Community speakers praise superintendent and press board on class size, credit recovery and safety assistants
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Summary
At the Feb. 24 Baltimore County Board of Education meeting, community groups congratulated Superintendent Miriam Rogers for a national leadership award while union representatives and parents urged the board to protect class sizes, clarify credit-recovery practices and address Student Safety Assistant conditions.
Community groups used the public-comment portion of the Baltimore County Board of Education meeting on Feb. 24 to both congratulate Superintendent Miriam Rogers on a national leadership award and press the board on student-facing concerns.
Representatives of federal and state elected officials presented citations honoring Rogers’s AASA Women in School Leadership Award. Leslie Weber, president of the PTA Council of Baltimore County, welcomed the superintendent’s recognition and urged implementation of later middle- and high-school start times in line with bills (House Bill 189 and Senate Bill 103) that would set minimum start times.
Union and staff speakers focused on the FY2027 budget and staffing. Kelly Olds of TAMCO warned that the proposed cuts would increase class sizes and urged the board to find ways to protect classroom staffing. Several parents and community members raised concerns about credit-recovery models (SPARK and doubling up) and asked whether those approaches adequately serve students with special education needs.
Scott Rossi, speaking on the Student Safety Assistant program, asked whether assistants would receive benefits, cost-of-living adjustments, or continued positions after federal grants ended; staff responded that FY2027 included the program with no recommended changes but that any changes would go through negotiated processes.
Other public comments focused on academic outcomes and budget transparency: Louise Baker highlighted proficiency shortfalls in Grade 3 math (reported at about 39%) and Grade 7 English language arts (about 44%) and called for budget choices to be tied to measurable academic outcomes. Several nonprofit and civic groups (NAACP, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta) reiterated support for students and partnerships, including scholarship programs and service-learning initiatives.
What to watch: Board members echoed concerns from the public and pressed staff for deeper data on credit recovery, staffing impacts and the use of fund balance. Several speakers asked the board to prioritize classroom positions and transparency in budget line items.
Ending: Public comment informed board debate on budget amendments and staffing restorations; several items raised by speakers — including Student Safety Assistant conditions and credit-recovery implementation for students with IEPs — were noted for follow-up by staff.