SPECIAL PUBLICATION
DEE’S DASH Road race honors late Magruder counselor. A-7
The Gazette INSIDE TODAY
ROCKVILLE | ASPEN HILL | POTOMAC | OLNEY DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Key state education funding in limbo Montgomery awaits outcome of budget tussle
n
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
About $35 million in state funding for Montgomery County Public Schools remained in limbo Tuesday after the Maryland General Assembly wrapped up its 2015 legislative session. Lawmakers passed a budget Monday that fully funds education according to formulas under state law, including one known as the Geographic Cost of Education Index. The index provides additional money to school systems where the cost of education is higher. Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington said the index has been fully funded since 2010. Whether the index money reaches local school systems is up to Gov. Larry Hogan. Hogan (R) warned Monday that he might not disperse the funds. The governor and the legislature battled in the closing days of the session over the budget — particularly Hogan’s cuts to education funding to reduce the structural deficit. “In all likelihood, I will have to use the money to fix the problem they created,” he said. Instead of a surplus, Hogan said, “we have to make up ... $202 million and we have to find a way to restore the money from the pension fund, which is a big problem. So we’ll probably have
See FUNDING, Page A-13
25 cents
Neighbors say school board vote is a relief
Pitching in for Earth Month
n
BY
SPORTS: Young Rockville baseball team shows promise. B-1
District to study more sites for center, not just in Aspen Hill
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
The Montgomery County Board of Education decided Tuesday to look beyond just two recommended sites as it continues to consider where its alternative education programs should be housed. Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers had recommended that the district conduct two feasibility studies: one of the Blair G. Ewing Center on Avery Road in Rockville and another of an Aspen Hill site that
formerly was English Manor Elementary School. The center houses alternative education programs for students from around the county struggling with academic, disciplinary or behavioral problems. The idea of moving the Ewing center to the English Manor site has sparked opposition from some area residents. They’ve said it would bring traffic that would clog neighborhood roads and that the idea has been considered without adequate community input. Rather than take up Bowers’ proposal, the board voted 6-2 on Tuesday for one feasibility study of the current Ewing site and a second, placeholder feasibility
See EWING, Page A-12
Rockin’ the chalk, Rockin’ the Red Olney teacher is the Washington Capitals in-game host
n
BY
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Adla Bontes and her daughters Bruna, 7, and Lara, 13, of Rockville remove trash from the creek Saturday at Maryvale Park in Rockville. Volunteers cleaned several streams in the city Saturday as part of extended Earth Day activities.
New firm helps customers grow online n
If you’ve been to a Washington Capitals home game recently, you’ve probably seen Erin Magee on the concourse, in the stands or on the big screen, doing whatever she can to boost fan enthusiasm. Magee, the embodiment of
bubbly, is the NHL team’s ingame host. But while many of her evenings are spent at the Verizon Center in Washington, her days are spent in a Montgomery County Public Schools classroom. Magee, 24, grew up in Olney, graduating from Sherwood High School in 2008. After working at an Olney preschool, she earned a bachelor’s in education from the University of Maryland, Col-
See RED, Page A-13
‘I love to build brands,’ says founder and CEO of Rockville company BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Heather Cox (right), here with Beth Newell, who works in marketing and graphic support, founded Mighty Little Web Shop of Rockville last year.
See ONLINE, Page A-12
A&E
INDEX A&E Automotive Business Calendar Classified Opinion Sports
It’s hard to imagine all but the smallest of businesses getting by without a website, and one Rockville company is helping them maximize their online potential. The website for the Mighty Little Web Shop describes founder and CEO Heather Cox as a serial entrepreneur, and Cox said the company allows her to bring together her three interests: business, design and programming. She’s been doing graphic design for 20 years and estimates that she’s coded more than 100 websites by hand. In 1997, as the Internet was becoming a force in business, Cox was doing print graphic design work at a firm in Bethesda but knew she wanted to do more work with computers. She had studied programming in college and liked the intersec-
B-6 B-13 A-14 A-2 B-10 A-15 B-1
SWEET MELODIES R&B star Brian McKnight to hold concert for BSU’s 150th anniversary at National Harbor.
B-4
1930816
PHOTO FROM ERIN MAGEE
Erin Magee of Olney, here with the Washington Capitals’ mascot Slapshot, is a fifth-grade teacher at Laytonsville Elementary. She says she’s “loving every second” of being the in-game host at the NHL team’s home games.
SPECIAL SECTION Volume 28, No. 15, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Learn about the Spay It Forward campaign and how you can help. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT INSIDE SELECT EDITIONS