kitzmiller elementary school – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Kitzmiller school, swamp land on Maryland agenda

Transfer of property from BOE comes from cost-cutting closure

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — The transfer of the ownership of Kitzmiller Elementary School in Garrett County to the county’s commissioners is on the state Board of Public Works agenda for Wednesday.

Also listed are the acquisition of a 256-acre parcel of land owned by the Cassellman Basin Coal Company with $550,000 in Project Open Spaces funds, along with several other local items.

The transfer of the school from the Garrett County Board of Education to the county comes after the school was closed May 30, following the school board’s April vote to do so in a cost-cutting measure.

The county voted later to allow Garrett County Community Action Committee to continue to use the former Kitzmiller school for Head Start during the current school year.

Approval of the transfer of the seven-acre site is recommended by The Interagency Committee on School Construction.

“As a condition of approval, the Garrett County government shall obtain approval from the Board of Public Works before transferring any right, title or interest to any portion of the facility,” the agenda said.

The coal company land acquisition will be the first for the new Cunningham Swamp Wildlife Management Area, according to the Board of Public Works. The land is ecologically important, according to board documents.

“The property supports several rare and listed species, including Wood horsetail (only one other is recorded in Maryland), bristly sarsaparilla (Aralia hispida), Nashville warbler, alder flycatcher and silver-bordered fritillary.

“The property’s large size, wetland community quality, species diversity and the number of rare species present make it an extremely high protection priority for the state,” a summary of the property’s environmental importance said.

The land will be protected from mining and surface discharges through agreements with the U.S. government, which owns most of the mineral rights under the land.

“Additionally, the MDE permitting process would prevent surface mining on Cunningham Swamp for any reserved coal rights,” the board’s agenda said.

Also on the agenda is the addition of 14 acres to complete a multi-parcel easement in the Mountain Ridge Rural Legacy Area in Allegany County. The land includes a significant golden eagle flyway. The full area includes some 30,640-acres.

The agenda also includes a $23,000 grant for Constitution Park pool upgrades and $14,000 for renovation of basketball courts at Frostburg Community Park.

More here.

—

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free —

—

Search Homes/Lots for Sale

Group wants charter school in Kitzmiller

Garrett County commissioners must approve use for former elementary school

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Both the Garrett County Community Action Committee and the Kitzmiller Charter School Initiative Inc. have approached the commissioners about possible uses of the former Kitzmiller Elementary School.

The former Kitzmiller and Dennett Road elementary school buildings reverted back to the county following the Board of Education’s decision to close both schools on May 30.

During the July 5 commission meeting, Brenda McCartney and Matthew Paugh of the Charter School Initiative presented an overview of the application for the charter school and requested the commissioners approval to utilize the building for the school.

The commissioners’ final approval of a possible charter school will be based on further review and will be made once the application is approved, according to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator. The application for the charter school is due by Sept. 1 to the Board of Education, according to McCartney.

“The forming of a charter school is a long process and the soonest we can open is for the 2013-2014 school year,” said McCartney, who said the group has filed a letter of intent for the school with the school board.

Once the application is filed, the school board will have 120 days to render a decision in the matter, according to McCartney. If the board denies the application, the group can file an appeal with the Maryland State Board of Education, according to the county’s board of education website.

Since the charter school will be public, it will be operated under the school board, with extended funding coming from the board with the Charter School Initiative seeking additional funding through grants, according to McCartney.

“From the discussion during the public meeting and my prior meeting with the Kitzmiller group, the cost of maintaining the facility will be covered by the charter school,” said Pagenhardt in an email.

Also during the commission meeting, the Kitzmiller Learning Co-Op suggested utilizing the former school for home schooling and community functions during the 2012-2013 school year.

“Some parents would like to utilize the building for a home school. I don’t know if it will be available,” said McCartney. “At this point it’s difficult to say what it (home school) would look like. It would depend on number of parents who make the decision to home school.”

The commissioners will take the utilization of the former Kitzmiller school for home school purposes under advisement, said Pagenhardt.

In June, Duane Yoder, president of Garrett County Community Action Committee, approached the commissioners about the continued use of Kitzmiller building as a Head Start center.

Yoder also hopes to relocate the senior meal program there as well. The Kitzmiller Head Start Center has had a classroom in the former school for about 35 years and would most likely close down if it can’t continue to remain in the school building, according to Yoder.

