Two Principals Demoted, Transferred to Bel Air Schools

UPDATE (11:18 p.m.)—Superintendent Robert Tomback demoted two Harford County principals from Aberdeen and Joppatowne High School, respectively, at Monday's meeting.

He read the administrative transfers during the "Superintendent's Report" at the conclusion of the nearly three-hour meeting.

Thomas Szerensits, formerly the principal at Aberdeen High School, will serve as an assistant principal at . Former Joppatowne Principal Macon Tucker has been transferred to serve as an assistant principal at .

"These transfers are presented as information only," Tomback before the announcement, meaning the board had no say.

Aberdeen students had  Szerensits pending demotion.

Former C. Milton Wright Assistant Principal Robert Delava has been transferred to Aberdeen High School. Former Patterson Mill Assistant Principal Joseph Collins and former Bel Air High School Assistant Principal Brad Spence have been transferred to Edgewood High School. Former Patterson Mill Assistant Principal Lori Mitchell has been transferred to C. Milton Wright High School. Tomback did not specify the capacity in which these transfers would serve.

Former Havre de Grace High School Assistant Principal Mark Buzminsky has been transferred to the same position at Patterson Mill High School. Former Edgewood High School Assistant Principal Michael Quigg has been transferred to the same position at Joppatowne High School. Former Aberdeen High School Assistant Principal Carlton Ford has been transferred to the same position at . Former Harford Tech High School Assistant Principal Lari Dunlap, Sr. has been transferred to the same position at .

Former instructional facilitator at Patterson Mill and Fallston high schools, Marianne Chambers, has been transferred to the same position at Edgewood High School.

"Is this issue motionable?" board member Robert Frisch asked after the readings. Board President Mark Wolkow said no and reiterated they were only informational.

9:35 p.m. Meeting is adjourned.

9:31 p.m. Wheeler suggests that there be a change in policy in the way that the board reviews the way employees are promoted and appointed.

9:27 p.m. The motion to table the vote passes with four votes in the affirmative, three in the negative.

9:21 p.m. The board is now hearing decisions on promotions and appointments from Dr. Robert Tomback. Wolkow notes that lots of people are moving up. Board member Leonard Wheeler moves that the recommendations are tabled until all the applicants can be thoroughly evaluated.

Wolkow said they should move on the recommendations tonight. He said board members have had days to evaluate and it’s a very effective list of candidates.

Board member Robert Frisch said they got an email on Friday, and that does not leave sufficient time for board evaluation. He said the board should thoroughly consider the impact that recommendations have on school system so that they can make an informed an educated decision. Roll call vote on motion to table.

9:09 p.m. Brown is talking about his community engagement efforts, which include a Diversity Literacy Fair planned at Barnes and Noble, as well as a cyberbullying awareness campaign.

9:02 p.m. The board is now seeing an update on cultural proficiency by Dr. Jonathan D. Brown. Brown says they began with four goals to help make sure that all students received a high quality education. 

New teachers—those with two years’ experience or less—were all required to attend in-services on multicultural education. They also provided information to other school workers like bus drivers, custodians and food service workers.

They had teachers and other professionals evaluate Harford County’s current ETM (Education That’s Multicultural) courses and come up with ways to make it better.

8:46 p.m. Board members are reacting to the presentation. Board Member Donald Osman asks where Harford County stands in relation to other jurisdictions in the state. Renzulli said all parts of the state approach this differently—but Harford County is much more focused. 

Havre de Grace and South Hampton middle schools will launch pilot STEM programs soon. A small committee looked at where the BRAC individuals were moving and that’s how they were chosen. They hope to expand the program to other schools, depending on how much funding is available. 

Wheeler wants to make sure that all children can benefit from STEM, and that all children are being reached.

Wolkow says the need for workers in the science and technological fields is both a local and national need. He said the county needs to have a large number of students in these fields to be competitive. He also points out that they are bringing teachers on bases and into labs so that they can see the end results of the math and science they are teaching. He said they are then better able to keep kids energized.

8:24 p.m. A presentation on STEM Education in Harford County Public Schools is being given. (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics.) A spokesperson says he wants to first make sure everyone understands that the emphasis on STEM won’t take away from the importance of arts in education.

Joan Michel says that, due to BRAC, this area will be one of the major research and technological areas in the country. She said it’s been estimated that 30,000 additional jobs are coming to the Harford county area, with more coming within commuting distance.

Gary Martin is speaking about Aberdeen Proving Ground and how it is expected to grow and change—bringing new job opportunities. He said the total contract awards at APG are expected to increase to $20 billion a year. Some of the jobs that are coming: chemical engineer, mathematician, computer security, information technology, biomedical. He said they are looking to develop a workforce—a “pipeline” of employees.

Martin said they have met with teachers in grades Kindergarten through 12 to think of ways to stimulate students’s interest in STEM. He said they working now to let everyone know that they are there and ready to help educate Harford County’s students.

8:21 p.m. Board unanimously approves the decision on award of contract for North Bend Elementary School’s roof replacement project.

8:20 p.m. The contract is approved unanimously.

8:12 p.m. The board is considering the decision to award a contract for Homestead/Wakefield Elementary School and Bel Air Middle School entrance canopies.

Grambo says that one company’s bid was much lower than the rest—he wants to make sure the company can definitely complete the job in the right way. A spokesperson says that they do a thorough evaluation before awarding contract—conversations are had, references are checked, etc. He said they remind contractor that by submitting their bids, they are fully knowledgeable about the scope and that their number is good. He said that they are confident that they have a responsible bidder.

