Carroll County Schools

As much of the region continues to recover from closed roads, downed power lines and other remnants of Hurricane Irene, Carroll County Public Schools officials said Monday that the school system will open tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30, on time and as scheduled - with two exceptions. Hampstead Elementary School and Century High School will not open on Tuesday due to power outages at those two schools, according to school system officials. There was no immediate word on when they would open.

Carroll County schools are delayed 2 hours Thursday. *** Charles County schools are closed. *** Howard County's Worthington Elementary School is closed due to lack of power.

"Exploding Boat," a photograph by Shawn Colleran, has won first place in the experimental category of the Carroll County School Media Festival.Shawn, 14, a freshman at Westminster High School, captured "Exploding Boat" on color film during a boat show demonstration at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., last year. He is the son of Joanne and John Sayre of Pheasant Run Drive in Finksburg.Two of his photographs, and 22 other photos by 19 Carroll students in kindergarten through 12th grade, now are in the running for the Maryland School Media Festival, which will be held May 26 and 27 at Towson State University.

As much of the region continues to recover from closed roads, downed power lines and other remnants of Hurricane Irene, Carroll County Public Schools officials said Monday that the school system will open tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30, on time and as scheduled - with two exceptions. Hampstead Elementary School and Century High School will not open on Tuesday due to power outages at those two schools, according to school system officials. There was no immediate word on when they would open.

Charles I. Ecker didn't much like to read as a kid. He still doesn't. But the two-term Howard County executive now serving as interim superintendent of Carroll County schools has grown to appreciate the ability to read as the steppingstone for future success. "Reading is the foundation," he said during a recent interview. "If you can't read, you really can't do." Contrary to the stereotype associated with someone who has devoted four decades of his career to education, Ecker was not a boyhood bookworm.

MORE GOOD NEWS for Carroll County schools: 10 elementary and middle schools were cited for improved scores on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program tests.Six of those schools received cash awards from the state Department of Education for "substantial and meaningful" improvement in performance during the past two school years.This is the first year for the statewide recognition program, which aims to reinforce achievement in the MSPAP testing initiated a half-dozen years ago to develop students' skills in solving real-life problems.

Carroll County schools are delayed 2 hours Thursday. *** Charles County schools are closed. *** Howard County's Worthington Elementary School is closed due to lack of power.

A new policy in Carroll County schools will take full advantage of a state law that will let principals give longer suspensions for severe offenses.The law, which takes effect Oct. 1 statewide, will allow a principal to suspend a student for up to 10 days. Until then, principals have the right to suspend for up to five days. For longer periods, they must make a recommendation to the superintendent, who has the final decision.After Oct. 1, counties could still give principals discretion to suspend only for up to five days.

School lunch and breakfast prices will go up this fall after the Carroll County Board of Education approved a 10-cent increase at its monthly meeting yesterday.The cost of a lunch will be $1.35 for elementary students, $1.50 for middle and high school students and $2.45 for adults.Breakfast will cost 85 cents.In other business yesterday, the school board approved promotion of Michael L. Bell to principal of Westminster West Middle School. Bell replaces Harry M. Lambert, who retired this summer after 39 years in Carroll County schools.

The state is developing a new series of tests for high school students -- tests they would have to pass to get diplomas. So are the local schools. And yes, they are related to each other and to the Carroll County schools outchool tests, which could be required of graduates as early as 2002.The tests would involve a core of information and skills students should have by the time they complete high school and would be more difficult than the current high school exams, which many pass in middle school.

Carroll County public schools were opening two hours late Friday, according to the system's website, due to snowfall around the area. The National Weather Service's office in Sterling, Va., said Finksburg received four-tenths of an inch of snow and an estimated 3 inches fell on Manchester. "It's not unheard of to get snow this time of year in Maryland, especially northern Maryland," meteorologist Calvin Meadows said. Manchester is at a higher elevation than the surrounding areas, which led to more snow, he added.

