board of education – Page 4 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

>Garrett commissioners add $700,000 to schools budget

>Board of Education asked to develop long-term plan
For the Cumberland Times-News
The Cumberland Times-News Tue Apr 26, 2011, 11:29 PM EDT

OAKLAND — After numerous budget review sessions, the Garrett County commissioners have added $700,000 to the $1 million already allocated for the Board of Education for fiscal 2012.

The funds will be transferred from the county’s unrestricted/undesignated fund balance and will assist the board with a projected residual shortfall of $1.365 million.

The county commissioners have asked the Board of Education to develop a long-term financial plan that will allow Garrett County public schools to operate proficiently despite the loss of funds from changes to the state funding principles and a declining student enrollment, according to County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt.

Pagenhardt said that the commissioners are willing to work with the board in developing the plan. The county has not been presented with a comprehensive budget from the board, according to Pagenhardt. But county staff projects that the additional allocation combined with cost savings from the board’s employee retirement incentive plan and supplementary public education funds secured during the Maryland General Assembly session will reduce the funding shortfall to $665,000.

The county commissioners along with the county administrator and Department of Financial Services have worked to close a $17 million dollar funding shortfall and all county departments have incurred budget cuts or have been flat-funded in fiscal 2012. Capital projects have been repeatedly scrutinized and reprioritized.

Under county policy, the funds that were transferred must be restored within two years. The county commissioners anticipate a similar amount in new revenue for fiscal 2013 from the Synergics wind project located on Backbone Mountain.

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>BOE Will Hold April 5 Meeting At Southern Middle

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Mar. 31, 2011

The Garrett County Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 5, beginning at 4 p.m. The meeting will take place in the cafeteria at Southern Middle School.

Following the opening of the meeting at 4 p.m., the board will meet in closed session until 5:30 p.m.

After the closed session, public agenda topics will include action on the 2011-12 proposed school calendar and the date for the 2011 retirement dinner.

Information items will include the 2012 budget update and school closing recommendation.

At 7:15 p.m., the board will recognize the designer of the 2010 Christmas card.

Time will be set aside at approximately 7:45 p.m. for public comment and participation on any topic. The BOE invites the public to attend.

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>Educators, County Employees Offered Cash Incentives To Retire By June 30

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Mar. 24, 2011

As part of an effort to address a pending budgetary crisis facing the Garrett County Board of Education, all employees of the board who will be eligible to retire at the end of the current fiscal year – from teachers to administrators to non-certified staff members – received a letter this past week from superintendent Wendell Teets and union representative Steve Benson offering the employees a cash incentive to retire.
A similar voluntary retirement incentive plan was subsequently offered by the Garrett County commissioners to all county employees, most of whom received their letters yesterday.

“The board [of education] is faced with making some very difficult decisions for next year, including a possible reduction in force, resulting in loss of employment and the elimination of educational programs that are vital to our students,” the letter from Teets and Benson said in part.

The board of education employees who have at least 30 years of service in the Garrett County system are being offered a one-time cash payment of 15% of their current salary if they retire this year, up to a maximum of $10,000. Any employee age 55 with at least 25 years of service, and those who are age 62 with at least five consecutive years of service within the local system are eligible to participate in the incentive plan.

The percentage of salary offered decreases by .5% with each year fewer than 30, so an employee with 25 years of service is being offered 12.5% of his/her salary. Those with five years of continuous service and eligible to retire because of age would receive an incentive bonus of 2.5% of their current salary.

The plan will be presented to the Garrett County Board of Education at its April meeting, but only if a minimum of 15 certified employees and three non-certified employees agree to participate. Employees have until Wednesday, April 13, to render their decisions.

If the program is enacted by the board, then the decisions of the employees would be binding. If it is not approved by the board, then an employee agreeing to participate would not be obligated to retire.

The offer by the county commissioners to county employees is similar; however, the incentive percentage increases for those employees with more than 30 years of service.

Read the full article here.

