Category:garrett county

Schools from Ocean City to Garrett County are struggling to put in place two major shifts in education policy this year, with teachers working longer hours and sometimes feeling overwhelmed, according to a survey released Wednesday by the state teachers union.

In the teacher survey, 87 percent of the respondents said there are still challenges in their schools to understand and implement the more rigorous common core standards, and just one in three said they were adequately prepared to do the work.

“I think it confirms what we have been trying to say. There is a lot of education reform coming at teachers and principals at one time,” said Cheryl Bost, vice president of the Maryland State Education Association.

The teachers union supports the new common core as well as the new evaluation system, which judges teachers on student progress, but says the state needs more time to implement them well.

OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of Education released information concerning the elementary school facility needs assessment and master plan study for its public schools as well as information on potential school consolidations done by Bushey Feight Morin Architects Inc. of Hagerstown during a meeting Tuesday.

The study was done by Facility Engineering Associates of Fairfax, Va., and the board paid $61,680 for it, according to Jim Morris, supervisor of research, evaluation and information for Garrett County public schools.

Even if the board of education chooses the most extreme option of the study, the savings wouldn’t be enough to close the $2.2 million budget gap, Paul Swanson, of Facility Engineering Associates, indicated during a presentation of the study in October.

The most extreme option proposes closing two schools in the northern end of the county as well as one school in the southern end and includes reconfiguration of all grades in northern schools and adjusting school boundary lines.

“If we were to take the most extreme option and still only realize an 83 percent gain towards the $2.2 million deficit that we anticipate, how would we come up with what’s left?” said Superintendent of Schools Janet Wilson during the presentation of the study.

If the schools were reconfigured, it would lead to reductions in teachers, according to Wilson.

“We have reduced our staff by 88 positions since 2009,” said Wilson. “We have lost 609 students; at a 1-to-20 ratio we probably should reduce the staff.”

If schools were to close, it would increase costs of transportation due to the distance traveled to get students to another facility, according to a letter to Wilson written by Michael Gehr of BFM Architects.

“The closed facilities will still require exterior maintenance and maintaining watertightness of buildings and possibly heating costs to prevent damage to the facility until repurposed, demolished, transferred or sold,” writes Gehr. “All options will have expenses for unknown durations though it could be mitigated if a closed facility is sold or transferred to another entity sooner than later.”

BFM Architects held a meeting in August to determine what could be done to absorb displaced students at remaining schools should some schools close.

“The current approach would be to realign the schools based on grade levels as all schools have the ability to handle additional students,” writes Gehr. “Consolidation of schools in Garrett County can be achieved based on the projected enrollments and the existing facilities as they currently exist. However some modifications will be necessary to achieve that goal.”

If the schools were to be consolidated, any savings wouldn’t be realized for at least a year because it would take more than a summer break to design and construct the modified layout for a fourth to seventh grade level school, according to Gehr. The timeframe for a complete renovation would take about two years.

To view Gehr’s letter as well as the study, visit the GCPS website at http://www. garrettcountyschools.org/public-information.

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

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MCHENRY — The state-of-the-art emergency operations center at the Garrett County Airport became fully operational two weeks ago after snags with fiber optics were fixed.

The 700-square-foot facility includes a GIS mapping system, a double touch SMART Board, 22 stations for staff, four primary computer stations for specific functions like tracking weather and a ham radio station, according to John Frank III, director of emergency management. “We still have a few things that we need to tweak a little bit,” he said.

A test on the fiber op-tics system still needs to be completed, according to Frank.

The EOC has a computer plug for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency representative to access the WebEOC, which can be used to request more personnel in the event of an emergency situation, according to Frank.

The EOC will have two operators who will be available to transfer calls to the appropriate location, such as the roads department.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the county begin working on the EOC to become better prepared for emergency situations.

“We admit in our after-action report that we were ill-prepared, we really didn’t have an active emergency operations center,” said County Commissioner Jim Raley. “Certainly, that doesn’t mean before Hurricane Sandy we didn’t talk about some problems.”

Prior to the EOC, a 525-square-foot makeshift command center at the courthouse was used. In the beginning, the command center didn’t have phones or laptops for the EOC staff.

One of the issues during Superstorm Sandy was that the National Weather Service was forecasting that the storm wasn’t going to affect the county, according to Raley.

“We know in the future that we should have been at a mid-level early on watching the storm, then should have had staff ready,” said Raley. “Now the nice thing is we have all that in place.”

The county adopted an EOC essential employee list that is made up of 40 people. The policy consists of three levels in which essential staff responds. The county is always operating at a level three, which is the lowest level, according to Frank. Level three is a monitoring phase in which the EOC is staffed by public safety and emergency management personnel.

“I feel really good about what we have in place. We have the facility and we are going to have the personnel,” said Raley. “Those are two of the key things that need to be in place, we have the resources of other agencies now as well.”

All the essential staff are required to attend two training sessions a year and to participate in a tabletop exercise.

