Support Staff

Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy broke her public silence and defended her office yesterday, saying that her prosecutors perform their work professionally despite having insufficient support staff.In the past seven weeks, Jessamy refused numerous requests by The Sun for an interview about evidence problems that have led to a wrongful conviction, trial delays and freedom for criminal suspects.But yesterday, The Sun received a letter to the editor from Jessamy, published in today's editions.

Parents and teachers urged the Howard County school board last night to provide money for salary increases for educators and for most of the classroom initiatives in Superintendent Michael E. Hickey's proposed $251.9 million operating budget."This is the year that funding for a fair pay increase must be the No. 1 priority for the Board of Education," social studies teacher Joe Staub told the board during its annual operating budget hearing.Dozens of parents, residents and educators also presented their own budget wish lists to the board, making requests that ranged from maintaining special education funding to adding technicians to repair computers more quickly.

Most job-hunters know not to ask questions about money or benefits until they're on the verge of getting an offer. But employers don't usually follow the same protocol. Early on they want to know your most recent salary and what you want to make at the next job.Companies don't want to waste time with candidates who're looking for a lot more money than the job pays. Nor are they eager to recruit someone who'll be taking a substantial pay cut and may soon jump ship for a better deal.But if you reveal what you now earn, you may limit what the next place is willing to pay. If you're too cagey, you may knock yourself out of the running.

Solving Medicare problems will take timeThe content of the Oct. 21 Rejoinder by Rep. Ben Cardin, ''Democrats have led on Medicare reform,'' -- was well-thought through and written by a knowledgeable individual who, indeed, had done his homework.Should the Republican bill pass with its perks for the ''got plenties,'' we seniors will suffer from this action for years to come; all because they are hurrying to meet a timetable regardless of the consequences.The solution to the Medicare problem (and I admit there is one)

A Baltimore County Council audit says that 82 administrative and support jobs worth $5 million a year can be cut from the school budget, setting the stage for a hostile council review of the school board's $608 million spending request next week.The audit targets 12 percent of the school system's central administrators and 7 percent of its support personnel -- mainly secretaries and clerks.School Superintendent Stuart Berger hotly disputed the findings yesterday, calling them "unbelievable."

In his sweltering Baltimore home -- an un-air-conditioned former Pratt Library branch barely cooled by ceiling fans -- photographer Neelon Crawford sweats. And obsesses about The Ice.Since 1989, Mr. Crawford has made five trips to The Ice, as Antarctica is known, to capture on film the hardy research community that plumbs its glaciers, snow caves, icebergs and plunging crevasses. He photographs, mostly in black-and-white, abstract images of breathtaking natural beauty, the massive machinery of polar exploration, and the people who work there, insulated against the cold in poofy standard-issue parkas and bunny boots.

New Superintendent's Vision for SchoolsMy appointment as superintendent of schools, effective July 1, was both a humbling and flattering experience. At the same time, it was a call -- a call to the challenges which we face as a school system. I relish the task laid before me and I will not let down the parents and community members of Anne Arundel County.Since the evening of last July 31, when I was named acting superintendent, I have tried very hard, both through my words and my actions, to send an important message to our students, our staff and to the community at large.

2nd strike for Fair Hill Music FestivalMy husband and I purchased advance two-day tickets for the weekend at the Fair Hill Country Music Festival. It was clearly stated on the tickets, "rain or shine."We also attended the same festival last year and it was a disaster. Fair Hill asked for a second chance to prove itself and promised things would be better.We came prepared for any kind of weather. It had been raining since Wednesday and all forecasts called for the same conditions to prevail throughout the entire weekend.

Joseph Riser considered basing his Emphasys public relations firm at home to save money, but he thought a more professional setting might help attract and keep his high-technology clients. Sitting in his small, 17th-floor executive suite overlooking Burbank, Calif., Mr. Riser says he made the right decision."My one-person business has access to a staff of seven, including a receptionist, telephone operator, office manager and word processing staff, to say nothing of the security guard in the lobby," Mr. Riser said.

Maryland Public Defender Stephen E. Harris says his office is being "emasculated" by budget cuts and warns that the state faces lawsuits if it attempts to cut legal services for the poor.By summer, Harris says, he will have run out of money to hire outside lawyers in multiple defendant cases.The public defender's office lost more than $1 million in state funding last November. The cut was part of a statewide belt-tightening because of a projected shortfall of more than $400 million in this year's budget.

