METRO SAFETY County says firefighters prepared for emergency. A-5
NEWS: Student artists feted, featured in exhibit at Johns Hopkins in Rockville. A-9
The Gazette BETHESDA | CHEVY CHASE | KENSINGTON
SPORTS: Three sisters help make undefeated Whitman team a state title contender. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
25 cents
Starr steps down as head of county schools O’Neill says board, superintendent agree a new leader is needed n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Joshua P. Starr is stepping down on Feb. 16 as Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent, four months before his four-year contract would have ended. The county school board unanimously approved on Tuesday an agreement that leads to Starr’s departure following public uncertainty of whether the su-
perintendent had enough board support to renew his contract. School board president Patricia O’Neill said Tuesday during a press conference that board members and Starr agreed that a new leader was needed to “carry forward the board’s vision.” “While I’m not happy certainly at the way things have turned out, at the same time it is absolutely the board’s authority to move in a direction that they see fit,” Starr said at the press conference. Starr said he is “very proud” of the work done in the district during his tenure, but sees more to be done.
High-tech pros turn lunch into fun lessons n
Bethesda’s Westbrook Elementary hosts STEM program BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
When it comes to drones, the White House has nothing on Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda. There was one difference, however: The drone that flew inside Westbrook’s gym on Friday was a planned demonstration, not accidental. It was part of the school’s STEM Learning Lunch program, when scientists come to the school and discuss with students careers in science, technology, engineering and math. “Our school has a Science and Environment Committee that has been very strong since before I came here but there was not much focus on science,” said first-grade teacher An Nguyen. “We wanted to expose the students to scientists they could identify with.” Westbrook had its first Learning Lunch last school year and Friday’s lunch was the second for the 2014-15 year. The scientists, mostly from Westbrook’s surround-
ing neighborhoods, spoke to the students in two 15-minute sessions. John Crupi, whose two daughters graduated from the school, led the sessions on drones, which was one of the most popular, Nguyen said. His degree is in mechanical engineering and he works as a software engineer. He could hardly contain the excitement of the 25 second- and third-graders in the gym once his Parrott AR drone took off. Wisely, he explained some of the technology first, because it was action the children wanted, chasing the drone, ducking when it came near them and, finally, lining up for a chance to operate it. “The fourth- and fifthgraders were more interested in how it works and asking questions,” Crupi said. “The second- and third-graders just wanted to do it.” Sam Kolton, 8, a thirdgrader, said it was the first time he had seen a drone. “It’s very interesting,” he said. “It’s basically like a toy helicopter but it’s easier” to operate. Amaya Martinez, 11, a fifth-grader, chose the session
See TECH, Page A-10
“It was my hope that I would be here to continue that work with our staff, our students, our families and our community,” he said. “However, I recognize and respect that the board has the right to choose the leader and the direction of the school system.” O’Neill and Starr didn’t elaborate on the reasoning behind his departure. O’Neill said the board “deeply appreciates” Starr’s work in the system. Starr told The Gazette in January that he wanted a second term and that he was “in it for the long haul.” He said at the time that he had done what the
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
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See STARR, Page A-10
2011 FILE PHOTO
Joshua Starr, here in his first school board meeting as superintendent in July 2011, is leaving in two weeks.
Purple Line
Group suing town
Light-rail supporters: Chevy Chase is hiding its efforts to block project n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
of the founders of Strathmore. The county owns the Strathmore property off Rockville Pike, and the nonprofit Strathmore Hall Foundation operates it. When it first opened as an arts center in 1983, the Mansion at Strathmore hosted concerts in a 100-seat hall. “It wasn’t [very] hard to launch the place,” Pfanstiehl told The Gazette. “That said, while we were a little entity and a little mansion on a hill, the world did not know about us.”
The pro-Purple Line Action Committee for Transit is suing the town of Chevy Chase, claiming it violated the Maryland Public Information Act. In a complaint filed Friday in Montgomery County Circuit Court and posted to the organization’s County panel: w e b s i t e , ACT says the Purple Line is town asked No. 1 priority the group n Page A-4 and people working with it for more than $4,000 to retrieve public records regarding the town’s anti-Purple Line legal and lobbying activities. ACT claims that the town should have handed over the minutes of some closed meetings and should have waived the fees for collecting the documents it requested. In some cases, ACT claims, the town did not provide the two hours of free research it should have for each information request. The lawsuit was filed by ACT and Ben Ross of Bethesda, an author, blogger and former ACT president, against the town and Town Council of Chevy Chase. ACT and Ross are asking the court to force the town give them the information they requested free of charge and to stop the town from asking for further fees to respond to their information requests. State law allows government
See STRATHMORE, Page A-10
See SUES, Page A-10
FILE PHOTOS
(Clockwise from top) National Philharmonic Concertmaster Jody Gatwood serenades construction workers in the new concert hall under construction in June 2003; Strathmore Hall Foundation President A. Mario Loiederman (right) speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Music Center at Strathmore in April 2001; and cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs the first concert at the new Music Center in North Bethesda on Feb. 5, 2005.
Hall a ‘fantastic experience’ It’s been 10 years since it opened, and during that decade, its state-of-the-art, acoustically refined concert hall has resounded with the melodies, harmonies and rhythms of composers and musicians ranging from Beethoven to Bo Diddley. This week, Strathmore in North Bethesda celebrates the 10th anniversary of its music center and arts education facility
with concerts and performances by local and nationally known artists. The Music Center at Strathmore, home of the organization’s large concert hall, More on for Strathmore’s opened its first conanniversary cert in 2005. n Page B-4 That performance featured the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with guests including cellist YoYo Ma. CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl was one
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didn’t commit to one side or the other. A week later, a Washington Post editorial and a story quoting unnamed Montgomery County officials reported that Starr apparently didn’t have enough support from the board to continue, sparking rampant speculation about his future. Among the responses, a Change.org petition started in support of Starr. As of Tuesday, the petition had about 570 signatures, some from teachers and parents. The school system will hire a
Strathmore turns 10 with a flourish
BY ELIZABETH WAIBEL AND ROBERT RAND STAFF WRITERS
Maya Tysvaer laughs as Kathryn Stearns uses a straw to breathe through her mouth while holding her nose to simulate what it feels like to breathe with asthma. Dr. Rona Schwartz had the students try this experiment during Friday’s STEM Learning Lunch at Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda.
school board has asked him to do. Tuesday’s news came two days after what was Starr’s deadline to formally ask for a second term. The board would have had until March 1 to make a decision. Starr replaced Jerry D. Weast as superintendent in Montgomery County in 2011 after leading the public school system in Stamford, Conn. His current salary is $264,002. The Gazette, after interviewing six of the eight school board members, reported on Jan. 21 that two were ready to support another term for Starr. Others
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CRASH COURSE Students learn about the dangers of drinking at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.
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Volume 4, No. 3, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
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