Latest news with #BillBarnes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Firefighters and EMS from different counties gather for boat safety training in Arkansas
DEGRAY LAKE, Ark. – One of the largest inland fireboat training schools in the United States made its way back to Arkansas, and this year leaders are taking water safety to a new level. The Natural State's lakes and rivers are something that people enjoy, but it can be dangerous with over 30 accidents reported in the last 42 years according to American Whitewater. Bill Barnes, Co Chairman of Arkansas Fireboat School says their program is focused on lowering those numbers. 'We have thousands of boats that are trailered into this state every year, our guests our visitors that are on the lake, so were set up to respond to all those emergencies,' Barnes said. New video shows multi-agency rescue at Arkansas River dam Firefighters and EMS crews trained to operate boats from different counties, and some from Texas and Missouri were all presented with 15 different water emergency scenarios. Water stream pump operations learning from simulated boat fires including how to save possible victims. Ron Crane, Arkansas Fire Boat School communications leader, took KARK 4 News on a boat to show how two scenarios would go. Little Rock woman speaks on continuing search for husband who went missing after boat capsized on Arkansas River One scenario emergency crew practiced putting out a possible fire on a burning boat. After Crane showed us another scenario. 'We have a medical scenario of flood victims that have been injured as a result of flood,' Crane said. Whether it's a lake, river or flooded area, all volunteers know how to respond and are now more prepared to save those that fall victim to the dangers of the water. 'They give up their time they do it all for free to save and serve the people of Arkansas,' Barnes said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Howard County's public schools look into staff cuts, class increases to balance budget
The Howard County Board of Education is working to balance the public schools' budget, after it was given less than what it requested from the county. The Howard County Council adopted the county's FY2026 operating and capital budgets last Wednesday. The final allocation for the Howard County Public School System ended up being $816 million. It's more than what was initially proposed by County Executive Calvin Ball, but it's millions less than what school district leaders, staff, and families wanted. The Howard County Board of Education can make final adjustments until its June 4 work session. The budget will be adopted on June 12. What will be cut? The seven-member Board of Education held its first work session Tuesday morning since the county budget was adopted. HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes started the work session off with a presentation, which showed the school district officially faces a shortfall of around $15.3 million. To fill the gap, Barnes recommended eliminating what's been deemed as other budget priorities, which include security assistants and some human resources positions. Barnes also advised potentially leveraging some school system funds, which, per his recommendations, would bring the shortfall to just under $9 million. To balance the budget, Barnes presented two scenarios, both of which eliminated more than 100 positions. One of the scenarios also increased class sizes in middle schools and high schools. Several board members expressed concerns about the recommendations. "I am really concerned about cutting special education service levels, knowing already are not meeting all the needs of students," said board chair Jolene Mosley. Board member Antonia Watts expressed frustration, feeling like Barnes and the central office were withholding information until Tuesday's work session. "I don't understand why we're having this work session when we don't have the information that board members have requested to show our priorities in a scenario being built out," Watts said. Cat Carter, a member of the PTA Council of Howard County and a mother of five, has advocated for more funding for years. She was disappointed with this year's budget season and plans to run for the Howard County Council next year. David Yungmann, who has represented District 5 on the county council since 2018, doesn't plan to run for re-election in 2026. "We wouldn't be in this situation if the county council did the right thing, because our county has a spending problem and a priority problem," Carter said. Educators' contract at risk During the work session, board member Jacky McCoy suggested cuts could be coming for teachers. "If we care about our children, if we care about their education, every single one of us is going to have to sacrifice," McCoy said. "Even our teachers." The Howard County Education Association, or HCEA, just recently ratified a multi-year agreement for salary. "It went out to a membership vote, it was passed off by the Board of Education before it went out to a membership vote," HCEA president Benjamin Schmitt said. "It's been passed."
