PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. – The Calvert County Board of Education convened on Tuesday June 9th for their first meeting of the month.
The meeting started with the usual routine that included The Pledge of Allegiance and introductions from the members. They also took a moment to welcome Maggie Rathgeb, a Northern High School sophomore and the new Student Member of the Board who was sworn in on May 12th.
The business began with a letter to former Superintendent Dr. Daniel D. Curry, read by chairperson of The Big Conversation, Dr. Diane Davies.
For any who might not know, The Big Conversation is an organization dedicated to “dismantling racism and privilege in Southern Maryland”, among other things.
The letter was made to thank Dr. Curry, “For your cooperation and tireless dedication to a better informed and more equitable public school system and community. Your most notable support for our initiatives was your wholehearted cooperation for big conversations and programs…”
Thanks to Dr. Curry the organization has made much progress in communities across Southern Maryland.
The next notable highlight was a public comment from Edward Sullivan, a citizen in Calvert County.
He thanked the Board of Education for everything that they have done and wished Dr. Curry well in his retirement.
His speech consisted of a story from the Bible. In this story a group of children attempt to approach Jesus Christ, but the disciples tell them to stay away from him. Jesus, however, told the disciples to allow the children to come to him so he could hear from them and teach them.
The reason for this story was that he wanted the board to increase public comment because the parents and students are worth it. He hopes they will consider his request.
We next heard a comment from Maggie Rathgerb, who mentioned how important it was to her to be sitting here with everyone.
She looks forward to using her position, “to elicit student opinion on board matters. The student interest will be of the utmost importance to me while I am in this role. That means prioritizing issues like mental health services, school safety, and more.”
The next item on the agenda was a Superintendent’s report, which consisted of a speech from Dr. Curry remarking on his retirement.
He wanted to thank all those who had wished him well in his retirement as well as thank those who had supported him during his tenure.
He also promised to continue volunteering for whatever he could and took the chance to remind everyone of the upcoming Juneteenth Celebration at Jefferson Patterson Park, as well as fill in some vacancies for the last time.
The board took most of the rest of the meeting to address action items, such as policy reviews, approving the next fiscal year’s budget, a review of special education staffing, and approval of a new code of conduct for Calvert County Public Schools.
The meeting concluded with some final comments from the board members. Many of them once again chose to thank Dr. Curry for his years of service. They uttered words of optimism about the upcoming school year and congratulated students on all of their hard work.
The next board meeting is currently set for July 14th.
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