Anne Arundel Schools

When Broadneck High School gymnastics coach Danielle Mayne heard a rumor that the Anne Arundel County school system was discontinuing the sport, she initially laughed, figuring the talk would turn out to be false — as it always had. The sport had often been beset by aging equipment, struggles to find coaches and waning interest from students. "Every year they said they were going to cancel us," Mayne said, "and then March rolls around, and like a phoenix we rise again and have another great season.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating sexual abuse allegations by a former student at Monsignor Slade Catholic School in Glen Burnie, officials of the Archdiocese of Baltimore said Wednesday. In a letter posted on the archdiocese website and sent to parents via email Wednesday, Barbara McGraw Edmondson, the superintendent of schools within the archdiocese, said county police searched the school Tuesday afternoon and that those being investigated have been suspended until "a determination is made concerning the veracity of the allegations.

Anne Arundel public schools will start providing free summer meals next week to county children. Beginning Monday, the system will offer meals as part of its annual "Food That's In When School Is Out" program, hoping to serve more than 100,000 meals to county children ages 2 to 18, regardless of income and with no registration requirements, school officials said. Seven schools will offer meals for at least one month, some serving breakfast and lunch and others serving just one meal.

A former leader of a youth group of a church in Severn is facing charges that he brought marijuana on a group trip and smoked it with two teenage boys while on an overnight camping trip, Anne Arundel County police said Monday. Benjamin James Siggers, 31, a former substitute teacher in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, was charged with two counts each of possession of marijuana and contributing to the condition of a child, according to court records. He was issued a summons. Police said they and the Department of Social Services began investigating Siggers Feb. 19 in connection with the Severn United Methodist Church group activities.

In the hopes of eventually applying its arts initiative throughout the school system, Anne Arundel County has hired what officials say is one of the first arts integration specialists in the state. The approach, which applies arts-related teaching to all subjects, is in its third year. Susan Riley, who launched the program at Thunder Hill Elementary School in Howard County, became the arts integration specialist this school year. She said that this year, Anne Arundel County's five elementary schools that offer arts integration — Arnold, Crofton Woods, Germantown, Lake Shore and Riviera Beach — will focus heavily on its math component.

This year, the winning word was stromuhr, an instrument used to measure blood flow through an artery. Fifteen years ago, the correct spelling of xanthosis, which means a discoloration of degenerating tissues, brought home the prize. In 1956, it was a word most people are now familiar with — condominium. Students at Central Middle School in Edgewater are busy familiarizing themselves with such words because it is one of 32 schools in Anne Arundel County enrolled in next year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held in the spring in Washington, D.C. Central Middle sixth-grade language arts teacher Dan Scott, who is coordinating the school's efforts, said that the school is now conducting spelling bee training and programs in classrooms.

ERIC HOWARD, 16, of Brooklyn Park.School: North County High School in Linthicum.Honored for: Maintaining a consistent balance between his part-time job, school (where he holds a 3.7 grade point average), and serving as the quarterback for his school's football team, the Knights. Eric, a member of the National Honors Society, is frequently on the school's honors lists. As quarterback, he averages more than 300 yards in passing per game. He has a record of perfect attendance at school, since the ninth grade.

The superintendent of Anne Arundel County's public schools has proposed a nearly $1 billion operating budget for the 2013 fiscal year, about $50 million more than the system was allotted this year. "We have been good fiscal stewards of the money allocated to us each year," said Superintendent Kevin Maxwell to members of the school board last week. "We have made difficult decisions, such as declining to add general fund positions to our workforce … despite the addition of more than 3,000 students over the last four years.

Today is the day that Anne Arundel County's 117 public schools let out 70,000 students for the summer. And although school officials won't have a count on how many seniors graduated for a few weeks, other figures allow them to take stock of another school year. The tally: 10 million miles traveled by the county's 480 school buses this year 6.45 million cartons of milk consumed by students 39 teachers retiring Officials have an idea of how many seniors graduated this year because the schools ordered 4,603 diplomas, although some were extras.

