SWEET START Area baker opens up a new cake shop. A-7
The Gazette
BUSINESS: Forum helps companies seeking assistance in growing their exports. A-11
GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
25 cents
Celebrating differences
Montgomery County schools
Budget passes, reflects funding
Germantown mom’s book helps kids accept who they are BY
SPORTS: Clarksburg High sisters push themselves to become two of state’s top track athletes. B-1
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BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
The Montgomery County school board has approved a fiscal 2016 operating budget $10.2 million lower than what Superintendent Joshua P. Starr proposed in December. The county school system’s proposed operating budget for next year now stands at $2.39 billion. The budget moves next to Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and the Montgomery County Council for approval. The amount cut from the original proposal roughly matches the $10.3 million Montgomery County would lose in projected state education funding, under Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposed budget. Starr revised his original budget request following the release of Hogan’s budget. The main loss of state money for Montgomery comes from Hogan’s decision to cut the Geographic Cost of Education Index in half, a $17.7 million loss for the county.
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Shannon Jones is a busy Germantown woman. She is a wife, mother of two, paraeducator at Great Seneca Creek Elementary School and a student at George Washington University working on a Master’s Degree in counseling. She is also the author of a recently published book: “That’s Just Me.” “When I’m passionate about something, I just go,” Jones said. One of the things she is passionate about is helping children learn to accept who they are. That is the story of the book and a topic that creeps into her work at Great Seneca Creek. Girls in particular come up to her and share, she said. Some of them want to look different than they do, others tell her of being made fun of because of their looks. Either way, Jones is sure that the cure is to help them see that no matter what they look like, their differences make them special. “This is a movement for me,” she said. “ I really want kids to embrace who they are.” The book, “That’s Just Me,” is written for young readers, those in early grade school. It came from a poem Jones wrote for a friend of her daughter who really wished she had blond hair rather than brown.
See BOOK, Page A-10
$10 million cut from Starr’s original proposal
See BUDGET, Page A-10
READ THE BOOK n “That’s Just Me” by Germantown author Shannon Jones is available at Amazon (amazon.com) and Barnes and Noble online (barnesandnoble.com).
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Children’s book author Shannon Jones is pictured with her children Kendal, 9, and Louis, 5, along with her latest book at Great Seneca Creek Elementary School on Friday in Germantown.
Man charged with touching minor n
Former Clarksburg resident denies allegations BY
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
the legislature increase spending in the budget and also let the executive have line-item veto power. Hogan spokeswoman Erin Montgomery did not speak directly to the bill when asked for comment. “We are in the very beginning of a long legislative session, and as we all know, most bills have the tendency to look much different by the time April comes around,” she said. “The governor and his staff will be monitoring
A former Clarksburg man who now lives in Potomac has been charged by police with one count of sex offense third degree against a minor. Robert A. Shapiro, 53, of 9901 Newhall Road in Potomac, turned himself in to authorities and was arrested on Jan. 14, according to court records. A former mortgage banker, he was released on $15,000 unsecured personal bond, according to court records. “The allegation popped up out of the blue,” said Shapiro’s attorney, James Papirmeister of Silver Spring, on Tuesday. “Mr. Shapiro vehemently denies the allegation. We’re not sure where it came from. We will vigorously defend against the allegation in court, which is the way these things get resolved.” Prosecutors have until March 13 to decide how to proceed, according to court records. According to police charging documents, Shapiro
See STATE BUDGET, Page A-10
See SHAPIRO, Page A-10
Local senators want more budget power n
Madaleno, Manno part of push to amend state constitution BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
Two Montgomery County state senators want to change Maryland’s constitution to give the legislature more budget power. For the last century, Maryland law has allowed the General Assembly to only cut the budgets proposed by the governor — law-
makers cannot increase spending. In his first budget, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has proposed cuts to taxes and revenue, a 2 percent across-the-board reduction in spending, cuts to employee pay and other cuts, including halving a program that provides additional education funding. Hogan’s plan has received strong criticism. Some lawmakers feel there is a need to rebalance the fiscal power in Maryland. Senators Roger Manno and Richard S. Madaleno Jr. are among the co-sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment to let
Seneca Valley High School cluster entertains school board Schools make case for extending IB program
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Parents, students and staff welcomed the Montgomery County Board of Education to Seneca Valley High School in Germantown Thursday to showcase programs in the cluster’s eight schools and make a plea for extending the Middle Years [International Baccalaureate] program into the ninth and
INDEX Automotive Business Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
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B-12 A-11 A-2 B-8 B-4 A-12 B-1
10th grades at Seneca Valley. The media center was crowded as the “meet and greet,” the Board of Education’s once every four years visit to the cluster, got underway. “The board visits several different school clusters each year to gather input from the community and hear about issues and challenges that specific areas of the county are facing,” Dana Tofig, Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman wrote in an email. “It is a chance to hear directly from their stakeholders and constituents.” Roberto Clemente Middle School seventh-grader Katie Kolodner entertained the arrivals with piano music, something she said
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she volunteered to do because she enjoys performing. Katie recently performed at Carnegie Hall, her father, Marc Kolodner said. Clemente and King Middle School each had a display table highlighting students’ work with a particular emphasis on the Middle Years Programme. The program is designed with both three year and five year components. The five year is what staff and parents want for the cluster so it flows into the two year high school program now at Seneca Valley. “Seneca Valley has been an IB school for
See PROGRAM, Page A-9
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Ella Teal, 11, a sixth-grader from King Middle School, talks about her experience with the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme as part of the Seneca Valley cluster school showcase.
A&E
COMEDY, FIRST CLASS Farcical play “Boeing, Boeing” follows a jet-setting playboy’s exploits in Paris.
B-4
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