LAUREL FARMERS MARKET Bazaar to be open every Thursday through October. A-3
The Gazette
NEWS: Saturday’s Mushala Memorial 5K to honor late Beltsville teacher. A-4
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y
SPORTS: County looks for ways to improve pitching to be more competitive statewide. B-1
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 facing $100M shortfall n
Board member, County Council want performance audit
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 CEO Kevin Maxwell said. Voting 6-3, the County Council approved a budget May 28 that raises property taxes 4 percent and adds an
KIRSTEN PETERSEN/THE GAZETTE
Design challenge winner Karen Sigala, 11, of Riverdale and her brother Cristobal, 10, sketch out ideas for a new school garden during the Real School Gardens “Design & Dine” event May 28 at Beacon Heights Elementary School in Riverdale.
See SHORTFALL, Page A-7
Riverdale students sow seeds for garden Town taps fund balance Roosevelt graduates overcome challenges Three school initiatives funded by national grant
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BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
When designing her dream garden for Beacon Heights Elementary School in Riverdale, flower beds
and fruit trees weren’t enough for fifth-grader Karen Sigala — she said her school needs a bat cave. “People don’t know a lot about bats. They imagine them as scary creatures that will suck their blood,” Karen, 11, of Riverdale said. All ideas — especially bat habitats — from students, parents and teachers will be fair game when Real School Gardens, a Fort Worth, Texas-based nonprofit, helps the school build its new garden.
“The students are so excited they can have a part in this and think about what is important to them,” said Jeanne McCarty, executive director of Real School Gardens. Real School Gardens aims to “grow successful students” through learning gardens and provides teacher training and continuing support after the
See SEEDS, Page A-7
n Tax rates in Bladensburg remain steady but must manage deficit
Recent immigrant, hearingimpaired saxophonist graduate n
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Learning a new language was just one of many challenges Nicole Brito, 18, faced when she moved from Puerto Rico to Greenbelt in 2011. “When I came here the first day of school, I was so lost,” said Brito, who graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School on May 29 with a 3.8 grade-point-average. “It was real hard for me to fit in. The American kids were so scary, because they were speaking English, and I knew hardly any. It was hard for me to adjust to the curriculum
of the school, and I was afraid to speak up, because I had such a heavy accent.” Brito said that when she first started school, she had only very limited English. “It’s incredible to see the strides she’s made. Students like Nicole are few and far between, who are willing to dedicate their all their free time, their social lives, to their studies,” said Laurie Hortie, Roosevelt’s English for Speakers of Other Languages — or ESOL — teacher. Brito said her interest in reading all types of books, fiction and nonfiction, helped improve her English reading comprehension. “I always carry a dictionary with me, and at home, I have a notebook to write
See ROOSEVELT, Page A-9
BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Some Bladensburg residents are concerned with the town’s need to apply more than $400,000 from the fund balance to its Fiscal 2016 budget, but town officials say it’s a necessary measure to balance revenues and expenditures in the coming year. Terry Jackson, Bladensburg’s interim treasurer, said the $5,909,268 budget is balanced with approximately $425,078 from the fund balance. During a May 30 budget deliberation, the Town Council cut $158,416 in expenses by eliminating funding
JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU/THE GAZETTE
Recent graduate Nicole Brito of Greenbelt stands in the ESOL classroom at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where she developed English comprehension.
See BALANCE, Page A-7
Towne Centre at Laurel to kick off summer with concert series Maryland bands to perform during free Thursday shows
n
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
The Towne Centre at Laurel may be the newest spot in the city to find
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
fusion band Higher Hands, according to Nailah Gobern Lee, chief operating officer of Breasia Productions. Each show starts at 6:30 p.m. Lee said her company and representatives from the Towne Centre decided to hold the concerts on Thursday nights to draw residents to the shopping center when it’s less busy.
“The mall is extremely busy on the weekends, which could pose a lot of concerns dealing with traffic and security,” Lee said. “Having it on a weekday when possibly the crowds are not that large, you can attract people to the Towne Centre. It’s a great idea.” Tom Fitzpatrick, president of Owings Mills-based Greenberg Gibbons,
the Towne Centre’s developer, said the Thursday night series is an effort to “extend the weekend” and bring more activity to the shopping center on a weekday. “The biggest thing is the Towne Centre at Laurel has become a real
See CONCERT, Page A-9
NEWS B-8 A-2 B-6 B-3 A-9 B-1
BREAKING GROUND Work on new Laurel Library begins more than a year after construction was originally set to begin. A-7
Volume 18, No. 23, Two sections, 20 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette Please
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GAZ LADIESNIGHTOUT FRONT
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national retailers and eateries, but this summer it’ll be the place to see local bands during a Thursday night concert series put on by Laurel’s own Breasia Productions. The Free Thursday Night Summer Concert Series starts June 11 with Rockville-based variety band ONYX and ends Aug. 13 with Annapolis-based soul
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