B-CC High student held without bond after Wednesday shooting in downtown Bethesda park

Nicolas Blanco, 18, faces assault and fire-arms related charges

A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student allegedly involved in a Wednesday morning shooting during a fight in a downtown Bethesda park was ordered Friday to be held without bond in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville, according to digital court records.

No injuries were reported after the incident at Chase Avenue Urban Park at 4701 Chase Ave., less than 1 mile from the high school at 4301 East West Highway, according to the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. The shooting caused Bethesda-Chevy Chase High and a nearby private school to go into lockdown that morning.

Nicolas Paolo Blanco, 18, was arrested by the Maryland-National Capital Park Police on Thursday. He faces charges of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and firearm-related offenses for the non-contact shooting during the fight involving a number of youths...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/21/b-cc-student-park-shooting-held-without-bond/

2 arrested after fight, gunshots led to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High lockdown

...On Thursday, Maryland-National Capital Park Police arrested a juvenile for gun-related charges and 18-year-old Nicholas Paolo Blanco on multiple charges related to the incident.

In a letter to school families, Principal Shelton Mooney said that around 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday, a member of the community alerted the school that gunshots were heard in a nearby park. School staff then notified emergency personnel and police.

The people involved in the fight dispersed after the sound of gunshots and the school then went into lockdown mode out of an abundance of caution.

No one was hurt in the shooting.

After reviewing footage of the fight, Mooney said, it was determined that some of the people involved were students at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Mooney said...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2025/02/principal-fighting-students-sound-of-gunshots-led-to-bethesda-chevy-chase-high-lockdown/

Open Letter to Maryland Legislators: "It is truly immoral that the governor is proposing to cut the DDA funding..."

To my District 12 representatives,

Many of the people I have helped in the past with public school issues for their kids with disabilities now have adult children with disabilities. It is truly immoral that the governor is proposing to cut the DDA (Developmental Disabilities Administration) funding the way that he has. His slogan of leaving no one behind is a slap in the face to the people who need the most help. I believe that there are places where the DDA funding is not being used appropriately. But, instead of investigating fraud, he is using a bulldozer to dismantle services for people and their families who have struggled their whole lives. It reminds me of what Trump is doing on a larger scale. Surely there are places where the budget can be reduced in other places that are not going to have the devastating effects of this proposal. In fact, I know there are after working for 3 different state agencies.

The governor seems almost proud of his cuts to people with disabilities with his press release of also cutting funding for K-12 special education nonpublic schools. This is where a small percentage of the most disabled students must go because the public schools can't meet their needs. By cutting this funding, it will force local school systems to keep more kids in the public school - when they know they can't meet their needs. That is a reality because they can't afford anything else with the unfunded mandates of the Blueprint. So, more children will regress as a result. This impacts the rest of their lives and it will end up costing more when they are adults.

It is truly shameful that the governor, and maybe the legislature, is leaving behind our most vulnerable people. What do you think is more important - giving raises to state employees or meeting the daily needs of people with disabilities?

I hope you will fight for the rights of this group of people when you make decisions on the budget.

Respectfully,

Barb Krupiarz

Maryland governor's education funding bill meets scrutiny in Senate committee

 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

Gubernatorial staffers faced tough questions Wednesday from state lawmakers over Gov. Wes Moore's education bill.

Senate Bill 429 would rewrite portions of the state's landmark education law, the Blueprint for Maryland's Future school-funding mandates that each district must follow.

Moore's staffers told members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Wednesday that the law needs adjustments in order to sustain current academic gains.

"We see the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act as a critical step in moving towards that goal," said Fagan Harris, the governor's chief of staff...

Moore's school funding bill meets scrutiny in committee

Churchill Observer: "So far, MCPS has received 16 buses for the fiscal year 2025." (They should have received 120.)

On July 25, 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated MCPS’ management of a multi-million dollar contract to acquire and operate 326 electric school buses. The investigation concluded that MCPS failed to enforce the contract terms, and did not account for hundreds of dollars in fees outlined in the agreement, despite not receiving over half of the buses it ordered within the agreed-upon timeframe. To compensate for not receiving the electric buses they requested, MCPS is now spending over $14 million to acquire diesel buses and has received a failing grade from Montgomery County’s council audit committee for their implementation of electric buses...

