Board of Education Discusses Best Ways to Replace Police Officers in Schools
Members of the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) spent Tuesday afternoon discussing how best to keep students safe without having a daily police presence in the schools. This after County Executive Marc Elrich removed funding for the School Resource Officers program.
“The decision has been taken out of our hands,” said BOE Member Patricia O’Neill.
The BOE intends to review the findings of Elrich’s Reimagining School Safety task force and Councilmembers Will Jawando and Craig Rice’s plan on how best include mental health professionals and other support services rather than have police officers in schools everyday. The BOE will incorporate that information with its own research gathered from a focus group, recommendations from stakeholders, data from previous years and information from the 125 emails the Board received on the subject.
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Vaccine Preregistration For 12-15 Year Olds: Parents and guardians can now preregister their 12-15 year olds for a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a county clinic. Assuming Pfizer receives final approval from a CDC committee today, those youths will start being contacted Thursday to make an appointment.
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Council Committee Meeting: The county council’s Planning, Housing & Economic Development (PHED) committee is meeting at 2 p.m. to discuss and make recommendations on legislation regarding economic development and landlord-tenant relations. See more here.
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Have You Seen the Rockville Raccoon?:Rockville Police are searching for a raccoon that police say bit a dog and child in separate incidents on Monday. There is a high concern that the raccoon is rabid. If you encounter it, police say to put distance or an object between you and the animal, leave and call 911 to report it.
Homelessness Decreased, Especially Among Families with Children, During Area One-Day Count
The number of families with children experiencing homelessness decreased by 52% between the 2020 Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Point-in-Time survey to the 2021 survey. Overall, the number of persons experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County dropped by 14%.
During the point-in-time survey, which was conducted on Jan. 27, county staff, members of several nonprofits who work with the homeless and volunteers walked the streets, counting all the homeless people they came across. That night, there were 577 persons who were homeless. During the 2020 count, there were 670, according to a news release from the county. The Jan. 27 count is considered a snapshot of the homeless situation.
After Criticism for Delay, County Announces Plan to Reopen Libraries, Senior Centers
After backlash from residents and community leaders, Montgomery County will be reopening some of its public libraries and senior centers.
On June 1, six library branches will reopen. Then, on June 14 two of the county’s seven senior centers will reopen.
The libraries that will reopen are:
Connie Morella Library, 7400 Arlington Road, Bethesda
Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave.
Marilyn J. Praisner Library, 14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville
Olney Library, 3500 Olney-Laytonsville Road
Rockville Memorial Library, 21 Maryland Ave.
Silver Spring Library, 900 Wayne Ave.
The senior centers that will reopen are:
Holiday Park Senior Center, 3950 Ferrara Dr., Silver Spring