The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County has added a discussion of Superintendent George Arlotto’s postponement of high school homecoming dances this fall to its September 22, 2021, meeting agenda.
Earlier this week, Dr. Arlotto announced that traditional homecoming celebrations will return to county high schools this fall but that in order to provide for the safest environments for all students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, homecoming dances will be postponed with the hope they can be held later in the school year.
Schools will still be able to have traditional Spirit Week activities, plan parades, hold pep rallies in school stadiums, and enjoy homecoming athletics contests. Schools can also plan other outdoor celebratory events such as cookouts where distancing is easier to accomplish.
The public session of Wednesday’s Board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in the Board Room at the Parham Building, 2644 Riva Road, Annapolis. It is open to the public and subject to normal space limitations in the Board Room.
Regulations adopted by the Maryland State Board of Education require that all persons inside schools or school system facilities be masked unless exempted under the law.
The Board will also meet in a public session at 4 p.m. for the sole purpose of voting to immediately go into closed session, during which time it will discuss confidential matters as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act including, but not limited to, legal advice, personnel, and negotiations. Closed session is not open to the public.
The public may listen to the open portion of the meeting, including the vote to go into closed session, by calling (605) 468-8781 and entering access code 685333 followed by the pound/hashtag symbol.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEM
The Board will hear in-person and virtual public comment on this agenda item from up to a total of 10 speakers per agenda item during a single section in the early portion of the meeting, prior to Board discussion of the item.
To provide the most equitable and orderly opportunity for speakers with a diversity of viewpoints and varying technology access, the Board will employ a randomized, computerized lottery to select the speakers should the number of registrants exceed 10.
The link to register to testify either virtually or in person at the meeting is now open and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21. Those wishing to provide testimony must register through that link. Registration to speak on all other agenda items has already closed.
All speakers will be allotted 2 minutes and must only address the topic on which they signed up to speak.
Written comments on this agenda item can be can be submitted through an online form that can be found here. The form will be available through noon on Wednesday, September 22. Written comments must be no more than 250 words. Comments can also be dropped off at the Parham Building by that time.
The complete process for registering to speak and submitting testimony in writing can be found here.
Those who require the services of an interpreter to offer comment to the Board should call 410-222-5311 to make those arrangements after receiving confirmation of an opportunity to speak at the meeting.
A revised agenda for the meeting accompanies this news release. Information on agenda items will be posted on the AACPS website in the Board Docs section under the Board of Education tab.
The general session of Wednesday’s Board meeting will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV, which can be found on Channel 96 on Comcast and Broadstripe, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast, Channel 496 on Broadstripe, and Channel 1961 on Verizon.
The meeting can also be viewed live on AACPS’ YouTube channel.