Education Main Topic of Session with Legislators
Speakers focused on education priorities when they spoke to county and state elected officials at an "Open Door" forum sponsored for the sixth year by the American Association of University Women Saturday.
The officials included state Sen. Leo E. Green, D-Bowie; the three delegates, Mary A. Conroy, Marvin E. Holmes and Jim W. Hubbard, all D-Bowie, who represent District 23; and Prince George's County Councilman Douglas J.J. Peters, D-Bowie.
"Education should be the highest priority," said Bowie resident Debbie Sell. "Education is a life-long endeavor and should encompass the whole community. Society can't prosper unless we help education."
Mary Nusser, president of Bowie High School's Parent-Teacher Organization, told the legislators that "Johns Hopkins testing and research has shown improvement in test scores by ninth-graders in academy setting."
"We're witnessing that with our own version of a ninth-grade academy with ninth-graders housed at Belair Annex " she said. "It is working. Test scores are up 45 points and discipline issues have declined."
She asked the legislators to keep the Belair Annex available to ninth-graders and to work to make freshman high school a part of all county schools.
Hubbard told Nusser that the 23rd District legislators have had a "team effort for eight years" to get funding, infrastructure and capital improvement projects in education.
"In Bowie the problem is overcrowding," said Peters.
He said Bowie has "some of the best schools in the county" and that he and the County Council have worked to improve the capacity problem and have come up with what he called "creative ideas to bring schools on line."
"Our biggest challenge is stability of the leadership. We've had two superintendents in recent years and other counties have had the same one for 10 or 15 years," Peters said. "We are currently looking at a new board that will be elected and a new CEO for the schools."
Speaking for senior citizens at the other end of life's spectrum, Ed Bice, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees, said "my group is working with the Prince George's County delegation to include a proposal to cap property tax for owners over 70 years old or whose income is under $52,000."
"Our primary issue is to equalize Maryland income tax for seniors," Bice said. "Currently, Maryland law penalizes you if you are 65 years old."
Green told Bice that he has a bill that speaks to this that he will introduce this year. "It all depends on the governor's priorities," he said.
"All of us delegates are co-sponsoring several pieces of legislation on senior citizens," Conroy told Bice.
Holmes agreed with Green that it all depends "on the governor's radar."
Green also said the governor's plans for the Intercounty Connector will influence what, if any, funds become available for road and transportation issues in the Bowie area.
"The roads are very dangerous as they now stand," said Russ Ideo, who said he was concerned with routes 197 and 301.
"I've lived here almost 37 years and I heard when I moved to Bowie that there would be improvements on Route 301. I'm still waiting," he said.
Bonnie Moore of the Long Ridge Neighborhood Association said the residents there are concerned with the widening of Route 197. She asked the legislators that the community be included in the planning and she asked where the project stands.
"The Route 197 project is in the planning process," Green said. He said the $2.5 million for the project came from the state and through the efforts of Peters at the county level who was able to earmark $1 million in county funds.
"The engineers are working on options currently," he said, "and the city will set up a task force to get the community involved."
Neighborhoods in Old Bowie and south Bowie were addressed with comments from speakers from those areas.
Ruth Ann Snyder, a Pointer Ridge resident, spoke directly to Holmes about his proposed shopping center security bill that would ask all Prince George's County shopping centers over 100,000 square feet to provide mobile security during the hours the shops are open.
"We need a blight or anti-blight bill, not a security bill," Snyder told Holmes. She said the Pointer Ridge Shopping Center in her neighborhood lacks lighting and she feels this contributes to the crime increase.
She told the group that owners are leaving the shopping center because of the problems.
"I want Holmes to pump up his bill and I expect every one of you to get on it and not stand by and see my community become like others," Snyder said.
Holmes said his shopping center bill is causing concern among some shopping center owners and he is hoping to "revise it so everyone will be in agreement."
Two residents of Old Bowie, Bob Schaefer and Bob Rapczynski, spoke about neighborhood sidewalks and roads in Old Bowie.
"We have a problem with speeding on the streets, especially 9th and 11th streets and Route 197," said Rapczynski. "We would like some help."
He added that he believes "we need more public transportation. Roads are not the answer."
Schaefer was concerned with the state of the sidewalks in Old Bowie.
"We have multijurisdiction roads," Green promised to revisit the issue.
Published 01/19/06, Copyright © 2006 The Bowie Blade
