State of Education Forum

Are you appalled that the board of Education has hired 15 new people and misspent federal funds?  Do you want to know more about how the Board of Education will change as a result of the passage of legislation giving more power to the County Executive?  Why is County Executive Baker trying to get interim Superintendent Crawley to stay now? Then you should have your behind in a seat tonight at the Washington Post sponsored and moderated forum on the State of Education in Prince George’s County.  If you couldn’t find this information, don’t feel bad; neither could I.  One of my readers forwarded me this information.  

Robert McCartney, Columnist and Former Assistant Managing Editor, The Washington Post will moderate this evening’s forum being held at Prince George’s Community College. The panel will include Del. Jolene Ivey (D), Chair, Prince George’s House Delegation, Maryland General Assembly; Verjeana M. Jacobs, Chair, Prince George’s County Board of Education; Earnest L. Moore, President, Prince George’s County PTA Council; Christian Rhodes, Education Policy Adviser, Office of the Prince George’s County Executive; and Ovetta Wiggins, Prince George’s Education Reporter, The Washington Post.  To RSVP and submit a question for the panel, please e-mail behindtheheadlines@washpost.com. All questions and RSVP’s must be submitted by Thursday, May 23 at Noon.  I know I’m late with this information but submit RSVPs and questions ANYWAY.

Date: Thursday, May 23 / Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. /Prince George’s Community College / Largo Student Center – Community Rooms A, B, C / 301 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774  – Free parking will be available.  Admission: FREE (Seating is limited, so please arrive early)

In the meantime, “Auditors found that Prince George’s County spent stimulus and Title I funds on items such as $8,376 worth of gifts for staff who attended a principals’ meeting, a personal refrigerator and microwave for a budget administrator, and $108,882 for unapproved travel. “We are aware of the draft audit report findings, and we have responded with our comments, and we remain engaged in a multi-step process that will continue for months to come,” said Briant Coleman, spokesman for Prince George’s County Schools.” from the Baltimore Sun.  So yeah, you need to come to the forum.

Also, the Prince George’s County Board of Education, released an email explaining why a cash strapped system created 15 new positions; basically they blamed it on the school takeover legislation, “The Prince George’s County Board of Education voted to realign funds within their FY2014 operating budget to accommodate the addition of 15 new positions. The positions were created in response to HB 1107, Section 4-401, which charges the Board to “(1) raise the level of academic achievement of the students in the Prince George’s County Public School System, and (2) raise the level of engagement of the parents, students, and community as a whole.”  

Instead of creating positions, why don’t the current administrative officials and staff, the current PTA, and the current school board just push a little harder?  Do we really need these positions?  One Board of Education member Donna Hathaway Beck voted “no” because she didn’t believe this move constituted an “emergency” measure.  Have to send her a virtual high five.  Carletta Fellows (Dist. 7) was absent.