WHO: Baltimore City officials
WHAT: Patterson Park residents say the city has locked them out of the discussion about how to redevelop the abandoned Highlandtown Middle School. They fear the former school could be turned into low-income apartments, threatening the revitalization of the row-house-dominated neighborhood.
WHY IT’S A BAD IDEA: Highlandtown residents deserve open lines of communication with the city on a project with the potential to transform their neighborhood’s look and feel and population. This is not about keeping a certain ethnic group out – Highlandtown is a mix of people from many backgrounds. It’s about having input in deciding the future of the place you call home.
WHY THEY’RE DOING IT: The city wants to efficiently use its old schools. But “efficiency” must not trump transparency and community support.
WHERE TO VENT: Call City Councilman James Kraft, who represents the district, at 410-396-4821.
Bright Bulb: Merit pay for teachers
Area school systems are considering offering merit pay to high-performing teachers. Baltimore City schools chief Andres Alonso said he would only start a program if the teachers union agrees to it — a long shot. But not an impossible one. Prince George’s County will become the first in the state to use merit pay, a proven way to help schools achieve high academic standards and attract experienced teachers to low-performing schools.
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Quote of the day
“Voter fraud doesn’t happen at ACORN … the reality is we quality control every application that comes into our office, and 99 percent are good. The remaining 1 percent that we catch, we turn over to local election boards to investigate.”
– Stuart Katzenberg, ACORN’s head organizer in Maryland
