Issue #1 of the HoCo Watchdogs newsletter. This newsletter provides a concise list of articles, videos & social media posts for readers to stay well informed about important Howard County, Maryland issues such as public school policies, land use & development, and county governance.
Why did Howard County Executive Calvin Ball block the public release of over 1350 emails that fell within search parameters for a Maryland Public Information Act request that asked for all correspondence between him and a local developer lobbyist?
In November 2019, HCPSS special education teachers passionately & emotionally testified in front of the Board of Education to beg for more Special Education program supports after it had been woefully underfunded for years
Instead of applying all received emergency COVID-19 “ESSER II” funding to student supports & school re-opening measures, Superintendent Martirano has proposed to apply a half million dollars of this funding for an attorney to assist with fighting parents of special needs students who request or legally demand better supports for their children.
With the new “annual reauthorization” requirement added to the School Resource Officer (SRO) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that passed last night, there is the very real risk that a future HCPSS Board of Education will decide to leverage this annual renewal requirement and vote to end the SRO program.
There’s a first time for everything? Last night, the Student Member of the Board (SMOB) invoked a parliamentary procedure from Robert’s Rules of Order to object to the consideration of a motion made to pass the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the HCPSS School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
The proposed new HCPSS School Resource Officer (SRO) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) changes the SRO program term from 5 years to 1 year, requiring annual renewal of the MOU (on page 11).
Many Columbia residents who didn’t vote in past Columbia Association (CA) elections have been receiving an intrusive letter from a nebulous organization entitled the National Voting Behavior Institute. An example of the letter, sent to a District 4 Wilde Lake resident four days before this year’s CA election, is shown below.
The Rouse Project may be leveraging a public affairs firm with strong ties to The Howard Hughes Corporation for their marketing campaign.
Back in early June 2017, within a month of becoming the new HCPSS Superintendent, Michael Martirano apparently attended (hosted?) a breakfast meeting with a few prominent local business leaders, particularly developers and their local support staff.