Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and School Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin announced last week that they have established a new group that will look for ways to cut costs within the school system.
The Cooperation and Efficiency in Government Work Group will be responsible for collecting ideas from businesses and the public to help avoid duplication of services, improve the delivery of those services and save taxpayers money, county officials said.
"This work group will review proposals and recommendations together, this way the right hand knows exactly what the left is doing," Cousin said in a news release. "If there is duplication of services or opportunities to consolidate services - we'll find them."
Ulman said that because more than 60 percent of the tax revenue in the county goes to education, it is important to look closely at how government and the school system could consolidate resources.
"Now more than ever we must do all we can to maximize the use of tax dollars," he said in the release.
The group will be co-chaired by Lonnie Robbins, chief administrative officer for the county government, and Ray Brown, chief financial officer for the county school system.
Other members of the group include: James M. Irvin, county public works director; Ira Levy, county director of technology; Kevin Enright, county director of communications; Raymond S. Wacks, county budget director; Terry Alban, the school system's chief operating officer; Ken Roey, the school system's executive director of facilities; and Tom Miller, the school system's technology officer.
The group is scheduled to present a report to Cousin and Ulman by the end of the year. The report will include: a listing of the proposals reviewed by the group; an evaluation of those proposals, including potential cost savings; a recommendation of which proposals should be considered for implementation; and a suggested implementation plan for recommended proposals.
Public comment is invited. The deadline to submit suggestions is Nov. 1. To submit comment, visit www.howardcountymd.gov and click on "Requests/Feedback"or write to Budget Administrator Ray Wacks, Howard County Government Budget Office, 3430 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City 21043.
Principal on the roof
The principals at Cradlerock School and Stevens Forest Elementary are at it again.
Jason McCoy (Cradlerock) and Ron Morris (Stevens Forest) agreed that the principal at the school with the lower Maryland State Assessments scores would have to complete a dare. In past years embarrassing tasks resulting from their challenges included the option of taking a sip of soup made of smelly socks, riding around the parking lot on a scooter dressed in a tutu or hand-washing the other's car.
On Friday, McCoy was scheduled to sing Stevens Forest's school song from that school's rooftop.
Morris is excited to have his students witness the "horrible singing" of McCoy. To add insult to injury, one line in the Stevens Forest song is, "Stevens Forest is the best."
"We want to hear Mr. McCoy bellow this line so that the entire Stevens Forest community can hear," Morris said.
Using dares to motivate students to turn in good performances on the MSA is nothing new. Two years ago, a principal had his head shaved after 95 percent of the 501 students showed up for the four days of MSA testing. Two additional principals agreed to get into a dunking booth to challenge their students.
The MSA is a big deal. It is used in part to determine "adequate yearly progress," the yardstick under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
AYP is used to determine whether children can transfer to higher-performing schools. It also can affect federal funding to schools.