“Another key piece is identifying those people that need to be here,” said county commission chairman Robert Gatto. “That was another problem getting staff in; some of the agencies couldn’t get to their staff, communication was lost or the ability to get them in was lost. That was one thing that really came out in the after-action.”

Local Emergency Planning Committee staff and essential staff will be notified of an emergency situation via email and text through the computer-aided dispatch system at the 911 center, according to Frank. The LEPC put together the after-action report following Superstorm Sandy.

“We really did have hard conversations about the things that didn’t go right,” said Raley. “Some things did go right; we tweaked those a little bit and they became part of the after-action report.”

There were also some issues with wellness checks of the vulnerable population, according to Raley.

A committee specific to the vulnerable population has been established and meets periodically at the health department to finalize standard operation procedures for wellness checks performed by various agencies/departments.

The Department of Public Safety was awarded approximately $79,000 through MEMA for a generator terminal and Frank is working on procurement of the generator. The airport has its own generator.

Frank has been working with delegates from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and MEMA to find funding sources, according to Gatto.

“We had great support during Sandy and it carried us through to this point,” said Gatto.

The airport location centralizes the EOC but still places it away from other areas that could become potential problem areas in case of an emergency, like Interstate 68 and downtown Oakland, said Raley. The airport also makes it easier for emergency reponders to fly in and is centrally located to Garrett College and the fairgrounds.

“When you look at how everything is staged, this corridor is the actual perfect corridor,” said Raley.

Frank hopes to expand the EOC or have a stand-alone facility so that the room where the EOC is located can be turned back over to the airport.

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

OAKLAND — Providing information to the uninsured who are required to be insured under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, has fared better in Garrett County than it has nationally because of the way the county has been able to quickly provide information, said Donald Battista, president and CEO of Garrett County Memorial Hospital.

Healthy Howard Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Columbia, has formed local partnerships with the hospital, the county health department, Community Action Council and Mountain Laurel Medical Center to help get the word out about implementing the Affordable Care Act, according to Heather Glass, field operations manager of the agency.

“The local partners are critical to the success of the connector program. These partners know the local community, the unique qualities of the community; what may be the best approach for outreach and education; how to find the hard to reach population and understanding the challenges and unique opportunities,” said Glass.

Maryland Health Connection, a one-stop health insurance marketplace to enroll in health insurance, is working to fix glitches with the Maryland Health Exchange program by mid-November, according to Glass.

“As everyone knows, the Maryland Health Exchange is facing technical challenges and turnout was low in October throughout Maryland,” said Glass.

Resident James “Smokey” Stanton was glad to hear that Healthy Howard had formed local partnerships and stressed the importance of the commissioners working with the partners and reinforcing the importance of implementation.

“This is not health reform, it’s health insurance reform,” said Stanton. “With the way that the mass media is portraying this, combined with the glitches of the national system, that may be undermining the confidence in this particular medical social policy.”

If a person has insurance they are more likely to obtain preventive health care and early detection and without it they are likely to evolve into an unhappy health situation that cost a lot of money, affects the work force and quality of life, according to Stanton.

Battista estimates that there are 3,000 to 4,000 residents who would qualify to potentially purchase insurance. The Garrett County Community Action Committee has sent more than 1,000 letters to residents in its database who are listed as uninsured, according to Pam Nelson, vice president for community services with GCCAC.

At the hospital, 786 people have been identified as being uninsured, but of those, only three have attempted to make application for a health plan, according to Battista.

“It seems like to me a small number that have so far gone through the process to purchase insurance but it starts with information,” said Battista.

“I’m thrilled that we have probably made contact with 50 percent. I would just hope the numbers start to reflect those who are eligible to benefit from this whole effort,” said Commissioner James Raley.

Paper applications, especially for those who qualify for Medicaid, have been taken and can be taken by GCCAC, according to Nelson. GCCAC has one navigator on staff, who can help an individual select a private plan through the Maryland Health Exchange, and nine assisters on staff, who take the preliminary applications for insurance. GCMH has five assisters on staff and so does the health department. Mountain Laurel Medical Center has three assisters.

The “no wrong door approach” has been em-braced by the partners in the county, according to Glass. Staff members are trained and certified to help the uninsured obtain quality, affordable health care through the Maryland Health Connection.

“This approach recognizes that the great organizations in Garrett County are already working with the uninsured population. They know where they are and are already engaging them in various services,” said Glass.

Healthy Howard has held health fairs in the county to get information out about the Maryland Health Exchange program  because they have been more successful than the forums, which have been held in other counties to get the word out, according to Glass.

The county’s Department of Social Services has been gearing up for a year to provide assistance and information on Affordable Care Act and the Maryland Health Connection, according to Linda Ashby, with the department.

For more information on Maryland Health Connection visit http://www.marylandhealthconnection.gov/about-us

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

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MCHENRY — Garrett County had the highest accommodations sales collections ever recorded during fiscal 2013, which ended June 30, according to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. Revenue was up 4 percent compared to the previous year.

