Maryland public elementary school reinstates COVID mask requirements

Montgomery County NOW - Howard County SOON??

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Guidance on face masking in schools is shown below. Currently, masks are "voluntary." Nevertheless, we are cautioned that the "information is subject to change pending guidance and recommendations from" various government sources."

PARENTS -- be ready to let the school system know what you think if the policy changes. Would they really require our children to wear face masks, again? Although there are people who believe in the efficacy of facemasks, medical science has proven conclusively that facemasks on children - particularly younger children -- are harmful.

"Social distancing and masks hinder learning while harming children emotionally, socially and physically." READ MORE.



Among the many articles written by medical experts reporting the results of masking, one of the most comprehensive can be found in "Do We Need Mask Mandates? The science suggests that more states should consider rescinding them," which reports:

“Harms were rarely measured and poorly reported”—but some are uncontroversial. 

·     Masks “could cause persistent face rashes;”

·     Fourfold increase in reported headaches;

·     Unhygienic masks “can also trap moisture and promote bacterial growth;”

·     May "hamper children’s linguistic and emotional development.”

If you live in Howard County, you have no doubt heard of or experienced the unprecedented failure of the Howard County Public School System to pick and deliver our school children to their schools this year.

On the first day, approximately 340 routes were late arriving at schools during the morning commute, and 20-some routes were cancelled for the week.

There has been improvement, but far too many children are still waiting for the bus that never came.

For a thorough analysis of the facts and an interesting perspective on who's to blame., recommend reading "'Zum'ing off a cliff: Howard County School Bus Debacle Exposes Deep HCPPS Leadership Issues."

My own analysis of the causes of the foul-up are as follows:

1. Decision to change start times, a positive decision but one that created compressed starting times that impacted bus routing
2. Decision to require 3,500 more children (mostly pre-kindergartners) to walk rather than ride in order to lessen the load on bus routing. READ MORE
3. Decision to cancel the contracts (some of which extended to 2027) of our 23 local bus companies, resulting in a lawsuit that was withdrawn when HCPSS agreed to rehire 19 of the local companies. READ MORE
4. Decision to sign on with a fairly new California company (Zum) with almost no experience with large-scale school bus service, and six of its seven contracts were signed between 2022 and 2023! "To try to come in and get 230 drivers in six months is almost unheard of," said the owner of MBG Enterprises, another bus company that contracts with HCPSS. READ MORE
5. Decision to contract with Zum based at least in part on Zum's "non-carbon based" fleet along with a promise to use all-electric buses sometime "soon," thus elevating climate change considerations to how to transport our children. READ MORE
6. Decision to contract with Zum at a cost of $117,000 per route in order for Zum to pay drivers higher wages while rejecting the $85,000 that local contractors had been asking for to help secure pay raises and benefits for their drivers. READ MORE
7. Decision to sign with Zoom despite known performance problem. READ MORE
8. Decision to sign with Zoom despite their repeated failure to produce the number of bus drivers they said they had. READ MORE
9. Decision to force school board into approving contract before it was satisfied with the terms
10. Failure of HCPSS transportation staff to negotiate performance penalties into the contract with Zum, something common in most government contracts.
11. Failure of HCPSS transportation staff, which sent faulty bus routes to Zum that had to be replaced (on paper rather than electronically), until two days before the start of school.
12. Failure of HCPSS transportation staff to keep superintendent apprised of this situation; failure of the Superintendent to keep a closer watch on his staff, particularly when so many of the transportation decisions were already being questioned publicly.
13. All-around failure to communicate adequately with parents and students on Day 1 and the rest of that week.

It seems to me the problem of getting kids to school on time is easy to solve. Any market-driven business would look at the problem – not enough people willing to be bus drivers – and realize the job “bus driver” was not sufficiently appealing. What would they do? Offer Increased wages and benefits until they attracted an optimal number of drivers. This answer is not a proprietary secret! 

Yes, it would cost a lot more money. So why didn’t HCPSS take that approach? I’ll tell you why. HCPSS is a government bureaucracy. In order to put more money into bus transportation, it would have to make cuts elsewhere in the budget, which bureaucracies and elected officials strenuously resist.  So, here’s what you do. 

Evaluate the need for each of the myriad offices within the system's administration and weigh each against the value of getting students to school safely and on time. It’s all in where you put your priorities.

Do we really need 12 people in an office of “Enterprise Applications”? Is it critical to have 4 people in “Communications & Engagement” in addition to 5 people in “Multimedia Communications.” What, exactly do the 6 people in “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” do? Training is important, but do we need 21.6 people in combined “Leadership Development and School Management” and “Instructional Leadership Officer”? Plus, another 459 people in “School Management and Instructional Leadership.” We also have a staff of 71 in “Behavior Supports,” plus 242 in “School Counseling,” plus 26 people in “Pupil Personnel Services,” as well as another 6 in “Student Support Programs”. . . .but only one person in “Academic Intervention.” And I’m sure there’s a reason for “Countywide Services,” but do we need 123 people to staff it? Then there’s “Birth-Five Early Intervention Service” that apparently requires 259.6 people.

I’m not suggesting that any of these are irrelevant or unnecessary; I don’t know enough to make that claim. But certainly, the apparent redundancies bear another look to be weighed against the safety of our kids getting to school and getting there on time.

A PIA request for the HCPSS contract with Zum is answered by sending a 12-page document, with one and a half pages redacted. The school system claims the 'proprietary information' exclusion, which is claimed, apparently, on behalf of Zum.

This excuse won't wash. First of all, the guts of the contract are contained in those redacted pages and are exactly the information we have a right to see.

I have no love for lengthy contracts that are designed to obscure rather than enlighten, but any good contract needs to cover certain basic issues. The San Francisco contract does so. The Howard County contract does not.

The first 16 pages of the SF contract set out the terms of the contract; the remaining 28 are APPENDICES containing the details. The HC contract is a total of 12 pages. In order to see what the SF contract covered that the HC contract did not, here is a comparison of the topic headers in each contract.

You are cordially invited to the Forum on Gender Ideology

October 5, 2023 6:30 pm

The Gathering Place,

6120 Day Long Ln, Clarksville

What is true and what is not? Learn how to talk with your kids about this sensitive subject. The event is free of charge and is sponsored by the Howard County Moms for Liberty.

Click here to register.