Anne Arundel Though Anne Arundel County exceeded statewide scores in reading and math in the Maryland School Assessments, only five of the county's 19 middle schools, or 26 percent, met the state's requirements for adequate yearly progress. Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell said that the high percentage of schools whose scores dropped from the previous year left him "incredibly disappointed." "I have faith in the talented and dedicated people in our schools who work tirelessly for the benefit of our children, but clearly what we are doing is not good enough," Maxwell added.

When Jeffrey Morse resigned from the Carroll County school board in May amid the outcry that followed his use of a racial slur, he had no intention of ever running for another term. But now the Silver Run resident is trying to make his way back, one of four candidates vying for two spots in Tuesday's election. Among the other candidates is Virginia Harrison of Sykesville, who was appointed by the governor to finish Morse's term. Harrison is running as a write-in candidate. "I had time in the summer to spend with my family and we gave it a lot more though and discussion," Morse said.

The Carroll County school superintendent unveiled a proposed $298 million operating budget last night, with nearly $3.5 million for new teaching positions and funding for the final phase of full-day kindergarten. But the spending plan for the 2008 fiscal year does not take into account negotiations under way between the school system and its teachers, administrators and other employees, said Stephen Guthrie, assistant superintendent of administration. Cost-of-living raises for employees are estimated to cost the system $1.8 million per percent of increase, with step increases adding $3.2 million, said Andrew Sexton, the district's new budget supervisor.

Randy Pentz has spent the past five years as an unofficial part of the Century athletic program. His wife, Rose, has been the school's girls lacrosse coach since its inception, and his son, Ryan, is a junior who plays three sports. This summer, Randy Pentz will make his association with the program official when he takes over as the school's new athletic director. On July 1, he will replace Craig Walker, who will become the athletic director at Francis Scott Key, where his son Alex is a junior.

Amid the rolling hills of western Carroll County, an asphalt lane off Crouse Mill Road winds its way between cornfields to a tidy compound of buildings in beige and brown. They nurture a different kind of crop here at Bowling Brook Preparatory School, a privately run residential program for 161 juvenile offenders. The hoped-for harvest is rescued lives. Maryland, among other states, has long paid Bowling Brook to rehabilitate teenage boys who have committed assaults, armed robberies or other serious crimes.

25 Years Ago Officials Discuss Water Supply Proposal - Improvements to the town's water system are receiving considerable attention from Mount Airy's Board of Commissioners, and at Monday night's meeting several of the councilmen expressed different views on just what action the town should take in augmenting the municipality's supply. Most of the discussion revolved around developer Harold Skidmore's offer to deed over to the town a well on property he now holds an option on. The well, it is said, is capable of pumping up to 300 gallons of water per minute into the town's water supply.

A timetable for auditing the Carroll County schools is emerging, as school and county staff draft a specific list of what an auditor will measure.The document is a "request for proposals," to be advertised once it is approved by the Board of Education and the county commissioners next month.A pre-bid conference is set for Jan. 17, and it is possible a consultant could be hired in March, start work in April and finish in May, said William Hyde, assistant superintendent of Carroll County schools.

On a chilly March morning 25 years ago, more than 500 Westminster residents trekked down Main Street, pushing library carts filled with books, carrying bundles of volumes tied with string and toting tomes in shopping bags. A 1980 entry in the Library Journal re-created the great book move that began at 7 a.m. and, within hours, transferred about 60,000 items to the new Westminster Library just a few blocks away from the old site. "People were so excited that they turned out early on the coldest day to move everything from the old building," according to the Library Journal.

School board asks Ehrlich to name Gadberry to post Carroll County school board members have decided to name Patricia Gadberry as their preferred candidate for a vacancy on the five-member panel. Gadberry, of Sykesville, was selected in part because of her long service as a school system volunteer and because she has three children who attend county schools, board members said. Two weeks ago, the board forwarded a list of three names to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s office. By law, the governor fills board vacancies and is not required to choose from the list.