Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Superintendent Dallas Dance officially recommended the closure at a late-January board meeting.
(Update 11:10 p.m.)— Following long, contentious debate, the Baltimore County Board of Education voted Tuesday night to approve a proposal by Superintendent Dallas Dance to close the Eastwood Elementary School facility. "I think ultimately in our roles as board members to look at education opportunities for students we just felt [the Eastwood STEM magnet program] is an exceptional program that should be expanded," Board President Lawrence Schmidt said after the vote. Dance's recommendation calls for Eastwood's program to be merged with Holabird Middle School and Norwood Elementary School as a new pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school housed on the Holabird Middle and Norwood campuses effective in the 2013-2014 school year called the…
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Parents of students at Eastwood Elementary School, which faces the closure of its building, allege that the school system is acting unlawfully.
The Baltimore County Public Schools administration is refuting allegations from Eastwood Elementary School parents that it acted improperly in an effort to consolidate three Dundalk schools. The proposed merger between Eastwood, Holabird Middle School and Norwood Elementary School would result in the closure of Eastwood. "I feel like I was left out of the process," said Dan Ricci, an Eastwood parent, at a December Board of Education meeting. "I don't know if there were laws broken...certainly something unethical and unprofessional must have happened." Superintendent Dallas Dance recommended to the board at a Jan. 22 meeting that the three schools should operate as one kindergarten through eighth STEM magnet program at the Norwood and …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Parents from the Dundalk elementary school, which is slated for a merger with two other area schools, complained about communications from the school system.
Parents of students at Eastwood Elementary Magnet School in Dundalk packed a Tuesday night Board of Education meeting to say they felt duped by the school system. During a Dec. 10 meeting at Holabird Middle School, school officials broke the news to Dundalk families that they intend to merge Eastwood, Holabird and Norwood Elementary Schools. The process includes shutting down the Eastwood facility, although the school system denies this means the end of the school. The closure of the Eastwood facility is part of a larger plan by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz to sell property to construct new county buildings. The Eastwood property may be used for a new police precinct. "We feel betrayed," Eric Williams, an Eastwood parent, said to the …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Three Dundalk schools will be housed in two facilities as the school system makes plans to turn property over to the county.
School officials announced plans to consolidate three Dundalk schools into two facilites Monday night, but denied a larger county trend. At a meeting with Dundalk families at Holabird Middle School, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Hobbs said the Eastwood Center Elementary Magnet School property will be turned over to the county for redevelopment at the end of the current school year. School officials are considering options to house the Eastwood, Holabird and Norwood Elementary School programs between the Holabird and Norwood facilities. The current Eastwood site could possibly be used for a new area police station. "You're always looking to respect the best use of space," he said following the meeting. "The conversation about Eastwood has …
Monday, December 10, 2012
The plan involving Eastwood and Norwood Elementary Schools and Holabird Middle School appears tied to possible sale of government land for redevelopment.
UPDATED (1:29 a.m.)—Parents at two Dundalk Elementary Schools learned Monday night of a plan that will close one school and possibly lead to the building of a new police station. The plan involving Eastwood and Norwood Elementary and Holabird Middle schools appears tied to an expected proposal from County Executive Kevin Kamenetz to sell county property for redevelopment. Kevin Hobbs, Baltimore County Public Schools deputy superintendent, told about 150 people gathered Monday night in the cafeteria of Holabird Middle that Eastwood Elementary would be closed at the end of the current school year. Hobbs said the Eastwood building will become "the property of the county." He declined to elaborate on what the potential uses might be. Multiple …
Buzz Beeler
6:44 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
Jean, good post. A lot of people probably did not know about this, especially from the east side. more ›