Baltimore City schools – Sandy Rosenberg

The heat in our public schools

January 9, 2018 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2018 Legislative Diary | No Comments

City schools should not have to close because the boilers don’t work.

With aging buildings, what happened last week was not a surprise.

It is now our obligation to assess the blame and more importantly, to prevent this from happening again.

There will be discussion of the formula that determines how much money is allocated for building upkeep to the 24 school systems in the state. (The vast majority of state aid to local government is written into law or regulation.)

There will be discussion of whether individuals are to blame for the City schools being closed during last week’s Arctic chill.

And now there will be discussion of whether the state’s schools need an Office of the State Education Investigator General.

Unveiled by Governor Hogan at a press conference yesterday, this office “will be charged with investigating complaints of unethical, unprofessional, or illegal conduct rela, ng to procurement, education assets, graduation requirements, grading, education facilities, and school budgets.”

This should result in a healthy debate. Is adequate overview of our public schools provided by the existing system of checks and balances – annual review of agency operations during budget hearings, the General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Audits, the State Prosecutor, and reporting by the media?

It will be a vitally important discussion of government and politics.

Closed schools and open discussions about their future

February 13, 2017 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2017 Legislative Diary | No Comments

Sweat the details.

That applies to the language in a bill and, just as importantly, to government-funded construction projects back home.

At meetings with neighborhoods in the Edmondson Village corridor about the Red Line, my 41st District colleagues and I made that promise.

Today, the subject was school construction.

Seven schools in our district will be gut renovated or replaced by a new school.

Three schools will be closed.

Community input is part of the construction process. We need to make sure that’s also the case for the closed schools.

No one wants the neighborhood school to be closed.

That makes it all the more important that the community be fully involved in helping to determine the best use for the building and the grounds.

I’ve introduced House Bill 1449, Baltimore City – Modifying or Closing Public School Facility – Review by Community Task Force.

If our discussions with the City government are fruitful, we may not need to pass the bill.

January 12 – The Room Where It Happens

January 12, 2017 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2017 Legislative Diary | No Comments

I want to be in the room where it happens.

When a decision is being made in Annapolis, I want to be in that room – or have someone there who’s looking after my bill.

So does Alexander Hamilton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovje92D742s

I also want to help my constituents be in that room.

As our City schools are being rebuilt, some of them are being closed. I want the neighbors and alumni of a closed school to have a real say in what happens next to that building.

Today, I discussed how to do that with two colleagues.

Two Baltimore Sun reporters interviewed me about a data analysis they conducted of rent escrow court proceedings in Baltimore.

If the tenant is in the court room but does not have a lawyer, I told them, the chances are far less that his or her rights will be protected.