CBS News
08-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Howard County school leaders stand ground with push for more funding
Howard County schools fight for more funding from the county Howard County schools fight for more funding from the county Howard County schools fight for more funding from the county Howard County school leaders are fighting for more funding, saying they aren't satisfied with what the county is proposing. The school district is hoping for at least $29.2 million more than what's allocated, fearing pretty big cuts if the funding doesn't come through. Earlier this week, the Howard County Council pressed HCPSS about its needs at a budget work session. The need for more funding When it was time to read her report at Thursday's Board of Education hearing, Board Chair Jolene Mosley instead read a prepared statement about the budget process. In that statement, she stressed what's at stake. "The devastating reality is that any decision we make to cut existing programs and services results in fewer educators to effectively instruct and prepare students," Mosley said. In the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget, HCPSS is slated to get more than $800 million. More than $47 million of that will be new revenue to the school district, but HCPSS said even more funding is needed to fill a gap of more than $100 million. "How do we stretch $47.3 million of revenue to cover $101.6 million worth of needs? The shorter answer is we can't," HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes said. To balance HCPSS's budget, Barnes said the school district needs $54.3 million. However, HCPSS is hoping for at least $29.2 million extra just to cover existing service commitments and employee compensation and benefits requirements. Last year, HCPSS made more than $31 million in cuts to balance its budget. Those cuts included eliminating nearly 200 positions. If the proposed allocation remains the same in the county's operating budget, Barnes said HCPSS will face $29.2 million in cuts -- which means the school district could make similar cuts this year. Barnes and Brian Hull, HCPSS's chief financial officer, have pointed to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future plan as a big obstacle. The education reform plan was passed by the state legislature in 2021 and it invests billions into public education over the next decade. Barnes and Hull say the mandates in the plan, though, have been costly to keep up with. "When the blueprint was passed, it was pretty expressly stated that this was going to force local governments to increase their spending on education," Hull said. "As we have seen across the state, many local governments either don't have the capacity, or the desire to do that." The same conversation Howard County Council members pressed HCPSS leadership about the school district's needs at Monday's budget work session. Several councilmembers noted HCPSS seems to be in a similar situation every budget cycle. "This is the same conversation, like every single year, we go through this. The community gets so wrapped up in it," said District 5 councilman David Yungmann. Councilmembers also questioned what the school district is doing to adjust to the challenges, some arguing there isn't enough being done. "It's been really painful to come to these conversations each year without seeing that significant shift in what you're doing or how you're doing it," DistrictThe 3 councilwoman Christiana Rigby said. District 4 Councilwoman Deb Jung, however, hinted she'd support increasing the school district's piece of the county's budget. "Not only [is the school district] supporting all [of your staff] and all those buildings, [it's] also supporting 57,000 students and their unbelievable needs every single day," Jung said. "In a community that says we love our schools, we want them to do everything for us." Howard County Council is scheduled to adopt the county's operating budget later this month. After it is adopted, HCPSS will adjust to whatever its final allocation is.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Group wants Israeli national anthem removed from Maryland county's middle school music curriculum
BALTIMORE — The Maryland Office of the Council on American Islamic Relations released a statement on Friday demanding that the Howard County Public School System stop using a music book at Dunloggin Middle School that requires students to learn or perform the Israeli national anthem. The statement came after parents and students protesting the killings of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war raised concerns, the organization said in a news release. The book referred to in the organization's demands is Book 2 of 'Essential Elements for Strings.' Sheet music for the Israeli national anthem 'Hatikvah,' which translates to 'The Hope,' is in the book. In a letter sent to Superintendent Bill Barnes and Dunloggin Middle School's Principal Antoinette Roberson, CAIR called for the district to no longer use any content or text in its curriculum that incorporates the Israeli national anthem, 'out of respect for students from diverse backgrounds' and those impacted by the Israeli government's actions in Gaza. 'Teaching students in the United States to perform the national anthem of a foreign country, particularly one whose government is currently under investigation by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, is not only inappropriate, but also traumatic for many students,' Zainab Chaudry, CAIR's Maryland director, said in a news release. Learning the anthem 'undermines' the environment of inclusivity the school system strives to create, Chaudry said, especially when students have family members or loved ones in Gaza directly impacted by the war. 