City Schools

This time last year, Thomas Johnson Elementary/Middle School librarian Sharon Smith used the only technology she had — a laptop and a projector — to bring color and excitement to her students by shining animated books from the Internet onto a barren wall. But on Wednesday, as she looked around the new books, technology, and wraparound murals of the bright, renovated 2,000-square-foot space, complete with quaint reading nooks and comfortable public spaces, she breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she could give her creative wheels a break.

The Baltimore school system spent more than $2.8 million on overtime in fiscal 2010, even though it was doubtful that employees worked all of the hours for which they were paid. Three employees earned a combined $250,000 in salaries while working for both the school system and a state agency during the same hours. And the school system failed to collect nearly $1.5 million in debt dating to 2009, including $336,000 in bonuses paid to employees who hadn't earned them. These are among dozens of findings outlined in a preliminary draft of an independent financial audit of the school system.

Public discussion of a proposal to close one city school and reorganize four others ended Saturday with little community disagreement, a marked change from past years that commissioners attributed to a better-timed process and greater trust between officials and the local communities. Facing closure in 2012 under the plan is the Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship High School near Hanlon Park, a school officials said has faced falling graduation rates and enrollments. Two other high schools and two elementary/middle schools would see substantial changes under the plan.

No heat in the winter. No air conditioning in the summer. Windows painted shut since the 1950s trap stagnant air that triggers infections and asthma attacks. Broken water fountains sit rusted outside crammed, crumbling classrooms. The U.S. Constitution protects prisoners from ever facing such conditions. Yet a letter to the Baltimore Sun on Oct. 16 revealed that Baltimore's schoolchildren suffer these indignities every day. The writers were neither parents nor teachers but a group of middle school students themselves.

City public works officials say they are adjusting water bills for Baltimore public schools after several were overbilled this year by thousands of dollars — including one school whose bill rose nearly $200,000. The school system, meanwhile, has not paid a water bill in six months while administrators contest what they believe are exorbitant charges, said Victor de la Paz, the school system's chief financial officer. "We're not going to pay it until we understand it," de la Paz said.

A state legislator is proposing to abolish the current structure of the Baltimore school system and return its reins to the mayor under legislation due to come before the Maryland General Assembly in January. The bill, pre-filed last week by Del. Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. of the city's 44th District, would designate the mayor as the chief decision-maker of the school system, which would be operated under a mayor-appointed superintendent and the superintendent's Cabinet. The school board's responsibilities would shift from a governing body to an advisory role.

A minority of lawmakers convinced the House of Delegates Wednesday to delay voting on a landmark plan to invest about $1 billion in building and replacing Baltimore schools. About 40 delegates, mostly Republicans, asked for another day to examine the proposal that was unveiled Tuesday and relies on spending $20 million a year in state lottery cash to help the city and its schools borrow up to $1.1 billion. It's fundamentally different from the solution pushed by schools officials to create a block grant system.

The Baltimore Teachers Union announced Friday that it has reached a tentative 2010-2011 contract with city school officials that is expected to be ratified and approved in the coming weeks. Negotiations have been ongoing for months, and last year's contract had to be extended while officials reached an agreement. The statement included few details about the new contract, but the union called it "landmark" and BTU President Marietta English she was "excited" about the agreement.

Just hours after The Baltimore Sun broke the news that a longtime Towson University professor, Benjamin Neil, was under investigation for allegations that he plagiarized several of his academic articles, the city schools ethics panel webpage underwent a rapid revision. The Sun had been investigating several of Neil's papers for more than a week when it received word that Neil, who had denied any wrongdoing in a March 25 interview, had resigned his post as the chair of the school district's ethics panel.

John Hilton left his journalism career in Pennsylvania to join an innovative Baltimore program that develops teachers for the public schools, hoping for "another opportunity to effect change for the greater good. " But after successfully completing the Baltimore City Teaching Residency, he was told that there wasn't a job for him. "They were always very reassuring about us having a job every step of the way," Hilton said. "I gave up everything to join BCTR, so it's been a significant personal loss for me, and I've really had to regroup and very quickly pick up the pieces.