Central Office

A budget subcommittee agreed Wednesday to cut the University System of Maryland central office budget by about $8 million, a recommendation that, if it stands, could indirectly affect the Hagerstown campus. The House Appropriations subcommittee's decision is an early step in the fiscal 2012 budget process. The proposal still has to go to the committee and the full House, plus the Senate. After the subcommittee vote, Patrick J. "P.J. " Hogan, USM's associate vice chancellor for government relations, said the $8 million cut would be significant — roughly equal to a 2 percent tuition increase.

If the Washington County Board of Education Central Office were a prison, and some might argue that it is, the courts would declare its conditions to be an unconstitutional breach of inmates' rights. Spongy floors, asbestos, a terrarium's worth of various and sundry spores flowering throughout, an odor commensurate with the day's humidity and so on are all part of the package. And that would just be the health and safety issues. For those with an eye on the bottom line, the building, cobbled together through the years, is a money pit. It's already $5 million worth of maintenance in arrears, and the cost of keeping it together with duct tape and bailing twine will only increase.

Several positions at the Washington County Public Schools' Central Office are being restructured in a move that converts 18 central office positions to school-level positions such as classroom teachers, according to Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox. The restructuring, which takes effect July 1, was not driven by cost or budget cuts, though there will be a savings, Wilcox said Thursday. Some central office positions will be eliminated and personnel will be moved to school-level positions, filling positions left empty by retirements or resignations, he said.

The Tuscarora School Board is seeking Realtors to sell its central office building on East Seminary Street. Superintendent Rebecca Erb told the school board Monday the district should be ready to vacate the building in one year. Board members asked her to advertise for Realtors to find the best fee. Business Administrator Eric Holtzman said Tuesday that the central office functions will be moved to Mercersburg Elementary School when renovations there are finished. “It reduces our total square footage across the district, so it reduces our total operating costs,” he said.

For years, if not decades, talk of a new home for the Washington County Board of Education has been one of those things that just wasn't talked about in the company of constituents. It was believed that the perception of putting administrators ahead of students was akin to political suicide. And indeed, politics aside, this has been a noble course, especially as temporary classrooms were sprouting up across the county. The needs of the students certainly come first. And rightly or wrongly, the central offices on Commonwealth Avenue were always held up as an avatar of bureaucratic largesse.

The General Assembly has agreed to cut $4 million in spending from the University System of Maryland's central office for the next fiscal year, finding a middle ground between the House and Senate. A group of delegates and senators reached an agreement Tuesday, one of the final pieces in a compromise on the $34 billion fiscal 2012 state budget. The USM central office cut could affect Washington County if money were taken from the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown's budget to help make up for the shortfall.

Most Washington County Board of Education members said this week that at some point they will need to discuss what to do with the school system's aging Central Office, but they have not discussed moving it. The issue arose after school board President Wayne Ridenour attended a private meeting held Jan. 4 at the Fountain Head Country Club in which several local business and government officials discussed what local projects might be funded if...

The Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday decided not to renovate Washington County Public Schools' Central Office complex and will meet with various groups to hear ideas about housing the school system's administrative offices. The school board will meet soon with groups such as the Greater Hagerstown Committee, Hagerstown's mayor and City Council, Sora Development, economic development officials, and other private developers and groups, Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said.

South Hagerstown High School band director Tony Domenico has been transferred to the Washington County Public Schools central office on Commonwealth Avenue in Hagerstown. Carol Mowen, public information officer for Washington County Public Schools, said another certified music teacher has taken over Domenico's classes at the high school. Mowen would not say why Domenico was transferred to the central office, saying it is a personnel matter. Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan would not comment on the transfer.

Here are some of the things happening this week in Washington County Public Schools: Monday, March 25 2013-14 kindergarten registration - Applications available at all elementary schools Bester Elementary - Grade-one egg hunt, 1:45 to 2:15 p.m.; kindergarten egg hunt, 1:50 p.m. Boonsboro Middle - Staff/student basketball fundraiser game (benefits Cumberland Valley-Breast Cancer Awareness), 6 p.m. at Boonsboro High School Clear Spring Middle - Family Life for eighth-graders Pleasant Valley Elementary - Good citizens luncheon; spring pictures Tuesday, March 26 Clear Spring Middle - Family Life for eighth-graders; perfect attendance drawing Pleasant Valley Elementary - Chess Club, 2:15 p.m. Springfield Middle - STARS breakfast, 7 a.m. Wednesday, March 27 Bester Elementary - Citizen of the month celebration, 2:45 p.m. Clear Spring High - Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting, 7:45 a.m. Clear Spring Middle - Family Life for eighth-graders E. Russell Hicks Middle - Art Club, 2:30 p.m. Fountaindale Elementary - PBIS board game day Funkstown Elementary - Grandparents day, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Pleasant Valley Elementary - 24 Club for fifth-graers, 2:15 p.m. Springfield Middle - MSA reward activity Thursday, March 28 Spring break - Schools closed/central office open Friday, March 29 Spring break - Schools and central office closed