'CAIR believes that your school can achieve its instructional goals without having to subject students to additional distress and trauma,' a portion of its letter included in the news release states. The organization said in the letter that some students have felt 'silenced, erased, marginalized and deeply uncomfortable' by the school system. ACLU Maryland sent a letter to Barnes and the principal of River Hill High School in June 2024, saying that Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian students were censored for seven months and demanded that the school protect their First Amendment rights. Students with the school's Muslim Students Association and Arab Students Association met with school administrators several times to organize a walkout as protests against the war in Gaza erupted at schools nationwide. It was decided that the students could hold a walkout as long as they refrained from saying words such as 'Palestine', 'Gaza' or 'siege.' The students' experiences made them feel 'utterly silenced,' the letter said. About seven months later, in January 2025, the school system entered a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights after an investigation of alleged antisemitic harassment. Through the office's investigation, it was found that the district was notified of at least 28 instances of shared ancestry discrimination against Jewish students at 16 schools in the last two school years. The OCR investigation included walkouts at seven high schools during the 2023-2024 school year. The schools were contacted by about 30 people and groups voicing concerns and fears about actions and language that would cause a hostile environment before, during and after the walkouts, according to a letter sent by the OCR to Barnes. CAIR is also calling for students not to be asked to learn or perform national anthems of other countries with governments that have been charged by or are under investigation by the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, the release said. The school system confirmed Friday that a response to the organization's letter is anticipated after its administration and General Counsel have reviewed it. _____
CBS News
11-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Howard County parents, educators say a lot is lacking from proposed $1.2 billion school budget
BALTIMORE -- Howard County's school district isn't making any cuts in its proposed budget. But, staff, students and parents say there are still several things lacking. At Monday's public comment hearing, the head of the county's teachers union -- the Howard County Education Association -- said a proposed budget shouldn't have been released until negotiations on the next contract ended. Also, there's concern for student athletes' safety, since there are no full-time athletic trainers hired within the school district. Ongoing negotiations In more than 700 pages, Howard County Public School System Superintendent Bill Barnes pitched a more than $1.2 billion budget. It has no cuts and adds nearly 70 new positions, including 33 security assistants and 35 special education positions. This proposed budget is also more than $74 million higher than the previous one. While he's still at the negotiating table with the Board of Education, Howard County Education Association president Benjamin Schmitt said the union is still trying to get higher and more competitive salary -- as well as a higher cost of living adjustment, or COLA. For the 2024-2025 school year, the Howard County Education Association managed to get a three-year contract that solidified benefits and new protections. It also raised the minimum salary to $60,000 with a 2.5% COLA increase. However, the salary raise is only effective for one year. Schmitt on Tuesday said negotiations have been better this go around, but, state and federal funding uncertainty has been a struggle. "[That uncertainty] vacuums a lot of the air out of what we need to be worried about right now," Schmitt said. "We can't be worried about the state budget until we have an adopted budget from our Board of Education that goes to county government." Schmitt said the next negotiation meeting is Friday. The need for athletic trainers A number of students, mostly athletes at HCPSS' various high schools, advocated for full-time athletic trainers. Right now, HCPSS only contracts less than ten athletic trainers. The low number leaves many games and practices uncovered. Parents also voiced concerns at the public hearing. "My son, he wrestled, and his knee was dislocated in a match. He had to use his other leg to pop it back into place because no one was there," Cat Carter said. Students who testified say getting full-time athletic trainers is a matter of student safety. "I'm only able to play because of my athletic trainer. She recognizes my symptoms before I say anything, communicate with my coaches, and has prevented multiple hospital trips for me," said Atholton High School student Grace Dejarnette. Other concerns and what's next Another hot topic at Monday's hearing was the addition of security assistants. Some said it's sorely needed, while others are concerned of the negative impact it could have on marginalized students. can find that here. There is a work session scheduled for 1 p.m. on Feb. 20. The Board of Education is slated to adopt the budget on Feb. 27. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball will present his office's budget in April, and Howard County Council is expected to adopt it by May.
