METRO SAFETY County official: Firefighters ready for emergencies. A-4
NEWS: Adventurous women in Olney tackle their bucket lists, item by item. A-3
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DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
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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 super-
intendent 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.
“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 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 twowerereadytosupportanother term for Starr. Others didn’t commit to one side or the other. A week later, a Washington Post editorial and a story quoting
Construction begins on Farquhar Middle Olney community ‘thrilled’ with $41.8 million project n
BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
After decades of lobbying from the community and numerous setbacks due to county budgetary woes, construction on a brand-new Farquhar Middle School in Olney has begun. In December, the school board awarded the $41.8 million construction contract to Dustin Construction. Staging began in January. The school is expected to open in August 2016, according to Gboyinde Onijala, a spokeswoman with the school district. Principal Joel Beidleman said it is hard to believe that construction is finally underway. “During a time in which our school system has to navigate many competing priorities, I believe the construction demonstrates our school system’s commitment to creating new learning environments,” he said. “Our school community, our school system and Montgomery County in a joint effort were able to reach this common goal ensuring the best for our
unnamed Montgomery County officials reported that Starr apparently didn’t have enough support from the board to continue, sparkingrampantspeculationabouthis future. Among the responses, a Change.org petition started in supportofStarr.AsofTuesday,the petition had about 570 signatures, some from teachers and parents. The school system will hire a search firm to conduct a search across the country for the system’s next leader, O’Neill said Tuesday. School officials hope to have a new permanent superintendent
See STARR, Page A-12
Zoning change blocks proposed storage facility n
3-2 vote backs parents at nearby elementary school in Rockville BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
“The county really gave us what we wanted,” says PTA President Chelsea Curtis, here with Farquhar Middle School Principal Joel Beidleman, of the new Olney school, expected to open in August 2016. students. I would like to thank all of the community and county members for making this dream a reality for Olney.” PTA President Chelsea Curtis said the excitement is infectious and difficult to put into words.
“The county really gave us what we wanted and we believe the new school will be very wellequipped for the future,” she said. “We have a lot of students whose parents and grandparents went to Farquhar, and several of our teachers went to Farqu-
har. While it will be bittersweet to leave this building, we are all thrilled about the amazing opportunity.” Curtis said construction has not caused any problems for students, staff or parents.
See CONSTRUCTION, Page A-12
2011 FILE PHOTO
Joshua Starr, here in his first school board meeting as superintendent in July 2011, is leaving in two weeks.
Amidst competing allegations of poor communication and peddling misinformation, Rockville’s mayor and council adopted a zoning change Monday night that could block a developer from building a storage facility near Maryvale Elementary School. The 3-2 vote amends the city’s zoning laws to prohibit selfstorage warehouses within 250 feet of a public school in certain parts of Rockville unless the city provides an exemption. Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton supported the amendment, as did Councilwoman Virginia Onley and its sponsor, Councilwoman Beryl Feinberg. Councilman Tom Moore and
Councilwoman Julie Palakovich Carr voted no. A motion to form a work group involving the developer, Siena Corp. of Columbia, and residents to resolve concerns failed 3-2, with Moore and Palakovich Carr again in the minority. The vote puts in jeopardy Siena’s plan to build a large selfstorage warehouse on Taft Street in east Rockville near Maryvale Elementary, and raises the possibility of legal action by Siena. After the vote, Robert Dalrymple, an attorney representing the company, said he and company officials would examine their options, including possible legal action. “We’re not done,” Dalrymple said. Feinberg has insisted the amendment was not directed at the Siena project, and repeated Monday night that “nothing could be further” from the truth that the measure represented so-
See STORAGE, Page A-12
Music Center at Strathmore turns 10 with a flourish North Bethesda hall a ‘fantastic experience’ for musicians and audience n
BY ELIZABETH WAIBEL AND ROBERT RAND STAFF WRITERS
2005 FILE PHOTO
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs the first concert at the Music Center at Strathmore in 2005.
ville 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.” By 1988, the facility had added an outdoor gazebo that could host concerts for audiences of 1,500. When Strathmore’s staff saw that 1,500 people would go to a concert on the lawn, they realized the county had an unmet need for a music venue, Pfanstiehl said — and one with
a roof. Then-County Executive Douglas M. Duncan supported the idea, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was looking for a second home in the area. “Once you have the Baltimore Symphony saying they’ll come to your concert hall, things move a lot faster,” Pfanstiehl said. Duncan could not be reached for comment. Since the 1990s, the orchestra had been seeking another regular venue outside of Baltimore. It struck a partnership with the Strathmore Hall Foundation and became a founding partner in the
See STRATHMORE, Page A-12
NEWS
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It’s been 10 years since it opened, and during that decade, its state-of-theart, 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 More on by local and nationStrathmore’s ally known artists. anniversary The Music Cenn Page B-5 ter at Strathmore, home of the organization’s large concert hall, opened for its first concert in 2005. That performance featured the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with guests including cellist Yo-Yo Ma. CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl was one of the founders of Strathmore. The county owns the Strathmore property off Rock-
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HEADING SOUTH
County’s Minority Scholars Program to be used in Chilean universities.
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