The Board of Education will receive an update on the work of the Anne Arundel County Conflict Resolution Center at its next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
The center, founded in 1993, offers free mediation, facilitation, and community conferencing services to individuals and groups in conflict. It also offers training and workshops in mediation, anger management, and other conflict resolution processes.
The meeting will be held in the Board Room at the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. It is open to the public and subject to normal space limitations in the Board Room.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the Board will discuss education-related legislation considered during the most recent session of the Maryland General Assembly and review the status of current school system major construction projects.
A complete agenda for the meeting can be found here. More information on agenda items will be posted on the AACPS website in the Board Docs section under the Board of Education tab.
UPDATED PROCESS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS
The Board will hear testimony:
- from up to 10 total speakers (combination of virtual and in person) per agenda item (excluding personnel items, reports, and recognitions) during a single public comment section in the early portion of the meeting.
- from up to 10 total speakers on items not on the agenda (excluding any student-specific or personnel items) near the end of the meeting.
The link to register to testify before the Board will be published at www.aacps.org/boardtestimony at 3 p.m. on the Friday prior to the meeting. Registration will close at noon on the Monday prior to the meeting. Those wishing to provide testimony must register through that link. Speakers may sign up for no more than two agenda items.
The following also apply:
- For any item with more than 10 registered speakers, the Board will employ a lottery process to select the speakers.
- Registrants who secure a slot to speak will be notified by email at the email address they provide when they register. All speakers will be allotted 2 minutes and must address the specifics of the agenda item for which they sign up. For details on the specifics of agenda items, click on the Board Docs link found at aacps.org/board. Comments about student-specific items or personnel matters are not permitted.
- Written comments on agenda items can be submitted through an online form that can be at aacps.org/boardtestimony beginning at 3 p.m. on the Friday prior to a Board meeting. Written comments must be no more than 250 words and must be submitted by noon on the day prior to a Board meeting. Comments can also be dropped off at the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis, by that time.
Those who require the services of an interpreter to offer comment to the Board or who need other accessibility accommodations for Board of Education meetings should call 410-222-5311 to make those arrangements.
The complete process for registering to speak and submitting testimony in writing can be found here.
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 Astound, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High-definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast, Channel 496 on Astound, and Channel 1961 on Verizon.
The meeting can also be viewed live on AACPS’ YouTube channel.
Archived videos of Board meetings can be found online here.
BOARD TO HOLD WORKSHOP ON APRIL 24
The Board will hold a public workshop at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 24, to hear updates from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell and his staff on the school system’s work as it relates to early literacy.
The workshop will be held in the Board Room of the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. It is open to the public, but no public questions or testimony will be taken.
The workshop will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV, which can be found on Channel 96 on Comcast and Astound, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High-definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast, Channel 496 on Astound, and Channel 1961 on Verizon. The workshop can also be viewed live on AACPS’ YouTube channel.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The Board of Education’s committees will hold upcoming virtual meetings according to the following schedule. The meetings will not be broadcast, but those wishing to listen to the meetings can access them by telephone through the codes listed below.
- Policy Committee: 3 p.m., May 9, 2023. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 900 011 435#.
- Budget Committee: noon, April 24, 2023. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 850 893 166#.
The Board Equity Committee’s meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. on April 25, 2023, has been canceled.