny, outlining the events leading up to the filing of a grievance over the Association’s use of the Harford County Public Schools e-mail system. The grievance was filed by the HCEA with Harford Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback on January 20, 2010. According to Cerveny, Superintendent Tomback has ten days to respond to the filing.
In the memo, HCEA President Cerveny writes that he was notified by the school system on the morning of January 11 that e-mails he sent to HCEA members regarding upcoming board meetings were considered “an abuse of the contractual agreement” between the HCEA and the board of education. Cerveny was instructed not to send any future e-mails without first getting approval for “appropriate content.”
The memo doesn’t offer details of the alleged abuses or discuss the content ...Continue Reading
The Harford County Board of Education voted 6 to 1 to approve a budget for next year containing 2% salary cuts for all HCPS employees. The vote came at a board business meeting Monday in Bel Air. Board Member Don Osman cast the only no vote, citing opposition to the salary cuts.
But the move by the school board is far from the last word on the FY11 budget, because funding from state and local government is not yet known.
The school board’s recommended budget goes next to County Executive David Craig, who will hold a series of public hearings on the county budget later this month. Craig will set local funding levels and as state funding is determined, the school board will realign their recommended budget accordingly. Added to the mix are salary negotiations, which occur concurrently with the budget process.
In public comments at a school board meeting Monday, several Havre de Grace parents spoke about Drama Therapy. Support for the students was nearly a universal theme, most parents called for better oversight and no one said the program should be abolished, but opinions varied widely on just about everything else.
Parent Tom Barnes said he had been abused as a child and that a program like Drama Therapy would have made an impact on his life, “I would not have attempted suicide in my later teens. I would have found help.” Parent Glenn Gorleski said the program should be improved and expanded “This program gives a voice to many to be heard. These are real issues and we need to listen.” Student Justine Cerruto, who performed in one of the plays, said that the treatment of students with disabilities improved at Havre de Grace HS as a result ...Continue Reading
Three weeks ago, the Harford County Public Schools’ fiscal year 2011 budget picture was bad enough that two percent pay cuts for all staff were proposed.
On Monday night, the county Board of Education was told that cost increases were even worse than expected last month, and would require further “adjustments” to the proposed budget.
That information came during a board budget work session that saw more than 200 teachers and school staff pack the Board of Education’s meeting room at the A.A. Roberty Building in Bel Air beyond capacity to protest the pay cuts.
When HCPS Superintendent Robert Tomback first presented his proposed budget on Dec. 21, it included $11.4 million in increases to various items such as health care, increases which required other money including staff pay to be cut to maintain a flat overall budget.
On Monday night, however, those increases had ballooned to ...Continue Reading
The year 2009 opened on a sad note in Harford County with residents still mourning the death of prominent, longtime school superintendent Jacqueline Haas. Before the year was over, Harford County would lose two other wellknown female leaders – former delegate Joanne Parrott and Harford County Councilwoman Veronica Chenowith.
It was also a year of contradiction. Even as President-Elect Barack Obama slowed his inaugural train ride through Edgewood in January to wave and thank a thousand or so supporters, there were a thousand or so more Harford County residents who fought tooth-and-nail in September to prevent President Obama’s live address to be shown to their children during the school day.
Bel Air High School was demolished and Fallston Library was spared from closure. Art Helton survived another political scandal in Aberdeen while Harford County’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly played a furious and humiliating game of musical chairs in Annapolis.
Superintendent Robert M. Tomback said at a school board meeting Monday that his proposed operating budget for Harford County Public Schools contains no increase over the current fiscal year and no new programs or initiatives for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. Tomback said some funding would be shifted next year to meet certain obligations and that his budget objectives were threefold; to preserve the integrity of the educational program for students, to preserve jobs and to preserve employee benefits.
Tomback provided few details in introducing his first budget proposal as superintendent and there were no questions from board members in attendance. In a departure from previous practice, numerical data and a broad overview of budget categories were not included as part of the initial public presentation.
School Board President Mark Wolkow said the school board would review the budget in detail in the coming weeks.