“Kitzmiller is the only building that is feasible for Head Start,” said Yoder, who noted that he had considered busing the preschoolers to a new location in Oakland. “I’m not willing to transport 3- and 4-year-olds on a bus from Kitzmiller to Oakland.”

Yoder said although he hasn’t had a conversation with members of the Charter School Initiative, that the Head Start would fit in nicely with a charter school and would “enhance their planning.”

Yoder also hopes to relocate the senior meal program to the former Kitz-miller school building. If the senior meal program was to move from its current location at the Kitzmiller Municipal Building to the school, the program would likely grow, according to Yoder.

“More people would participate in the the senior program at the school because they wouldn’t have to deal with the steps like they do at the municipal building,” said Yoder.

“I would like to make it (both ideas) work if it could be made to work,” said Yoder. “Even if the charter school doesn’t come through, Garrett County Community Action Committee is committed to keeping the Kitzmiller building open for use as community center for the good of the community.”

The Kitzmiller building also contains a branch of the Ruth Enlow Library.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

More info.

—

877-563-5350 – toll free —

—

Search Homes/Lots for Sale

Kitzmiller Charter School Initiative Inc. Requests Use Of Former KES Building

Jul. 5, 2012

A group of Kitzmiller area residents met with the Garrett County commissioners on Tuesday morning to discuss their plans to start a public charter school and learning cooperative. They requested use of the former Kitzmiller Elementary School for those initiatives.

“We believe that our students in Kitzmiller deserve to go to school in their own community,” said group spokesperson/town councilman Matt Paugh.

‘Like’ on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

Faced with significant state funding cuts in recent and upcoming years, the local board of education recently decided to close Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools, effective this fall. The board had previously closed Bloomington Elementary School as a cost-saving measure.

When the new school year begins next month, former Dennett Road students will attend either Broad Ford, Yough Glades, or Crellin elementary schools, while Kitzmiller students will be redistricted to Broad Ford. The Dennett Road and Kitzmiller school buildings will eventually revert to Garrett County government.

“While no one questions that our children will receive a quality education at Broad Ford Elementary, or at any other school in the county, we truly believe that a smaller school closer to home is going to be the most beneficial to our students,” Paugh said.

He also indicated that the town’s strategic plan, well-being, and sense of community all hinge on having a school in Kitzmiller.

After learning in April that Kitzmiller Elementary would be closed, a group of concerned residents met in early May to discuss various options for keeping students and some type of educational system in the town, including establishing a private religious school, private nonsectarian school, homeschooling cooperative, and/or a public charter school.

“We’ve formed a nonprofit organization called the Kitzmiller Charter School Initiative Inc. and submitted our letter of interest to interim superintendent Sue Waggoner on June 8,” Paugh said.

The group has not heard back from the Garrett County Board of Education yet, he noted, possibly because it was waiting for the new superintendent, Dr. Janet Wilson, to come on board.

Paugh said public charter schools are designed and operated not by a school board, but by a group of founders, which include parents, educators, and community leaders who have flexibility in deciding budgets, curriculum, and teaching methods. In addition, charter schools are tuition free and open to the public, employe certified teachers, and participate in state testing requirements.

The Maryland State Department of Education web site notes that state law:

• Allows new start-up schools and existing public schools to become charter schools.

• Identifies the local board of education as the primary authorizer of charter schools.

• Identifies the state board of education serve as a secondary authorizer as a result of an appeal decision or for a restructured school.

• Requires that charter schools receive funding that is commensurate to funding received by other public schools.

• Gives charter schools the right to appeal decisions made by local boards of education.

• Requires that charter schools have a right to appeal decisions made by local boards of education.

• Requires that charter school employees are public school employees of the local school board.

• Requires that local school boards adopt a charter school policy.

The Kitzmiller Charter School application must be submitted to the local BOE by Sept. 1 in order to begin operation in the 2013-2014 school year. Dr. Brenda McCartney, former BOE assistant superintendent, is helping the Kitzmiller group with the application process, which Paugh described as rigorous.

More here.

—

877-563-5350 – toll free —

—

Search Homes/Lots for Sale

‘With remorse’ Garrett County superintendent suggests school closings

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County’s interim superintendent of schools recommended Tuesday that Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools be closed due to a lack of state funding.

“We don’t have any wiggle room in the budget. I am a proponent of small schools and I agree that it takes a community to raise a child. This is definitely an emotional issue,” said Sue Waggoner, who said it was “with remorse” that she made the decision.

