[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_25":26},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_27":28,"_29":30},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[31,75,87,99],{"_32":33,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":39,"_40":41,"_42":43,"_44":45,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6449745,"mediaKeyId","5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc","parentId",5864677,"title","Board approves energy management software contract and personnel actions; moves to closed session","audioSeconds",27,"startMs",3359000,"endMs",3386000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc&start=3359&end=3386","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc/thumbnail_3359000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6449745/Maryland/Board-approves-energy-management-software-contract-and-personnel-actions-moves-to-closed-session","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6449745-05497d130e866350d136836c56bc4ccf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770005213&Signature=PCUlZegdSxDMQPk7jgd0J~s2FcjzVc0Z36Ks7WE-w-fCmE-8J0S4OCEhfP8OkZWQwrHiEQmcx9axcuvrgNI1k7xUW5B5vko8QL~7xFm~rUOVhF3Q8W1xTL0yH2j7~U7eOwnEQw0tKCxZY~5VLKj2Zq3bRsbcWKLL3~AlI6IOiYXiqh4lPSjqEaUeqEZmDD-vT7f1UCjT-7ajaNQMnMEC3BPcPR3lmw2WaCZgcIxu~ZUMOVYS0RRjs~ie9DsVfe7mzcNBvqAu~5N6QaMQ~~Z-HJJVJ61LAXK9k3A12~Gv4BJGOXOyuDYTk-Sse0agxhh3s2Sif63fvzLARt0u805L6Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Anne Arundel County Public Schools","date","2025-10-01T14:09:46Z","article","The Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted to approve an award of contract for energy management software and approved personnel actions at its Oct. 1, 2025, meeting, and then entered a closed session to discuss personnel and legal matters.

The board approved the energy management software contract under the consent agenda by voice vote, with board members recorded as voting \"aye\". The motion passed 7-0. The superintendent had recommended the award under consent item 5.01.

The board also approved the personnel actions listed on the meeting materials under agenda item 6.02. That motion passed 8-0. After public comment and consent items, the board moved into closed session, by motion and second, to \"discuss appointments, employments, assignments, promotions, discipline, demotions, compensation, and removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of appointees, employees, or officials of whom this public body has jurisdiction and to consult with counsel and obtain legal advice on a legal matter.\" The board indicated consensus to enter closed session.

Why it matters: The energy management software contract is part of the district’s facilities and operations work under the consent agenda; personnel approvals reflect routine staffing and HR actions that were submitted to the board for formal acceptance. Moving into closed session is a formal step the board uses to address confidential personnel and legal issues.

Vote details

- Energy management software contract (Consent item 5.01): Motion to approve by voice; recorded as passing 7-0. Board members recorded voting yes included Miss Schallheim, Ms. McFarland, Mr. Morgan, Ms. Dent, Dr. Tobin, Ms. McDermott and President Silkworth. The superintendent presented the item prior to the vote.

- Personnel actions (Agenda item 6.02): Motion to approve the personnel actions contained in the meeting materials; recorded as passing 8-0. Board members recorded voting yes included Miss Monning, Miss Schallheim, Ms. McFarland, Mr. Morgan, Ms. Dent, Dr. Tobin, Miss McDermott and Miss Pulliam.

- Motion to enter closed session: Moved and seconded; board indicated consensus and proceeded to closed session to discuss personnel and to consult with counsel on legal matters.

What the board did not decide publicly: The closed-session motion indicates the board planned to consider confidential personnel and legal matters; no substantive outcomes from that closed session were announced in the public portion of the meeting.

Meeting context: These items were handled during the consent and action portions of the Oct. 1 meeting; they followed presentations, recognitions and public comment and preceded the board’s adjournment into closed session.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","BOE Public Session 10-1-2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Anne Arundel County Board of Education approved a consent contract for energy management software and accepted personnel actions; the board later voted to go into a closed session to discuss personnel and legal matters.","taxTitle","Anne Arundel County Public Schools, School Boards, Maryland","taxId",14430,"location","Maryland","headline","","shortSummary",{"_32":76,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":77,"_40":78,"_42":79,"_44":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6449737,"Superintendent announces districtwide PSAT administration Oct. 8 and proposes calendar change",118,2974000,3092000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc&start=2974&end=3092","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc/thumbnail_2974000.jpg","/articles/6449737/Maryland/Superintendent-announces-districtwide-PSAT-administration-Oct-8-and-proposes-calendar-change","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6449737-dc5b300aa8102af79e6b3f9951140015/orig.mp4?Expires=1770005213&Signature=GEAFGhRxFLNoQrPU9yvTEwpcc2jysT9It1pa0NoG6kYkKT7VWyig9FvO8v1ERdTtk7qtHne4JsdrkBnKO3Ox2T9gsagLA2ietFMLJV7Nt0mJNyiNk9X~NCh6FUuvPOYnJ9JlZX8oKAfUW-ky-rRhhIMVQGwaYzy~WlQ1Hg3v4Go8A430upi3rEIG0K30y3MIZaQEMarB3qlUt1vuImPxf7Qvy6RM973jeGoyGn1STSOvFr055Le09wh-64hQMWe9WSwPZhtil7i12uPF6bH3o5M3vAnmndLGcU7yejJhCy8BfxA6YjFWMJAyIyqJy0FBFsto93mfaEmICBNPMlQuzQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Superintendent Dr. Bedell told the Anne Arundel County Board of Education on Oct. 1 that the district will administer the PSAT to all 11th-grade students and the PSAT 8/9 to all ninth-grade students on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, free of charge.