MCPS slams the brakes on electric bus program - The Observer

School bus crash in Montgomery County happened on icy roadway, officials say

The Brief

• A school bus and another vehicle collided on an icy Columbia Pike in Montgomery County on Friday morning.
• No students were on the bus, and it's unclear if anyone in the second vehicle was injured.
• School bus crash in Montgomery County happened on icy roadway, officials say | FOX 5 DC

History Conversations | Separate But Unequal: The History of School Segregation in Montgomery County

Education, denied to the enslaved, was one of the highest priorities of emancipated African Americans. But in Montgomery County, where slavery existed, public education was not extended to Black children until a decade after it was instituted for White children. Even then, the practice of “separate but equal” schools was anything but equal, and no Black high school was built until well into the 20th century. A surprising number of these African American schools used during segregation still exist in the county, including several erected through a partnership between Booker T. Washington and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald that helped improve Black education all over the South...

History Conversations | Separate But Unequal: The History of School Segregation in Montgomery County

Court rules 2023 Child Victims Act is constitutional

Three separate cases asked the court to void the law, saying it illegally removed a statute of limitations for filing lawsuits

A 2023 state law that lifted a 20-year statute of limitations on lawsuits against public and private entities involved in incidents of sexual abuse, essentially allowing victims to file suit at any time, is constitutional.

The Supreme Court of Maryland, in a narrow 4-3 decision Monday, ruled that the legislature was within its power when it passed the Child Victims Act of 2023. The law, signed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) in 2023 opened the door to claims against private entities — most notably the Archdiocese of Baltimore — and state government agencies.

Defendants in three cases — the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, The Key School and the Board of Education of Harford County — argued the 2023 law ran afoul of a law passed six years earlier. That 2017 law, they argued, established a time restriction for filing lawsuits that in effect created a statute of limitations.

The state’s highest court was asked to decide if the 2023 law illegally stripped a vested right when it eliminated the statute of limitations for lawsuits under the act.

“Our answer is no,” Chief Justice Matthew Fader wrote in the opinion for the majority...

Court rules 2023 Child Victims Act is constitutional - Maryland Matters

Falls Church teacher among seven arrested in Fairfax County child exploitation sting

The man is the second Fairfax County Public Schools teacher to be arrested for child sex crimes in the past month.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — A Falls Church High School teacher was one of seven men arrested in a child exploitation sting operation in Fairfax County, police said Tuesday.

Fairfax County Police announced the arrests of seven online predators on Tuesday, following a sting operation from the Child Exploitation Unit. According to Chief Kevin Davis, detectives posed as young children to engage online predators who seek to solicit sexual acts from minors...

2 Fairfax County Public Schools teachers arrested for separate child sex crimes | wusa9.com

County school board appoints eight to new MCPS leadership posts

The Montgomery County school board unanimously approved appointments of eight high-level administrators Tuesday, reassigning some staff and adding new hires under a restructuring of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) leadership.  

MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor is reorganizing the district’s central office at the leadership and general staffing levels. Taylor said Thursday the restructuring of the central office, which includes cutting about 81 positions, would provide more support to schools through the reassignment of some staff members.  

MCPS began making changes to its leadership structure in November, after it announced eight chief-level positions. The posts include the chiefs of school leadership, talent management, student support, equity and development, technology, academics, and operations. The district also listed the post of general counsel, or the head of the district’s in-house legal team, as an open position. All positions were filled by Tuesday’s appointments and report to Taylor...

  County school board appoints eight to new MCPS leadership posts   - Bethesda Magazine

MoCo delegate’s bill aims to bring back MCPS virtual academy

When the Montgomery County school board voted in June to close the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) online learning program due to fiscal constraints, Takoma Park parents Sterling High and Courtney Evans did everything they could to try to reverse the decision.  

High and Evans, whose son attended the Montgomery Virtual Academy, joined other parents to protest and testify in front of the board, hoping to raise awareness about the potential harm to students who needed to attend classes online instead of in-person. 

Their actions drew the interest of state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Dist. 17), who met with the couple...

MoCo delegate’s bill aims to bring back MCPS virtual academy - Bethesda Magazine

Legislation at this link. 

Elon Musk’s Team Decimates Education Department Arm That Tracks National School Performance

From ProPublica, reporters Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards. The full story is here.

The Trump administration canceled $900 million in contracts overseen by the Institute of Education Sciences, which partners with scientists and education companies to compile and make public data about schools each year.