The July and August figures for this fiscal year have increased 3 percent over last year. The 2013 Heads on Beds tallies are up 15 percent over 2012. Through September 2013, the Comptroller’s Office of Maryland reports a 10.9 percent increase in Garrett County sales tax collections.

Visits to the chamber of commerce website, visitdeepcreek.com, have increased 30 percent over 2012.

According to the Maryland Office of Tourism, Garrett County saw a 6.3 percent increase in fiscal 2013 tourism sales tax revenues, the highest increase in the state by a county not operating a casino. Overall, Maryland saw a less than 1 percent increase in tourism sales tax revenues.

“Due to our aggressive marketing strategies, we have seen record accommodations sales in fiscal years 2010 to 2013,” said Nicole Christian, president/CEO of the chamber. “We’ve taken advantage of some new advertising opportunities and really concentrated our marketing and advertising efforts in our target markets. We are pleased our new ad buys have really paid off.”

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MCHENRY — Even if the board of education chooses the most extreme option of the elementary school facility needs assessment and master plan study for Garrett County Public Schools, the savings wouldn’t be enough to close the $2.2 million budget gap, according to Paul Swanson, principal and co-founder of Facility Engineering Associates, P.C. of Fairfax, Va.

The most extreme option of the company’s study proposes closing two schools in the north end of the county as well as one school in the south end and includes reconfiguration of all grades in northern schools and adjusting school boundary lines.

“If we were to take the most extreme option and still only realize an 83 percent gain towards the $2.2 million deficit that we anticipate, how would we come up with what’s left?” said Superintendent of Schools Janet Wilson during a presentation of the study Monday.

If the schools were reconfigured it would lead to reductions in teachers, according to Wilson.

“We have reduced our staff by 88 positions since 2009,” said Wilson. “We have lost 609 students; at a 1-to-20 ratio we probably should reduce the staff.”

Some extracurricular programs would also need to be eliminated to help close the deficit, according to Wilson.

The goals of the study are to close a predicted $2.2 million budget gap and remedy overcrowding issues at Broad Ford and Yough Glades elementary schools.

The board will accept the facilities study during a meeting Nov. 12, but won’t tell the Maryland State Department of Education what option it chooses until April 1. The study as well as other data points that may be gathered will be throughly reviewed, according to Wilson.

“With the $2.2 million deficit there is the possibility that our school system will look very different, and as a result of that, the planning that will have to go into preparation for the next changes are no small task,” said Wilson.

The advisory committees will be formed this year using an application process that will begin between Nov. 14 and 28 and committee members will be named Dec. 2.

“There may be other options as the advisory process unfolds,” said Wilson. “The advisory committees will meet with me and staff to really discuss the process. Not only will schools that are slated to close have an advisory committee but all schools will have an advisory committee because there is potential impact to all schools.”

Other options of the study include transferring fifth-graders at Broad Ford to Southern Middle School, moving eighth grade and re-routing buses. The cheapest option would be to adjust school boundaries to the tune of $50,000, according to Swanson.

“The good news is you have very good schools. Because you have good schools you have some options,” said Swanson. “I’ve been in school systems where a lot of the things we are talking about just wouldn’t be possible.”

No public or questions were taken during the meeting Monday, but Swanson and Tom Larson, principal and co-founder of FEA, will return in early January to answer written questions that the advisory committees will submit in advance. In mid to late January, the advisory committees will present reports of schools that will potentially close to the board.

In February, the board will hear committee reports from schools that are remaining open and reports from the middle and high schools that may be affected by a reconfiguration, according to Wilson. Also in February, the board will hold community hearings and in early March, Wilson will make her recommendation. In late March, the board will act on Wilson’s recommendation.

Local, state and federal funding make up 51 percent, 42.2 percent and 6.6 percent of the budget, respectively, according to Wilson.

The amount of money that will be provided federally and locally is not yet known, according to Wilson.

“We cannot wait to know those limits because of the massive shift of whatever we decide to do will require,” said Wilson.

The school system’s estimated loss of $1.5 million for fiscal 2015 is due to the state’s wealth formula, which in part is based on enrollment. The wealth formula will be studied for adequacy and fairness in the fall of 2014 but isn’t slated for completion until 2016. The decline in enrollment will continue for a while, according to Swanson.

The scope of the study includes the assessment of elements required by the Code of Maryland Regulations, which governs school closings should the board be forced to move in that direction.

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

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Tourism gains boosted Garrett County and the Deep Creek Lake area during the last fiscal year, the result of record accommodations sales for the county and a sharp increase in tourism sales tax revenue, according to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce.

Garrett County, roughly three hours from Baltimore by car, attracts visitors year-round with the state’s largest freshwater lake, Deep Creek Lake, and its only ski resort.

Tourism sales tax revenues for the county climbed more than 6 percent during the fiscal year that spanned July 2012 to June 2013, while tourism sales tax revenues for the state as a whole grew by less than 1 percent.