SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY District 7 slot empty after resignation. A-4
SPORTS: Suitland football plans to use its speed to get back to the top. B-1
Gazette-Star SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y
NEWS: Bowie mentoring group celebrates 10 years of community support. A-3
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, June 4, 2015
25 cents
Schools have to work with $100M less
Turning to the future
Board member, County Council want performance audit n
BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
With its $1.93 billion budget shot down by the Prince George’s County Council last week, Prince George’s County Public Schools is working out a budget that is more than $100 million less than requested. “It really puts our children at a disadvantage compared to neighboring jurisdictions, and I’m sorry the council lacked the foresight to imagine a better day in Prince George’s County for our children,” school system
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Bowie High School valedictorian Kenneth Jesse Lopez and salutatorian Sarah Elizabeth Leinbach turn their tassels for graduation at the University of Maryland, College Park, on May 26.
Bowie wary of townhouse proposal n
Change could lead to development on Amber Ridge property BY
DEREK JOHNSON STAFF WRITER
Bowie officials are asking the Prince George’s County Council to hold off on voting for legislation to allow more townhouse development until additional research can be conducted. Bowie planning director Joe Meinhert said the restrictions initially were placed in the zoning code in 1996, after a study conducted by the county found that unrestricted development was flooding the market with cheap, low-quality townhomes. Meinhert said a similar research effort should be made before lifting restrictions.
Prince George’s County Council members Todd Turner (D-Dist. 4) of Bowie and Mel Franklin (D-Dist. 9) of Upper Marlboro have sponsored a bill to amend the county’s zoning code and remove a provision that limits the number of townhomes built on mixed-use transportation sites to 20 percent. Under the proposed bill, developers would be allowed to use up to 100 percent of the total square footage for townhouses. At the heart of the change is a 200,000-square-foot parcel of land owned by Rappaport in Amber Ridge on Northwest Crain Highway in Bowie. The site is zoned for 320 multifamily apartment and condominium units, but Matthew Tedesco, an attorney representing Rappaport, confirmed that the owners have had preliminary discussions with a developer seeking to build a townhouse complex
on the site. Turner, who previously served on the Bowie City Council before being elected to the County Council in 2014, said removing the cap is the best chance to get the property developed. Turner said that following the Bowie council’s recommendation and waiting for a comprehensive zoning rewrite would set back development by years. “We’re in year one of a three-year process [rewriting the zoning code],” Turner said. “One of the reasons the City Council rezoned the property was to get it developed. The question with Amber Ridge is: Do we want to wait another two-plus years before that analysis is done?” City Council members and planning department representatives said the
See TOWNHOUSE, Page A-8
CEO Kevin Maxwell said. Voting 6-3, the County Council approved a budget May 28 that raises property taxes 4 percent and adds an additional 1 percent to the telecommunications tax, estimated to raise $34 million. “I know people say, do more with less, but you just can’t do it,” Maxwell said. County Executive Rushern L. Baker (D) requested a 15.6 percent increase in property taxes and additional 4 percent in the telecommunications tax to fund the school system budget, estimated to raise an extra $133 million. The day before the council vote, Baker reduced his request to $65 million.
See SCHOOLS, Page A-8
Building halt slows Tulip Grove restart n
Parents unhappy at lack of communication from county officials BY
DEREK JOHNSON STAFF WRITER
Since last fall, students and teachers at Tulip Grove Elementary School on Trainor Lane have been waiting for construction and renovations of their new school to be completed in time for the 2016 school year. That wait will continue as Prince George’s County Public Schools officials now predict the school will not be ready until at least 2017. The county earmarked $22.9 million in its Capital Improvement Plan for major renovations and additions to Tulip Grove
Elementary School. Students have been attending the unused Meadowbrook Elementary School on Moylan Lane since fall 2014. Tulip Grove PTA member Lori Morrow said parents were told by county planners that the displacement would last two years and the new school would be ready by fall 2016. Morrow said parents have not seen any construction taking place on Trainor Lane in the past year and don’t understand why students had to be moved for the 2014-15 school year. “Basically they wasted this whole school year,” Morrow said. “Why were we in a rush to move [in 2014] if they weren’t going to start construction this
See RESTART, Page A-8
Clinton teenager falls short of Scripps spelling bee semifinals Prince George’s County Spelling Bee champion Tamya Matthews, 13, of Clinton returned to competition in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor for the second year in a row, but fell just short of continuing to the semifinal round. During the preliminaries, contestants must complete a written spelling and vocabulary test in Round 1, and answer two
INDEX
NEWS
BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
B-8 A-2 B-6 B-3 A-9 B-1
out of the 285 contestants passed on to the semifinals. “It definitely made me feel a lot more confident as a returning contestant,” Tamya said. “I was more familiar with the formatting and the schedule, and it wasn’t nearly as intimidating.” Tamya, a rising ninth-grader who will be attending Bishop McNamara High School of Forestville in the fall, won the Prince George’s County Spelling Bee on March 13. She first won the Prince George’s Spelling Bee in 2014, but fell just short of the semifinals last year as well. As a high school student, Tamya will not be able to com-
A SECOND CHANCE Community Based Classrooms turns out success stories.
A-6
pete next year, but she offered some words of advice for aspiring bee spellers. “Anything you want to do you can, if you work hard enough to achieve it,” Tamya said. The spelling bee ended in its second consecutive tie, with Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, and Gokul Venkatachalam of Chesterfield, Mo., sharing the title. Prior to last year’s tie, the last time the national spelling bee ended in a tie was in 1962. janfenson-comeau@ gazette.net
Volume 18, No. 20, Two sections, 20 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette Please
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GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Tamya Matthews, 13, of Clinton competes May 27 in the preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor.
GAZ LADIESNIGHTOUT FRONT
Competition ends in tie
unique vocabulary questions and spell two words on stage in Rounds 2 and 3. In order to pass on to the semifinals, contestants had to score a minimum of 29 out of 36 possible points. Contestants who correctly spelled their words onstage, but whose point totals were below the cutoff are considered tied for 50th place, according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee website. Tamya correctly spelled her two words, “diesel” and “frigorific,” but scored below the cutoff and so ended up tied for 50th place, missing out on a spot in the competition as the top 49 spellers
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