House Bill 660 and Senate Bill 586, proposed by Delegates Wendell Beitzel, Kevin Kelly and LeRoy Myers Jr. and Sen. George Edwards passed in the Senate but failed in the House, according to Waggoner.

“It is unprecedented. Who would have believed that the legislature would adjourn without passing it,” said Waggoner, who said she wasn’t sure if lawmakers would return for a special session to hash out budget differences. “I’m still hopeful things can change.”

The county stands to lose $1.5 million in state assistance in fiscal year 2012 and that number is projected to be $2.5 million in FY 2013.

The board will vote on the recommendation at a special meeting on April 24 at 7 p.m. Public comment will be taken before the vote.

The proposed bill would have limited the board’s losses in state funding to 5 percent for the next three years. If the bill would have passed, it would have capped losses at $1.5 million.

In closing Dennett Road and Kitzmiller, it will save the board $1.2 million and $279,000 respectively, according to Waggoner. However, the board would have to add $170,750 in unemployment compensation to its budget.

There was no public comment on the school closing recommendation.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

More here.

877-563-5350 – toll free

>Kitzmiller Elementary students tour state’s first operational wind project

>The Cumberland Times-News Sun Apr 17, 2011, 09:47 PM EDT

— OAKLAND — Students from Garrett County’s Kitzmiller Elementary School recently got a firsthand look at how renewable energy is working in Maryland.

Approximately 40 kindergarten through third-grade students and their teachers were the first local school students to tour Constellation Energy’s Criterion Wind Project in Oakland. The first wind energy project to operate in the state, Criterion Wind produces 70 megawatts of emission-free electricity. The wind project is helping Maryland meet its clean energy goals of producing 20 percent of its electricity with renewable resources by 2022.

Teacher Bridgete Corbin requested the tour as part of a unit she’s teaching on green energy. “We’re exposing students to the idea of renewable energy, and we have this great example of how it works right here in our county,” she said. “The students were really excited to see the wind turbines and to talk about how they make clean energy.”

The Kitzmiller students toured two of the 28 Criterion wind turbines, which stand 415 feet tall with the blades turned up. The two towers the students toured were located on the property of Oakland resident Janet Tichnell.

“People are really interested in seeing the windmills,” Tichnell said. “I was more than happy to help coordinate the tour with the schools. It was a good learning experience for the children.”

The Criterion Wind Project is built over an 8-mile stretch along Backbone Mountain east of Oakland. The project began producing commercial power in late December.

Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, is a leading competitive supplier of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the U.S.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!

Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>BOE Hears From School Advisory Committees

‘Like’ on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

Mar. 10, 2011

The Garrett County Board of Education met Tuesday in the Southern Middle School cafeteria. The venue was selected to house the crowd that attended to witness two 45-minute reports presented to the BOE by the advisory committees of Kitzmiller and Bloomington elementary schools.

The committees rehashed recent arguments for keeping the two elementary schools open. The arguments included: the detrimental effects of increasing class sizes and commute times, the loss in community center and identity, the strains that would be placed on parents and students who wish to participate in extracurricular activity, the loss in the unique and quality educational opportunities offered to students by Kitzmiller and Bloomington elementaries, that the cost of running the two schools accounted for a small portion of the overall education budget, and others.

A few members of the community chose to address the board at the time set aside for public comment and made emotional pleas to keep the schools active. The board thanked all these individuals and the committees for their thoughts and presentations.

Later this month, the BOE plans to hold public hearings to further address the issue of school closure. The first of the two hearings will be held on Tuesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of Bloomington Elementary School. The second will be held at Kitzmiller Elementary School on Thursday, March 24, at 7 p.m. in the school’s multi-purpose room.

Read the original article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website – competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

>Kitzmiller Could Become A Ghost Town If School Closes, Mayor Browning Fears

‘Like’ on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

Feb. 24, 2011

Kitzmiller mayor Jim Browning does not want his town to become another death statistic in a local history book. But that could very well happen if Kitzmiller Elementary School closes, according to town officials.

“We don’t want to become a ghost town,” Browning told the Garrett County commissioners last Thursday afternoon.

The mayor, town council, and about 30 other residents met with the commissioners in an effort to rally financial and moral support to keep the school open.

Located along the North Branch of the Potomac River, Kitzmiller was incorporated in 1906. The former booming coal town’s current population is about 300. Community Action president Duane Yoder noted that the population had been decreasing, but raw census data indicates it has stabilized and may be increasing.