\"We will be administering the PSAT to all 11th grade students and the PSAT 8/9 to all ninth grade students free of charge one week from today on Wednesday, October 8,\" Dr. Bedell said. He noted the district administered more than 10,300 of these assessments the prior year but that participation among freshmen and juniors was below 80%.

Because of the testing schedule, Dr. Bedell said high school schedules will be adjusted for that day: students not taking the assessment will begin school 3 hours and 30 minutes later than students taking the test; morning sessions at the Centers of Applied Technology will be cancelled and afternoon sessions will operate as normal. Families were directed to aacps.org/testing for details.

Dr. Bedell also outlined a proposed change to the current-year school calendar, saying the district is considering eliminating two early-dismissal student days at the end of the second, third and fourth marking periods and, instead, converting those to full student days followed by staff work days on which students would not attend. The superintendent said the change is possible because legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly allows districts to count minimum seat hours rather than the number of school days for purposes of compliance.

\"We believe these changes would minimize disruptions in learning and eliminate the early dismissals so many families have complained about,\" Dr. Bedell said. He said the district also plans to provide dedicated professional development time and allow teachers more time for end-of-marking-period grading.

A public survey on the proposed calendar change was open through the day of the meeting; Dr. Bedell said he would review survey results and, if warranted, provide a recommendation to the board at the next meeting for possible board action by Nov. 5.

Dr. Bedell also provided updated vacancy numbers: teacher assistants were reported at 18 vacancies (down from higher numbers earlier in the year), vehicle drivers down to 2, and food service worker vacancies down to 77 from 119 the prior year.

Why it matters: Universal PSAT administration affects test access, college-readiness data and scholarship eligibility. A calendar change would change parents’ and staff schedules and is subject to board approval.

Next steps: Families were directed to the district website for testing information; the superintendent will provide a calendar-change recommendation to the board after reviewing survey results, and the board could vote at the next meeting or on Nov. 5 if staff recommends moving forward.

","Superintendent Dr. Bedell told the board the district will administer PSAT/NMSQT assessments to all 11th graders and PSAT 8/9 to ninth graders on Oct. 8, and outlined a proposed calendar change that would replace several early-dismissal student days with staff work days.",{"_32":88,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":89,"_40":90,"_42":91,"_44":92,"_46":93,"_48":94,"_50":95,"_52":96,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":97,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":98,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6449742,"Policy committee advances graduation-credit change and a new bronchodilator policy to full board",117,2571000,2688000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc&start=2571&end=2688","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc/thumbnail_2571000.jpg","/articles/6449742/Maryland/Policy-committee-advances-graduation-credit-change-and-a-new-bronchodilator-policy-to-full-board","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6449742-3cca483843407d54abdd8b15d6daef72/orig.mp4?Expires=1770005213&Signature=DldnQfQdO89ZpZtTNUQJ13t~iRhlTa3TcFCfr01INxMeMEl1LN2NhtmXV~F4CDQTKbl31xo4XkGSYTCkXJ3h5O9sNYui~GChk3ocUCUm4yXugL5jCDsn61eouJnBR0IF7b9t1DRVZjx~NEUh3w6LTrQEcCgE1QsaStHaEz0LtLQwoof-OzFtuX-E~Fez~2XA6xL8tgnINecgV8IZ1tOwnBLCrhLoCealSJ20DfDvA445-aLgc8xD2t0gmOTskKlWSEEnM35zjXuo4SpN77vrcr8ZpbBzhy1jayiYVNW28n~cXKNTEWlxbM68gZAasuGeCs-1493jpyY9d6ptsbNtrg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At its Oct. 1 meeting the Anne Arundel County Board of Education heard a policy committee report that advanced two items to the full board for the formal three-reader process: revisions to Policy IIC on graduation requirements and a proposed new policy, JECC, governing the use of stock bronchodilators.

A member of the policy committee reported the committee met on Sept. 30, 2025, and reviewed Policy EAC (transportation of students with disabilities), Policy IIC (graduation requirements), and a proposed Policy JECC (use of stock bronchodilators). The committee determined the edits to Policy EAC were technical and need not come before the full board.