WASHINGTON - -U.S. officials are planning to add up to 14,000 combat troops to the American force in Afghanistan by sending home support staff and underutilized soldiers and replacing them with infantry units, Pentagon officials said. The plan represents a key step in a drive to beef up U.S.-led forces as the Obama administration presses to counter Taliban gains and demonstrate progress in Afghanistan amid crumbling American public support for the war effort. Forces that could be swapped out include units assigned to noncombat roles, such as guards or lookouts or those on clerical and support duty.

Class sizes will grow because fewer teachers will be hired to fill vacancies. Schools will be warmer in summer and cooler in winter to save on utility costs. Dozens of central office administrators will be laid off. And the system will turn to generous businesses or parent groups to pay for classroom supplies the district can no longer afford. This is the dire scenario that schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell paints of a school system trying to grapple with the $1.2 billion proposed budget unveiled by County Executive John R. Leopold last week.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold unveiled a relatively lean $1.2 billion operating budget for fiscal 2009, angering school officials by only partially funding pay and benefits for system employees and riling a tourism promoter by calling for an increase in the county's hotel room tax. With tax revenues from real estate sales down more than $29 million from a year ago, Leopold proposed increasing total county spending for the coming year...

The state teachers union voted late Friday night to support voter approval of slot machine gambling in a November referendum, the union announced yesterday. Maryland State Teachers Association President Clara Floyd said in a statement that the referendum would bolster education funding at a time when the state's fiscal outlook is bleak. She pointed to a proposed Education Trust Fund, which would dedicate half of the future proceeds to public schools, and licensing fees, which would be collected starting in early 2009.

With a pen in one hand and an expressionless look on her face, Ann DeLacy sat silently in the audience at Thursday's school board meeting as she watched the representatives of the Howard County Home and Hospital Association and the Howard County School Food Service Association sign memos of understanding on negotiated agreements with the school system. Moments earlier, when the time came for DeLacy, president of the Howard County Education Association, to sign labor contracts for teachers and support staff, she did not use the pen. Because negotiations to establish a mandatory union fee have not been completed, she declined to sign the agreements.

The Howard County Education Association and the school system plan to meet tomorrow to begin negotiations to establish a mandatory union fee to be paid by system employees. The start of the negotiations, however, does not automatically mean that the union's leader, Ann DeLacy, plans to sign two contracts that would result in an increase in salaries. DeLacy is staying mum on whether she will sign the contracts Thursday during the Board of Education meeting. "We have until July 1 to sign it," she said.

MORE than three-quarters of Howard County's teachers and support personnel who responded to a survey conducted by the teachers union have expressed confidence in the leadership of Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin. Howard County Education Association's job satisfaction survey for 2004-2005 - the findings of which were released last week at a school board meeting - examined work environment and conditions, leadership and academic issues. About 2,170, or half of the union's membership, responded to the survey this year.

Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy says that the 17 percent budget increase her agency is slated to get from the city won't be enough - and that she might be forced to lay off as many as two dozen employees. Jessamy's pleas for more money have become an annual event, but she says next year's budget is bleaker than ever because numerous state and federal grants are coming to an end in the next six months and no new aid is in sight. But a spokesman for Mayor Martin O'Malley says Jessamy is perpetuating "a fog of fiction."

Thanks for support of our students On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to thank all of you for your endless support for the students of our school system. To our teachers and instructional support staff: Thank you for coming in Thursday, Friday, and Monday (April 17, 18, 21) in order to make up for the snow days taken in February. Your attendance helped to instill in your students the importance of their education. To those who already had vacations planned and gained permission from your supervisors to take a personal day, we thank you for giving prior notice of your absence and thank you for your continued dedication to our students and support for your school team.

Brown Investment Advisory & Trust Co. said yesterday that it has hired 14 brokers and nine support staffers for its full-service brokerage, putting the 3-month-old subsidiary ahead of its ambitious schedule. In the fall, Brown launched the brokerage, Brown Advisory Securities LLC, and vowed to hire 18 brokers - plus support staff - during the year. "We are exceeding our expectations for placements at this [point] in the new year," said J. Michael Connelly, the firm's chief operating officer.