Kitzmiller is one of only four remaining Maryland communities of 31 identified in a Garrett County Historical Society publication titled Ghost Towns of the Upper Potomac, the mayor noted.

“A decision to close the school is a permanent solution to a temporary problem fueled by a depressed economic situation,” Browning said.

KES currently has 55 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, plus 12 in Community Action’s Head Start program. The annual cost to operate the facility is about $410,000.

The school is the heart of Kitzmiller, the mayor said, and a focal point for activities and services for residents of all ages, including after-school and basketball programs and the town’s annual homecoming event. In addition, a branch of Ruth Enlow Library has been located within the school’s library since 1987.

“We’re in partnership with the best education we can give this community of Kitzmiller,” said branch manager Diane Kisner. “For the school to be lost, it would be detrimental to the town of Kitzmiller. I just see so many positive things going on in the community, as the public librarian there.”

The library board announced it will discontinue the Kitzmiller branch if the school is closed, as funding will not be available to maintain the library in that or another building.

“The town will lose its identity as a community and become just an aggregation of residents,” Browning said about the possible school closure.

State allocations to local schools were significantly cut early last year because of economic conditions, an increase in the county’s wealth index, and the expiration of “hold harmless” legislation, which previously ensured level funding despite enrollment decline. As a result, the GC Board of Education is facing a more than $4 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2012.

As a cost-saving measure, Dr. Wendell Teets, superintendent of Garrett County schools, proposed on Sept. 15, 2010, that Kitzmiller and Bloomington elementary schools be closed. He explained that these two schools have the highest cost of operation per student with the lowest enrollments. The cost to operate the Bloomington school is about $426,000 a year.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Kitzmiller Students Do Their Part To Sustain Butterflies

Support the Republican Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!

by Mary Sincell McEwen
The children of the Kitzmiller Elementary School embarked on a unique quest on a bright and chilly day last month, loading onto buses and heading up the mountainside to an expanse of land where butterflies gather.

The area is the Woodhill Sanctuary, a 15-acre easement now designated as a Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) and the Allegany Highland Conservancy butterfly sanctuary. The area is a preserve for several rare, threatened, or endangered butterfly species, including the Baltimore checkerspot, the official insect of the state of Maryland, so named in 1973.

Vladamir Dupre sought the designation for the property, which was owned by him and his late wife Elizabeth for many years. Dupre said he was thrilled to be able to contribute to the preservation of the endangered butterflies.

“We consider it a privilege to be a part of the efforts of the Maryland Environmental Trust to maintain and manage natural habitats for the people of Maryland to enjoy and learn from,” Dupre said.

In that vein, he invited the children of Kitzmiller up to the property and gave them a mission — to help seed the area with flowers to which the butterflies will be drawn, and which will provide for the insects a safe haven.

While once common throughout the state of Maryland, the Baltimore checkerspot, along with numerous other species, is losing ground annually. Butterfly specialists Richard Smith and Pat Durkin, both active butterfly researchers with the MET, guided the Kitzmiller students last month in their mission the at Woodhill Sanctuary. They explained to the children that this unique area was one of only eight locations where the state butterfly colonies now survive. In fact, Woodhill has the largest concentration of the butterfly in the state, and possibly in a multi-state region, Durkin said.

The butterflies require freshwater marsh habitats, with shallow waters and a variety of flowering plants. Expansion and development throughout the state have greatly damaged such areas.

“The marsh-like conditions these butterflies need can be destroyed in a second,” Durkin said. “It doesn’t take much to ruin their habitat.”

She and Smith have researched the plight of Maryland butterflies for many years, both participating in the Maryland Rare and Endangered Butterfly Survey in 2002-2003. Their research led them to the mountainsides of Garrett County where undeveloped land helps to sustain the insects.

To help with that, the students were instructed to gather seed pods of all sorts of flowers, and put them in paper bags. The flowers to come from these seeds are vital to butterflies, who seek the nector to survive.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: kitzmiller elementary school

Kitzmiller school, swamp land on Maryland agenda

Group wants charter school in Kitzmiller

Kitzmiller Charter School Initiative Inc. Requests Use Of Former KES Building

‘With remorse’ Garrett County superintendent suggests school closings

>Kitzmiller Elementary students tour state’s first operational wind project

>BOE Hears From School Advisory Committees

>Kitzmiller Could Become A Ghost Town If School Closes, Mayor Browning Fears

Kitzmiller Students Do Their Part To Sustain Butterflies

My Location

Deep Creek Media

Stay Connected