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Commissioners Name Nominees For Board Of Ed

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Dec. 23, 2010

The Board of Garrett County Commissioners is in the process of nominating the Board of Education member-at-large that was created when Jim Raley was elected as county commissioner.
The commissioners received letters of interest from the following persons: Robert Quick, Bill Meagher, Gary Barlow, Josh Hinebaugh, Matthew Paugh, Darlena Grady, Pamela Livengood, Jodi Nichols, John Pucciano, Sadie Liller, Jerome Lynch, Ruth Hinebaugh Umbel, Cynthia Downton, Jack Riley, and Rodney Reckart.

The commissioners will review all the names on Dec. 28 and take action on the appointment on Jan. 4, according to county administrator Monty Pagenhardt.

The BOE’s next public meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 11.

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BOE Revises Proposed School Closing Calendar

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Nov. 11, 2010

The Garrett County Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting this week, at which the revised school closing calendar was presented.
The suggested timeline for letters and a press release to be sent is the week of March 1–8, and the report of the superintendent’s advisory groups on the impact of the proposed closing(s) will be given at a meeting set for March 8.

The potential hearing dates for the school(s) being considered for closure have been set for March 22 for Bloomington Elementary School, with March 29 set as a weather make-up date, and March 24 for Kitzmiller Elementary School, with March 31 set as a make-up date.

The superintendent’s report and final recommendation will be given at a board meeting in April (to be announced), and the board will make its final decision at a separate meeting to be set in April as well.

Continuing business items included a motion to approve the school closings calendar and action on the JROTC CO2 Pellet Rifle Proposal, presented by Lynn Bell, director of secondary education. Action on this item was postponed until it is learned whether the approved proposal will result in an insurance increase at the high schools. It will be addressed at next month’s meeting.

An additional business item not listed in the agenda was the proposal of the development of Unified Sports, which will comply with the new Fitness and Athletic Equity for Students with Disabilities Act. The Unified Sports will include bocce in the winter, track and field in the spring, and aquatics/swimming in the fall. This will be developed to give opportunity to disabled students to participate in an athletic extracurricular activity.

Read the rest here.

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School board seat in flux after Raley victory

Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News Thu Nov 04, 2010, 07:48 AM EDT

— OAKLAND — Jim Raley’s election to the county commission means that a seat on the school board is now in flux, at an already uncertain time for Garrett County schools.

Raley will resign from the school board to take his new office, creating a vacancy that will be filled, by law, through an appointment by the county commission. The appointee will serve out the remaining two years of his term, through 2012.

The appointee could be a person from any political party and any part of the county, because Raley’s seat is designated for a member-at-large.

Full article here.

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Winners of Garrett race for board will decide schools’ fates

Megan Miller
The Cumberland Times-News Sun Oct 10, 2010, 07:58 AM EDT

— OAKLAND — The candidate who wins the nonpartisan race for the District 3 seat on the Garrett County Board of Education faces a difficult decision early in his term — whether to close two elementary schools.

Incumbent Rodney Durst has served on the board for 20 years. He said he did not plan to run for re-election at first, but reconsidered because of “the severe situation the state is in.”

“We’ve worked so hard to get our schools to be some of the best in the state,” he said. “I don’t want to see it fall apart because of the budget. … I figured now is not the time to walk away.”

Durst said his priority is ensuring state government provides equal opportunities and funding for Garrett County students as it does for students in other parts of the state.

“What I want to do is make sure state government meets its responsibility, and hold its feet to the fire,” he said.

Challenger Rodney Reckart has served as president of the Crellin Elementary School PTO for four years.

“I just wanted to do more to help,” Reckart said of his decision to run. “I just think that some of the decisions need to have a different set of eyes.”

He proposed taking another look at the energy efficiency of school buildings.

“A lot of the buildings have old windows and doors,” he said. “If they’d spend the money to replace those things, the operating cost would go down.”

The biggest issue now facing the school board is the proposed closure of Kitzmiller and Bloomington elementary schools, and the consolidation of those students into Yough Glades and Broad Ford elementaries.

Durst said he supports the small schools, but will not do so at the expense of other educational programs.

“I’ll fight all the way I can. I believe in smalls schools,” he said. “But the thing I will not do is cut high school programs to save an elementary school. My total belief is we’ve got to do what’s best for all the students of Garrett County.”