The board has lots of questions because the company that is being awarded the contract is new. Osman recommends that “extra scrutiny” be used. He said the board needs to be made aware at the first indication that there could be a problem with the building project. 

8:11 p.m. Board approves the transfers unanimously.

8:09 p.m. The board considers a request for inter-category operating budget transfer for fiscal year 2011. Spokesperson says rising gas prices are part of the reason additional funds are needed.

8:08 p.m. The capital improvement budget is unanimously approved.

8:00 p.m. Wolkow calls members of County Council who are in attendance forward to speak. “We’re here mainly to be in support of your capital program,” Council President Billy Boniface said. He said the council was able to come through the budget process, work out whatever differences that came up and came out with a good budget. He said they came out with a better sense of how to handle capital projects.

Krchnavy again raves about Red Pump elementary, saying “I can’t thank all of you enough for really putting it together.” She thanked the whole council for their time and efforts in making the school happen. “It’s in large part to people acting like adults and working it out,” she said.

7:53 p.m. Cornell Brown is speaking about the adoption of the modified fiscal year 2012 capital improvements budget. The budget was approved by the Harford County Council on May 17. The board must now adopt the final version of next year’s budget in the amount of $16.2m.

Brown says some funding will come from state reimbursement. They’ve worked closely with the county executive’s staff to get funds through transfers.

7:52 p.m. Consent agenda is approved unanimously.

7:48 p.m. One general comment from Michelle Gardner. Gardner is discussing the Harford County Public Schools’ cell phone policy. She said current cell phone policy is to disallow cell phone or turn them off. If a student is found with one, it’s taken overnight or throughout the rest of the school year. Parents aren’t notified. She said that this hinders the cell phone owner’s ability to dial 911 in the case of an emergency. First responders would not be able to locate a missing child through GPS, which is usually found on cell phones. She said the benefits of mobile tech have outpaced this policy and respectfully asks the board to reconsider this policy.

7:43 p.m. Wolkow recognizes members of the Harford County Council in attendance, as well as other government officials. Speaks about student representative to the board of education Caitlin Dooling. He said Dooling never missed a meeting, and had an incredibly professional demeanor during her time as representative.

7:25 p.m. Highlights from the board committee’s reports and comments. Alysson Krchnavy toured Red Pump Elementary school. Her report: “Wow.” She says she got a chance to see all the classrooms and the school will be a great asset to the community when it’s complete. She also points out that Caitlin Dooling is being honored later in the meeting.

”I would say that this young lady that sits to my left is an amazing young lady.” She said that Dooling has showed incredible grace and is a real asset to the board.

Osman also invited Dooling to talk about a contest held between C. Milton Wright and Bel Air to see who could collect the most aluminum cans. Bel Air won by about 400 pounds. His term ends June 30, his last meeting will be June 27.

Wheeler said he’s been evaluating the results of the committee’s work over nine calendar school months. He said tried to get a sense of what they are doing for Harford County students. “I kept asking myself over again, what is similar between all the events I attended,” he said. He said he’s very pleased with what he’s seen, that students seem to be learning and excelling.

7:20 p.m. Winners of eCYBERMISSION contest are honored. The contest is a free, web-based science, math and technology competition for students in grades six through nine. Wolkow said this was, for him, the most exciting award. He’s the director of outreach for the National Security Agency. “You have many opportunities—in fact the premiere opportunity in the nation, in the world, right here in Maryland.” He also told the kids to look for internship opportunities.

7:15 p.m. Five Harford County schools students are honored for their performance in the National Financial Capability Challenge. The students being honored tonight all earned perfect scores on the test, which evaluates students’s financial knowledge. One hundred other Harford County students scored in the top 20 percent of all students who took the test.

7:11 p.m. Members of Patterson Mill High School’s DECA group—formerly known as the Distributive Education Clubs of America—are honored. The students recently competed in the Maryland State DECA Career Development Conference held in Annapolis and two were national qualifiers.

7:07 p.m. The Harford County Public Schools Future Business Leaders of America were honored. Four members of the group were honored at a conference held in Hunt Valley in April. “I am looking forward to having you all join the workforce,” Wolkow said. 

7:02 p.m. Members of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council are honored. The group meets four times during the school year with Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert M. Tomback. “You would have sworn that you were listening to a group of extremely highly educated educational experts,” Tomback said. He says their insights were “exceptionally important.”

6:59 p.m. Six sets of recognitions are planned. First up are winners of the Young Authors Writing Contest. Five Harford County Public Schools students won the statewide contest: fourth-grader Margaret Murphy, seventh-grader Tara Brown, ninth-grader Chailin Despres, 10th-grader Becca Baur and 11th-grader Sierra Offutt.

6:58 p.m. Harford County Public Schools Board of Education President Mark Wolkow calls the meeting to order. All members are present.

6:55 p.m. Meeting is starting about 25 minutes later than scheduled. Members all just rushed in and headed to their seats. It’s standing room only in here. Board of education president Mark Wolkow apologizes for the delay, saying the board had some business to take care of in a closed session. 

6:30 p.m. The meeting is about to begin. A crowd of about 20 students wait just outside. They will be recognized later on in the meeting. Among those being honored tonight are winners of a writing contest, members of the superintendent’s 2011 student advisory council and members of the Maryland State Future Business Leaders of America.