The report said the regulations for Policy IIC would be updated to remove some credit requirements that exceed the state mandate. The committee also discussed regulation KCRA (community use of facilities) and will return that regulation to a future committee meeting after feedback from the internal auditor.

The committee moved Policy IIC (graduation requirements) and Policy JECC (use of stock bronchodilators) to the full board for the board’s three-reader review. The committee member who reported to the full board praised staff work and said the changes respond to long-standing questions about credit requirements compared with other large Maryland local education agencies.

Why it matters: Changes to graduation requirements affect high school course planning and diploma pathways for students across Anne Arundel County. The proposed JECC policy would set standards for when and how the district maintains and uses stock bronchodilators (medication kept on site for emergency use), a health-and-safety policy that would affect school health services and staff training.

Next steps: Both items were advanced to the full board’s three-reader process and will return to the board for further debate and potential adoption on subsequent meeting dates.

","A policy committee reported technical edits and recommended moving changes to graduation requirements (Policy IIC) and a new policy on stock bronchodilators (Policy JECC) to the board for the three-reader process; transportation-of-students-with-disabilities edits were technical and will not go before the full board.",{"_32":100,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":101,"_40":102,"_42":103,"_44":104,"_46":105,"_48":106,"_50":107,"_52":108,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":109,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":110,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6449732,"Parent urges faster action on pedestrian safety, says district has not named site safety specialist",141,2199000,2340000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc&start=2199&end=2340","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5864677-4cc88cf57df69a08883f3d5fc35e55cc/thumbnail_2199000.jpg","/articles/6449732/Maryland/Parent-urges-faster-action-on-pedestrian-safety-says-district-has-not-named-site-safety-specialist","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6449732-97fce44850366a83c9f0fe0aefa7229b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770005213&Signature=FjQAOAmanqreoEuVfzLCQhdep3~n65eCb-CDus2JDfEtxpalEtp2YROQoXTOXm7WUp7uCb3ovYbjjtc4dwA5N7h6xix8cQmVPQpigahU2TDxsY-yAK1XWcp6gm0SoAqh9rji9vYsikS-uPfML5~8hw24hd-X1vlFYhogwBiZh49FFhpWiOhEkMvWeSCfUfCew-UnUKVOas26q2Futgmbv4sZiaQ9ugVmBcBS2GewO-bPhae1WS9y9VbuFpSBHL1zIMqCSjI5CEcMSIKI3A4B7qK2u3ysmNAWL7FyPK8FqgJiox5P-c2UwvHU0wPUSu6cpGVInTHLHsAwlKccgsHvjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Grayson Morgan, a parent with children at South River High School and Davidsonville Elementary, used the public-comment period of the Oct. 1 Anne Arundel County Board of Education meeting to press the district on pedestrian and traffic safety near schools.

\"I have been doing it for 10 months,\" Morgan said, describing repeated reports of inadequate crosswalks and signage in the South River feeder. He told the board he had sent photos and concerns to district staff and that he was told facilities planned to hire an expert consultant to assess and address the issues \"later this summer and into the next school year,\" but he said he could find no record that a contract had been let.

Morgan said he was unable to identify the district’s site safety specialist and asked the board to prioritize hiring a consultant and getting safety fixes completed.

\"It has been 10 months, and it should not take 10 months to paint a crosswalk in our school system,\" Morgan said.

Board President Silkworth redirected Morgan to items on the agenda when Morgan initially referenced another agenda item and reminded him that non-agenda concerns could be raised later in the meeting; Morgan then presented his remarks during the public-comment period designated for agenda items related to contracts and personnel.

What the board said or did: Board members did not take formal action on Morgan’s request during the public meeting. The superintendent’s earlier consent presentation covered an award-of-contract item (energy management software) but did not list a contract for a safety consultant. The meeting record indicates facilities staff had told Morgan at some point that a consultant would be hired, but no contract award for that work appeared in the public record during the meeting.

Why it matters: Parent and community reports about crosswalks, signage and other pedestrian protections have direct implications for student safety during arrival and dismissal. Morgan’s public comment asks the district to make clear who the site safety specialist is and to expedite any consultant work and repairs.

Next steps: Morgan asked the board to prioritize letting a contract for consultant assessment and to identify the site safety specialist. The board did not announce follow-up action in the public portion of the meeting; the board’s comment-policy materials state that concerns may be referred to the superintendent for staff follow-up.

","A parent who said he represents families in the South River feeder pattern urged the board to speed repairs and to let the district know who is the designated site safety specialist; he said promised consultant contracts had not been let despite months of reports.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Board approves energy management software contract and personnel actions; moves to closed session

Superintendent announces districtwide PSAT administration Oct. 8 and proposes calendar change

Policy committee advances graduation-credit change and a new bronchodilator policy to full board

Parent urges faster action on pedestrian safety, says district has not named site safety specialist