5 minute read
Prince George's County
Timothy Dashiell Capital News Service
ANNAPOLIS– With early voting scheduled to kick off in Maryland Thursday, Oct. 27, and continue through Nov 3, counties, organizations and even individuals across Maryland are mobilizing initiatives to get as many residents to the polls as they can.
In some cases, they are using cars. In others, they are boarding prospective buses. Early voting sites are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
In Frederick County, free pickup and drop-offs will be available on the 20 Connector to the early voting center at the Trinity Recreation Center in Frederick, Md., from the start of early voting to Nov 3, when it ends.
Elsewhere, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation will have several bus routes available to transport voters to the 14 early voting centers located throughout the county.
Officials said it is a much-needed service.
“In Montgomery County, a large portion of our population relies on public transportation for essential
5 Maryland counties, cities, residents will provide free rides to the polls during early voting. Rideshare Lyft will offer discounted rides to vote Election Day.
trips,” said Chris Conklin, director of the county’s department of transportation.
Montgomery County seniors, residents with disabilities and students can ride county buses for free if they qualify for a Senior SmartTrip Card, Metro Disability Card, or Youth Cruiser Card, said Emily DeTitta, a spokesperson for the transportation department.
“We wanted to work with our citizens and with the board of elections to ensure as many opportunities to reach the polls as possible,” DeTitta said.
In Prince George’s County, the Greenbelt Connection will provide free transportation to polling locations across the city. The city bus will also be making scheduled pick-ups after voters have cast their ballots at the Greenbelt Community Center.
Meanwhile, Reid Temple A.M.E. Church in Glendale, Md., is taking members via bus to polling locations inside Prince George’s County Sunday, Oct. 30, after morning service. The bus will leave after 9:30 a.m.
Rideshare service Lyft is launching its LyftUp Voting Access Program. The program will provide discounted rides to polls on Election Day across the country.
The rideshare service said in a press release it will also donate free or heavily discounted ride codes to its nonprofit partners, like the League of Women Voters, National Federation of the Blind, National Council on Aging and the NAACP, so they can pass them onto their clients who traditionally have difficulty getting to the polls.
In Baltimore County, Danita Tolson, president of the Baltimore County NAACP, provides personal transportation so dozens of people can vote who might not otherwise.
Sometimes she uses her car to carry those without wheels, sometimes first-time voters, to the polls. On other occasions, she drives seniors, using the cars they are no longer able to navigate.
“It’s just something I do,”Tolson said. “I am very passionate about politics and making sure everyone exercises their right to vote.”
WI
CONTRACT from Page 1
At this point, even the circumstances of the delay has become a point of contention.
WTU President Jacqueline Pogue-Lyons said she remains adamant about securing a cost-of-living pay raise while preserving benefits and substantial planning time for teachers. Meanwhile, Bowser continues to assert that she and DC Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee crafted a solid deal for the District’s more than 4,000 public school teachers.
“We have settled 10 [D.C. government employee] contracts,” said Bowser on Monday while standing next to Ferebee at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Northwest. “What teachers and parents should know is that we're grateful for our teachers and I stand firm to make the pay increase,” Bowser continued. “We need one person [WTU President Pogue-Lyons] to say ‘yes’ for the teachers.”
Over the last few weeks, teachers have gathered at Anacostia and Tenleytown metro stations to demand contracts that reflect their desires for higher pay, benefits and other protections. Part of their mission, as Pogue-Lyons describes, centers on raising awareness about a contract battle that started shortly after she took the helm of WTU.
As segments of the public school teacher population mull more extreme measures to secure a contract, the WTU released the findings of a survey suggesting that four out of five teachers are dissatisfied with their jobs. Causes include high workload, teacher turnover and no raises or costof-living salary increase in three years.
This data comes amid teacher turnover estimated to stand between 20 percent and 35 percent, depending on the District public school.
Last week, nearly 100 teachers, principals, parents, advocates and community members signed up to testify before the D.C. Council about teacher and principal turnover. During the hearing, teachers’
– MAYOR BOWSER
comments centered on working conditions and what teachers did at the height of the pandemic to ensure continuity in student learning.
Pogue-Lyons said teachers’ commitment to the profession continued during the return to in-person learning and throughout much of last year, when nearly all teachers received vaccinations, and a significant number contracted COVID during the pre-winter break surge.
That timeline of events, she noted, lays to rest any notion that teachers are asking for too much.
“The mayor has been putting out this narrative about greedy teachers,” Pogue-Lyons said.
“We want what's fair. We shouldn't be asked to take far less than what administrators have gotten,” she added. “We've had inflation and teachers are between 25 and 39 years old and they can't afford to live in the District."
The collective bargaining agreement reached with the Council of School Officers, which represents DCPS principals, assistant principals, administrators and service providers, includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for this fiscal year and the next one. Over the next four years, all members can expect a 12 percent salary increase along with an extra pay supplement.
Among D.C.-area private sector employees, pay has increased by 12.4 percent over the last three years. This happens at a time when some teachers are eyeing career opportunities outside of the teaching profession.
For now, that doesn't seem to be the case for Jewel Cauley, a DCPS teacher in her second year.
Cauley, a DCPS alumna and second grade teacher at Stanton Elementary School in Southeast, said she often thinks about what's at stake while juggling her obligations as an instructor, aftercare facilitator and cheerleading coach.
Though the work gets hard at times, Cauley said she can rely on the guidance of administrators and veteran teachers.
“I truly believe that teaching is my calling and that I was made to positively impact the youth, not only academically, but socially and emotionally,” Cauley said.
“Watching them progress and grow throughout the year is motivation to show up every day. I would love to continue this impact as long as I could,” she added.
“As long as I am doing what I love; which is teaching, I believe that everything will work out in the end, as it has been.” WI @SamPKCollins