NO ONE GETS PLEASURE from meting out harsh punishment TTC to children, yet stiff sentences are absolutely appropriate when students threaten bomb explosions in the schools.Hundreds of hours of community service, a night or two in a lockup and a stiff fine might pound home the point: Bomb threats, even those intended as pranks, are horribly disruptive and potentially dangerous.Yesterday, Juvenile Court Master Philip T. Caroom sentenced a 15-year-old girl to 2,000 hours of community service, just as he did last week in the case of a 13-year-old boy. Unfortunately, stiff punishment has not turned out to be the immediate, effective deterrent school and law enforcement officials anticipated.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education on Wednesday adopted a $1.01 billion operating budget request that marks a 3.2-percent increase over the current year's budget, and includes $16 million for employee raises. Allocations for a middle school science and technology program, health care costs and an Annapolis-based center for special and alternative education services are also included in the budget plan, which crosses the billion-dollar threshold for the first time. The school board approved the budget 8-1, with member Amalie Brandenburg voting against it. The plan now heads to the county executive - whoever that will be after a successor is chosen to replace John Leopold, who resigned this month.

Tensions between Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold and the school system over funding have been well documented, but Leopold's recent comments at a meeting with residents appear to have further strained the already contentious relationship. Leopold met with residents of the Green Haven community in Pasadena after two teens were charged in the fatal shooting Oct. 13 of a 21-year-old man outside a house party in the area. According to Patch.com, Leopold spoke about increasing police presence in Green Haven as well as other parts of the county.

Storm-related closings • Schools Public schools Anne Arundel schools are open two hours late, except 17 schools without power that remain closed: Arlington Echo; Belvedere Elementary; Deale Elementary; Edgewater Elementary; Ferndale Early Education Center; Georgetown East Elementary; Glendale Elementary; Jones Elementary; Linthicum Elementary; Lothian Elementary; Magothy River Middle; Northeast High School; Richard Henry...

Two weeks after one councilman declared Anne Arundel County "at war" with local schools over a $5 million funding dispute, the County Council unanimously voted Monday to hand over the cash. The county and schools were at odds over how to resolve the outstanding tab, which arose when state officials determined that Anne Arundel did not give the school system the minimum funding required by state law. While the amount of money was small in relation to the schools' overall budget, the bill took on outsized political significance.

The Anne Arundel County school system has one of the most accomplished science, technology, engineering and math programs in the state, garnering national awards while ensuring that its initiatives remain available to all students, according to school officials. "Anne Arundel County is doing a fabulous job," said Donna Clem, state coordinator of STEM initiatives. "Anne Arundel County is right here in a hotbed, in the I-95 corridor … with many organizations that are looking for the development of a STEM workforce.

The Anne Arundel County school board on Wednesday took its first step in considering plans proposed by Superintendent Kevin Maxwell to address the district's capital improvement and maintenance concerns. Maxwell presented his $240 million capital budget for fiscal year 2014, a $1.6 billion capital budget six-year plan and a $1.4 billion state-funded capital improvement plan at Wednesday's regplar meeting. School officials say that the capital improvement plan must be submitted to the state's Interagency Committee for School Construction by Oct. 5. School officials said that the school board will conduct a workshop on the capital budget and capital improvement plan on Sept.

County Executive John G. Gary is considering proposing a referendum in November 1998 to ask voters whether they would be willing to pay a temporary tax of $100 million to add computer labs and repair county schools.A citizens committee on school improvements will discuss the tax when it starts meeting this fall, said county spokeswoman Lisa Ritter. The committee is also considering other options for raising revenue.School officials have long said that the county's 117 schools need about $70 million in maintenance work.

Elementary school results The following elementary schools in the Baltimore area had the highest percentage of students who passed. To see more rankings, go to baltimoresun.com. Shipley's Choice (Anne Arundel): 100% Rodgers Forge (Baltimore County): 100% Severna Park (Anne Arundel): 99.5% Chadwick (Baltimore County): 99.4% Mayo (Anne Arundel): 99.3% Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

William Norman, the retired first principal of Chesapeake High School in Pasadena, was found slain in a canal in Davie, Fla., and police said they have charged two teenagers with premeditated murder in his death. Norman, 76, of Tampa, worked for 28 years in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system, serving as Chesapeake's principal from 1976 to 1983. The school auditorium is named for him. He retired in 1989 as director of fiscal services, school officials said. Two men, one of whom rented a house in Tamarac that Norman owned, were charged, according to police.