The Trump administration has terminated more than $900 million in Education Department contracts, taking away a key source of data on the quality and performance of the nation’s schools.

The cuts were made at the behest of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting crew, the Department of Government Efficiency, and were disclosed on X, the social media platform Musk owns, shortly after ProPublica posed questions to U.S. Department of Education staff about the decision to decimate the agency’s research and statistics arm, the Institute of Education Sciences.

A spokesperson for the department, Madi Biedermann, said that the standardized test known as the nation’s report card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, would not be affected. Neither would the College Scorecard, which allows people to search for and compare information about colleges, she said.

IES is one of the country’s largest funders of education research, and the slashing of contracts could mean a significant loss of public knowledge about schools. The institute maintains a massive database of education statistics and contracts with scientists and education companies to compile and make data public about schools each year, such as information about school crime and safety and high school science course completion.

Its total annual budget is about $815 million, or roughly 1% of the Education Department’s overall budget of $82 billion this fiscal year. The $900 million in contracts the department is canceling includes multiyear agreements.

The vast trove of data represents much of what we know about the state of America’s roughly 130,000 schools, and without a national repository of data and statistics, it will be harder for parents and educators to track schools or compare the achievement of students across states.

Maryland Supreme Court finds Child Victims Act of 2023 constitutional

The Maryland Supreme Court on Monday upheld a landmark state law that eliminates all time limits for people to file lawsuits over child sexual abuse, making it easier for survivors to sue institutions that enabled their abuse.

With a 4-3 vote, the state’s highest court found the Child Victims Act of 2023 to be constitutional, overcoming a key question about whether it ran afoul of a 2017 state law that extended the deadline for survivors to sue...

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/maryland-supreme-court-ruling-child-victims-act-of-2023-4W44N6A2IRA3BPBUI2EEHBMWJM/

SUN: Maryland Supreme Court upholds Child Victims Act as constitutional

Child Victims Act of 2023 upheld by Maryland Supreme Court

Court rules 2023 Child Victims Act is constitutional - Maryland Matters

Board of Education Increases Budget Request Due To Fewer Dollars From State

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor’s “big ask” of $3.61 billion to fund the next school year just grew even larger.

Board of Education (BOE) members reviewed Taylor’s budget, opting to add $36.7 million additional dollars, explaining the need to increase the request was due to a decrease in state dollars.

The state budget shifts some of the staff pension costs from the state to the county, includes a decrease in what the school district receives for non-public schools and delays some of the features of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

Moore proposed to drop from 70% to 60% the state’s reimbursement for students attending private schools. The pension shift could cost MCPS $20.8 million...

Board of Education Increases Budget Request Due To Fewer Dollars From State - Montgomery Community Media

Bird flu hits Montgomery County, with outbreak in backyard chickens

The highly contagious bird flu has hit Montgomery County, Maryland, where officials say a backyard flock of chickens tested positive for the virus, making it the first case of a homeowner’s birds having the virus in Maryland this year and bringing the number of cases in the D.C. region to 11.

Officials with the Maryland Department of Agriculture said the latest outbreak in Montgomery County involved a flock of about 20 chickens.

Maryland’s state veterinarian, Jennifer Trout, said the chickens’ owner took two of the dead birds to the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Health Lab in Frederick, where they tested positive last week for avian flu. Trout said the remaining chickens at the property were killed to stop the spread of the disease...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/02/05/bird-flu-montgomery-county-backyard-chickens/

Whitman High School Students Involved in Altercation at School

A violent assault occurred at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda Monday.

According to a letter to high school community members from Principal Gregory Miller, “a physical altercation took place involving several Whitman students. The incident was recorded.”

The assault was reported to the county police department and “an investigation is currently underway,” Miller wrote...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/whitman-high-school-students-involved-in-altercation-at-school/

Girl Scout Cookie Season is Here. Support the Girl Scouts!

 Once again, we're reprinting this article, which we first published on March 3, 2012. Because it's always time to celebrate Girl Scouts.

Girl Scout Cookies are now available and the Girl Scouts have a nifty app to show us where to buy our cookies this year. To find your local girl scout cookies, go here.

And, in the interests of historical accuracy, we found this early recipe from the origins of the Girl Scout cookies, and yes, Virginia, I made them, and they are delicious! Lots and lots of butter and sugar and not much else, so if you don’t feel like buying the cookies, here is the original you can use as a substitute. Just remember instead to donate money to the Girl Scouts. For the history of Girl Scout cookies go here.