Reckart, who has spoken publicly against the closures, said he would have to “take a long, hard look at it” before agreeing to such a move.

“I don’t think anybody wins by closing a school,” he said. “But I can’t say for sure that I would vote against it.”

Reckart said he would take into consideration factors like the potential number of students in consolidated classrooms, the financial savings for the school system and how the move would impact teachers’ contracts.

The board of education seats representing Districts 1 and 2 are also open, but candidates for both — current board President Donald Forrester and Vice President Thomas Carr, respectively — are unopposed in their bids for reelection.

The board could gain a new member if current member-at-large Jim Raley is successful, as he likely will be, in his bid to become a county commissioner.

Raley is currently unopposed in seeking the District 2 seat on the commission.

If elected to the commission, Raley would resign from the school board, creating a vacancy that would be filled by an appointment by the county commission.

Since the process would be triggered by Raley’s resignation from the school board, it’s possible that the newly-elected commission — including Raley — would be the one to name his replacement.

Contact Megan Miller at mmiller@times-news.com

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

Garrett board unsure of when to replace Raley

Commission candidate could vote on new member’s appointment for his former seat
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News Fri Sep 17, 2010, 07:59 AM EDT

— OAKLAND — The decision on whether or not to close Bloomington and Kitzmiller Elementary schools will be made by the Garrett County school board after months of study and recommendations from the public, advisory committees and school administrators.

But the outcome of Tuesday’s primary election could bring another major factor into play — the selection of a replacement for board member Jim Raley.

Raley, a Republican, appears poised to become a Garrett County commissioner. He won a decisive primary victory in District 2 over incumbent Fred Holliday, and currently faces no opponent in the November general election because no Democrats filed for the seat.

If Raley vacates his seat on the board of education, Maryland code dictates that the county commissioners will appoint a replacement to serve out the remainder of his term, through 2012. The appointee could come from anywhere in the county, because Raley’s seat is designated for a member-at-large.

The question is whether the current commission or the newly elected commission — which would include Raley and at least one more new commissioner — will do the appointing.

So far, it’s a question with an unclear answer. County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt said he has spoken with Superintendent Wendell Teets and the current commissioners about the issue. County officials will discuss the matter with an attorney, and will likely consult the state board of education as well.

The process of making an appointment would probably be triggered by Raley submitting his resignation from the school board, Pagenhardt said.

The current commission has generally appeared supportive of school officials’ efforts to examine school closures as a way of cutting spending and managing the budget. But the new commission will likely include at least two members who have taken positions against school closures.

Raley has been an outspoken opponent of closing the schools. And in District 1, both Republican candidate Gregan Crawford and Democrat Eric Robison have also taken strong positions against the measure. Crawford, speaking of the potential impact on Garrett communities, told the Times-News that the schools need to remain open “at all cost.”

If the school board appointee opposes school closures, it could create a close vote on the divisive issue.

In recent months, Raley and fellow board member Charlotte Sebold have often sided together on votes related to the issue. In August, the two opposed the schedule for considering possible closures, which forced board President Donald Forrester to cast a tiebreaker vote that passed the measure 3-2.

Three members of the board of education are up for re-election in November, but two, Forrester and Thomas Carr, are running unopposed. In District 3, incumbent Rodney Durst faces a challenge from Rodney Reckart.

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

Garrett board to discuss which elementary schools to close

Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News Sat Sep 11, 2010, 07:58 AM EDT

— OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of Education will hear administrators’ recommendations Wednesday on which elementary schools to consider closing at the end of the current school year.

The recommendations will be made as part of the board’s regular September meeting, which will be held at Southern Middle School. Public comment periods are scheduled for 4 and 7 p.m. The board will take up the public portion of its agenda at 5:30 p.m.

Superintendent Wendell Teets will recommend a school or schools for closure based on input from administrative staff members, but the board can add other facilities to the list as it sees fit.

In the coming months, each school named for consideration will be studied by an advisory group made up of parents, school representatives and community members. The groups will look at things like building condition, transportation, student relocations and the potential impact of a school’s closure on the community.

