County creates advisory committee for education fund
A 10-person advisory committee will be created to develop recommended criteria and processes in order for the Community Foundation of Carroll County to administer a $400,000 fund aimed at enhancing educational opportunities for home- and private-schooled students.
The Carroll County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Thursday to create the committee amid concerns from individual commissioners that the details of the program were being left up to the Community Foundation. The committee, which will include people from home and private schools, will be chosen by the board of commissioners. A majority vote by the board is needed for someone to be on the committee.
The commissioners did not set up a timeline for when the committee would be formed or when it would provide the board with recommendations. Commissioner Dave Roush, R-District 3, said that since the fund is used to reimburse purchases, it is not necessary to have everything instituted by the start of the school year.
The Community Foundation, which facilitates philanthropic activities within the county and is in charge of dozens of scholarships and funds, is tasked with administrating the money from the "Educational Opportunities Fund."
The fund would allow parents of home- and private-schooled children to apply for money to pay for things such as text books, field trips, science lab equipment and other things available to children attending public schools.
MSDE finds Carroll in violation of certain autism program requirements
Carroll County Public Schools officials will work to ensure they don't miss deadlines in the future after the state board of education found several violations in the school system's autism program.
The Maryland State Department of Education investigated five allegations, spanning from the accusation that students did not receive special education instruction from a qualified teacher from May 2 to May 13 to the accusation that the school system did not ensure that the social, emotional and behavioral needs of the students were addressed since May 2.
The parents of nine New Windsor Middle School children in the autism program filed a complaint in May to the state Department of Education division of special education with claims that their children suffered discrimination at the school both directly and indirectly. The complaint alleged the special education children, nonverbal students in the autism program at New Windsor Middle, had their Individuals with Disabilities Education Act rights violated.
According to the report, in reference to the allegation concerning the review of assessment results, CCPS did not ensure student reevaluation was completed within the required timelines. In order to complete an evaluation within the needed timeframe, a parent of a different student was not offered the opportunity to participate in the Individualized Education Program meeting. It also found that CCPS did not follow proper procedures to identify and address all of the students' social, emotional and behavioral needs, among other violations.
The substitute teacher assigned to the class from May 6 to May 10 meets the educational and training requirements for serving as a substitute teacher and that teacher was assisted by highly qualified staff, so a violation did not occur in that case, according to the report.
MSDE requires Carroll County Public Schools to provide documentation before the start of the 2013-14 school year of the steps taken to ensure compliance by the New Windsor Middle School staff with the Individuals with Disabilities Act and related state requirements. Documentation of all corrective actions taken is to be submitted to MSDE, according to the report.
Swim school files $2M lawsuit against county, state health departments.
Kids First Swim Schools has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Carroll and Baltimore county health departments and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, according to a news release from the swim school.
Swim school officials are alleging negligence, libel, slander and interference with contractual relations. The scrutiny and decisions by the state and local health departments has had an effect on the 13-year-old business, which operates a total of 12 schools teaching children to swim in Maryland, Kids First owner Gary Roth said in an interview Tuesday.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of the Carroll County Health Department sending out a news release June 12 alleging that the pool had been in violation of health and safety standards and operating without a valid pool permit at its Finksburg location for at least 15 months. The Carroll County Health Department summarily suspended the Finksburg location's license to operate an indoor pool.
Roth contests the health and safety allegations, and the release states that they are "inaccurate and unfair."
Violations received at the Finksburg location over the course of 15 months include pH levels above 7.8, allowing an uncertified person to perform the duties of a certified pool operator and having excessive levels of combined chlorine - which can cause asthma attacks and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, according to an administrative judge's decision memo.
The lawsuit alleges that the business was singled out for violating an unenforced code of having more than 0.2 parts per million of combined chlorine in its water.
The lawsuit alleges that the agencies intended to damage the swim schools' reputation and were "effectuated with malice."
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Orioles excel in All-Star Game
The Baltimore Orioles had five players representing the American League in this year's All-Star Game, and four of them saw action in the game last Tuesday. Chris Davis had a single, Adam Jones had a double, and J.J. Hardy scored a run in the AL's 3-0 victory over the NL squad. Manny Machado didn't record a hit but made a sparkling defensive play at third base.
Pitcher Chris Tillman didn't appear in the game.
