Richard Wright

The Washington County Board of Education has canceled its Tuesday, April 16, meeting because, due to unforeseen circumstances, not enough members were expected to make the meeting, school system spokesman Richard Wright said Tuesday. Four of the seven members must be present for there to be a quorum so official business can be conducted, Wright said. The school board will hold a short public meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, before the 6 p.m. public hearing concerning the proposed redistricting for Pangborn Elementary School, Wright said.

Washington County Board of Education President Justin Hartings said Thursday he had his appendix removed Monday and he expected to be released from Meritus Medical Center soon. Hartings said he expects to be at the April 23 school board meeting. The April 16 school board meeting was canceled because there weren't enough board members for a quorum due to unforeseen circumstances, school system spokesman Richard Wright said Tuesday. During Wednesday night's Teacher of the Year ceremony, Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox told the crowd Hartings was in the hospital after having emergency surgery.

HAGERSTOWN -- The perimeter of Fountaindale Elementary School was roped off with caution tape earlier this week after a student was injured and school system staff found construction debris outside the building, Washington County Public Schools spokesman Richard Wright said. The student was injured after falling on the grounds of the school at 901 Northern Ave. during an after-school program, Wright said. After learning of the injury, staff conducted a thorough inspection of the property and found construction debris left over from the replacement of the school's windows and doors over the summer, Wright said.

SAINT JAMES -- An 8-year-old boy struck by a car Thursday night on Jordan Road was in an intensive care unit Friday after a lengthy surgery and several blood transfusions, Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Thompson said Friday night. The boy is a third-grader at Fountain Rock Elementary School, not far from where the accident occurred, a school official confirmed Friday night. A spokeswoman at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said Friday night she had no additional information about the boy's condition and could not confirm he was a patient at the hospital, where he was flown by helicopter after the accident.

A reader recently expressed concern about bags and boxes of books being thrown into a Dumpster at Conococheague Elementary School. The reader wondered why the books weren't donated to others. Washington County Public Schools spokesman Richard Wright said the elementary school did throw out some damaged books, as well as historical books that no longer were relevant. Wright said the school also had a shed full of books that were going to be donated. Every school donates books as new editions arrive, Wright said.

HAGERSTOWN -- Authorities searched for about an hour Monday afternoon for a Potomac Heights Elementary School student who got off at the wrong bus stop. The boy, whose name and age were unavailable Monday, was found at about 4 p.m. at Bester Elementary School in Hagerstown. "According to Bester Elementary staff, a student from Bester escorted the student to Bester's front office, where the student was assisted," Washington County Public Schools spokesman Richard Wright said in an e-mail.

Three Smithsburg High School students were taken to a hospital  after they became sick Thursday morning while smoking synthetic marijuana known as “Spice,” according to police and school officials. The male students, ages 18, 16 and 17, were smoking the substance in a car on Main Street between the fire station and the high school, said Lt. Tim Baker of the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The students became ill, but more information on their medical conditions was not available, according to Washington County Public Schools spokesman Richard Wright.

A Fountaindale Elementary School fifth-grader was allowed to ride a bus home from school Monday when he was not supposed to, causing him to be dropped off at home with no parental supervision. The boy's mother, Trish Ieraci, said her son, who has special needs, waited outside of their home for 45 minutes until she returned home from work. Ieraci said she sent a note to school with her son asking that he not go home right after school, but that he remain at an aftercare program then take a bus home.

The start of the school year went smoothly for Washington County Public Schools Wednesday morning, according to school officials. “Everything was great,” school system spokesman Richard Wright said after the school day had come to a close. A power outage in Hagerstown, from around 6:45 to 7:30 a.m., didn't delay the start of school, Wright said. The only school system buildings affected by the outage were the central school office off Commonwealth Avenue and Barbara Ingram School for the Arts downtown, he said.

WILLIAMSPORT -- The parents of students at Williamsport Elementary School this week received a letter from school officials warning of an increased rate of absenteeism due to flu-like symptoms, Washington County Public Schools spokesman Richard Wright said Wednesday. Forty-eight of the school's students were listed as absent Monday, the day the letter was sent home with students, Wright said. That number dropped to 38 Wednesday. Williamsport Elementary has 501 students, according to the school's Web site.