The Hagerstown City Council made some tentative progress Friday toward what it hopes will be a kickstart for downtown commerce, inking a nonbinding agreement with the Sora development group that will allow the organization to formulate plans for future growth. It might be too little too late. Time will tell. But it conceivably could put downtown revitalization in the hands of professionals who have established track records in other communities. The agreement allows the Sora team to do some legwork and explore the redevelopment possibilities.

Hagerstown developer Peter Perini told the Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday that his company was interested in developing a building in downtown Hagerstown to house multiple tenants, including new administrative offices for the school system. The Board of Education also heard about the police presence downtown from Hagerstown Police Chief Mark Holtzman as school system officials continue to listen to proposals for new administrative offices. On Tuesday morning, the City of Hagerstown continued its effort to get the school board to move its offices downtown, presenting a video during the State of the City address that featured a rendering of a new office building in the unit block of West Washington Street.

“As a taxpayer, I was reading the headlines here in the paper. Looks like the BOE's finally using some common sense, as far as the move into the Allegheny Energy building. So far, so good. At least it appears that way. And another thing, the EDC meeting, someone is finally telling the EDC to do something, get something done for this area. I've made several minor suggestions to the EDC over the years, and because I'm not someone with influence, I'm just brushed off.” - Hagerstown “Thumbs up to the Washington County BOE for considering the former Allegheny Power building for its central office.

“Today is Feb. 15, and a caller is calling for a major overhaul of the county's volunteer fire companies. He/she cites as mistakes Fairplay Fire Co. problems, and the fire in downtown Williamsport. As one of the people directly affected by this fire, I am offended by this characterization. Obviously, this person was not on the scene, or they would not have this mistaken idea. All of the firefighters performed brilliantly. Due to their efforts, the majority of Wolfe's building was saved, and the connected home didn't even suffer smoke damage.

“And the reactions begin” read the headline in Thursday's Herald-Mail. Two stories under the headline discussed reaction to the study by Greater Hagerstown Committee about moving the central offices of Washington County Public Schools to downtown Hagerstown. The study undertaken at the request of the City of Hagerstown examined a number of locations. The process whittled the number of possible sites to four, all of which were examined in detail. All are in the economic development zone commonly referred to as the Arts & Entertainment District.

Vinnie DiCola, owner of Rocky's New York Pizza on South Potomac Street, said he is “excited” about the prospect of the Washington County Board of Education central offices moving to downtown Hagerstown. The move, he said, could bring in more “walking wallets.” “There'd be more professional people downtown and more people coming downtown to do business,” he said. “All these people are going to have to have lunch and dinner somewhere. We definitely need that.” A study released last week by a Greater Hagerstown Committee task force calls moving the BOE central offices to downtown Hagerstown as “feasible” and recommends four preferred locations after looking at 12 potential sites.

Relocating the Washington County Board of Education central offices to downtown Hagerstown is “both physically and economically feasible,” according to a study released Tuesday by a Greater Hagerstown Committee task force. The study examined 12 potential sites before selecting its four preferred locations and presenting them to Mayor David S. Gysberts and the Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday at City Hall. The four highest-scoring sites, considered to have the best potential for both redeveloping the downtown as well as accommodating the BOE's needs, were three locations along West and East Washington streets (Sites titled F/G, A and J)

A task force exploring the possibility of relocating the Washington County Board of Education central offices to downtown Hagerstown will present its four preferred locations in a report at the mayor and city council meeting Tuesday. The task force gathered needed information from the BOE, evaluated 12 potential sites and then identified four sites as having the “best potential,” City Administrator Bruce Zimmerman said in a memo to Mayor David S. Gysberts and the five-member council.

Occasionally, good intentions can be taken to the extreme. We thank past Washington County boards of education for putting students first, and milking every drop of use out of the rickety old central office complex on Commonwealth Avenue. We also congratulate the current board for knowing when to say enough. The school board decided last week that it will not renovate the aging campus, which is nearly $5 million behind in maintenance needs, a sum Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said could easily double in the near future.