Teets said he will be selecting people to participate in the advisory groups. The advisory groups will report their findings to the board of education.

According to a schedule adopted in August, the board will also conduct public hearings in November at each of the schools being considered for closure.

Meanwhile, a group of parents, municipal officials and other concerned residents from areas like Crellin, Bloomington and Kitzmiller have organized a coalition called the Small Rural School Focus Group to advocate for keeping all existing elementary schools.

Matthew Paugh, a spokesman for the group, said it’s been meeting at least monthly and holding information conversations with board members and county political candidates on the issue.

“We’re in a holding pattern until we see which schools we’re dealing with,” Paugh said. “Once we know that, we’ll develop specific strategies with those communities to fight back.”

The final decision on which, if any, schools will close won’t occur until March 8. By law, a decision must be made no later than April 30 if a school is to be closed for the 2011-12 academic year.

School officials have attributed the proposed consolidation partly to a budget crunch caused by major state funding reductions. Funds have been lost due to decreasing Garrett County enrollment and because of changes in the way the state calculates aid per pupil.

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

GC Board Of Education Approves Calendar For Possible Closures

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Aug. 12, 2010

The Garrett County Board of Education discussed and finalized a calendar that will be followed for the possibility of closing one or more elementary schools. The plan presented by superintendent Dr. Wendell Teets at this week’s meeting was approved with several amendments.
It is already projected that the student populations will be down by 100 students in the next year, eliminating nearly $1 million in federal funding. The county budget will be set by the end of December, and the state funding will be known no later than January. Federal funding will not be finalized until approximately June of 2011.

Dr. Teets will present the board with a recommendation for potential schools to be considered by the Sept. 4 board meeting. It will be then that advisory groups will be organized to study and evaluate the recommended schools. The advisory committee will consist of administrative personnel and parents.

A public hearing will be set at the Oct. 12 meeting in order to inform the public of the pros and cons of each school under consideration. A report will be given on each school by the advisory group, and a report and recommendation will be presented by Teets. By Oct. 14, letters will be mailed to the schools in consideration, and a notice will be submitted to the local media.

Reports will be given at the Dec. 14 board meeting, with the following factors having impact on proposed closings: student enrollment trends, age and condition of school buildings, transportation, educational programs, racial composition of the student body, financial considerations, student relocations, impact on the community in the geographic attendance area of the schools proposed to be closed and school(s) to which students will be relocated, and other factors enumerated by Teets or the advisory group found to be relevent.

“It is one of the toughest aspects of this job,” said Teets, “but as much as it hurts me to close a school, it hurts when we can’t support our current staff and students as a whole.”

The proposed calendar slated the board making a final decision by the December meeting; however, after much deliberation, it was decided that March would be a more beneficial time to decide, as state and county budgets will be set by then.

“By November, we will have a lot of information to ponder, but we won’t know what money we’re getting,” commented board member Rodney Durst. “I would be uncomfortable making a final decision without first knowing the budget.”

“Postponing a decision may make it difficult to meet certain personnel requirements and deadlines,” said Teets before agreeing that the March deadline would be more appropriate.

Several parents and concerned citizens were present at the meeting to voice their opinions on the matter. Many felt that not all avenues are being explored to keep the smaller community schools open. Some only requested that the board explore every option before making the decision to close any of the schools.

“Garrett County ranked 18th in overall wealth when I first became an administrator,” said Teets, in an attempt to explain the financial dilemma the board faces. “We are now ranked 8th, which means we receive much less federal funding.”

Read the rest 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: board of education

>Garrett commissioners add $700,000 to schools budget

>BOE Will Hold April 5 Meeting At Southern Middle

>Educators, County Employees Offered Cash Incentives To Retire By June 30

Commissioners Name Nominees For Board Of Ed

BOE Revises Proposed School Closing Calendar

School board seat in flux after Raley victory

Winners of Garrett race for board will decide schools’ fates

Garrett board unsure of when to replace Raley

Garrett board to discuss which elementary schools to close

GC Board Of Education Approves Calendar For Possible Closures

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