An Early Girl Scout Cookie® Recipe

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar plus additional amount for topping (optional)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.

Our Maryland Public Information Act is in Danger. Please take action - Oppose this bill Senate Bill 554

Our Maryland Attorney General is pushing a bill, SB0554, that would limit and threaten our rights as Marylanders to submit Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests. The bill is now in the State Assembly and due for a public hearing on February 20, 2025 at 1pm.

The bill if passed will allow the permanent banning of anyone found to have submitted a 'frivolous, vexatious, or abusive' MPIA from ever submitting another MPIA.

The hearing will be held in the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. This committee is chaired by Senator Brian Feldman (410) 841-3661 and the Vice Chair is Senator Cheryl Kagan (410) 841-3134. Are they your representatives? Call them.

The bill is 'Public Information Act - Frivolous, Vexatious, or Abusive Requests - Remedies.' If passed this bill would prevent anyone submitting an MPIA found 'frivolous, vexations or abusive' from permanently submitting MPIAs.

Please oppose this bill. Here are directions to sign up and submit testimony.

Today: BOE & Superintendent Handing $4.7M to Electric Bus Vendor in addition to existing $140M+ EV Lease Payments

Updated at 3:15PM for clarification:

On today's Board of Education Agenda, we see that Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor has presented the Board of Education with a Resolution to hand $4.7M to a company that doesn't have a contract with MCPS. 

The $4.7M is grant funding from the EPA's Clean School Bus program and under Superintendent Taylor's Resolution, MCPS won't see a dime of that funding. This grant money will not offset any payments from MCPS for the electric bus leases. The Grant will be passed through from EPA to Highland Electric.  

MCPS is still on the hook for the full lease payments for this year without any credit for the EPA Grant.

Superintendent Taylor's Resolution states that the Grant funds will be used per the contract between MCPS and Highland Electric. 

MCPS doesn't have a contract with Highland Electric.  MCPS has a contract with a company called HET MCPS, LLC.  And the only contract with HET MCPS, LLC that has ever come before the Board of Education was signed in 2021 and expired in 2022.  

The 2021 MCPS contract with HET MCPS, LLC called for 326 electric school buses to be delivered by 2024.  

Today's Resolution from Superintendent Taylor seems to suggest that he has extended the contract multiple times or entered into a new contract with a different company without notification to the Board of Education or the public. 

The Resolution notes that the $4.7M will go to a vendor and not to MCPS.  MCPS will not be given a credit for this grant and their annual lease payments will still be due. 

Superintendent Taylor throws in a sentence about how this transfer is "presumed" to have been part of the contract.  

Is he referring to the contract signed in 2021 that expired a year later?  Or is he referring to a new contract that he has signed without Board of Education approval or public notice?  

The original 2021 contract that was supposed to be "budget neutral" has since been shown to require MCPS to spend 28% more for the acquisition of electric school buses.  

Who determined the electric school buses are 28% more expensive than diesel school buses?

CESO, the company that the Board of Education hired to thoroughly audit the MCPS Department of Transportation.  The CESO report was final in January of 2024, and immediately buried by MCPS, never to see the light of day. 

Part 4 of CESO Report, Page 6: 

As usual, the Superintendent has put this Resolution on the Consent Agenda indicating that he already knows the Board of Education will unanimously vote to hand $4.7M over to a company that they don't have a contract with for electric school buses that they are already paying a 28% premium to lease.

It's a good thing the Board of Education doesn't have any budget concerns this year.  Imagine what that $4.7M could do if it was given to MCPS to offset the cost of the $168M electric school bus contract. 

The History of School Segregation in Montgomery County February 4 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

with Ralph Buglass | Tuesday, February 4 at 2:00 p.m. | Virtual Event | 

Education, denied to the enslaved, was one of the highest priorities of emancipated African Americans. But in Montgomery County, where slavery existed, public education was not extended to Black children until a decade after it was instituted for White children. Even then, the practice of “separate but equal” schools was anything but equal, and no Black high school was built until well into the 20th century. A surprising number of these African American schools used during segregation still exist in the county, including several erected through a partnership between Booker T. Washington and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald that helped improve Black education all over the South.

Details

Date:

February 4

Time:

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Website:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5X4VqO4wSGqst0SZnX27BQ

Organizer

Montgomery History

Email

mgagle@montgomeryhistory.org

View Organizer Website