The continuing case of the Bad Bus Blues

• New start times improve bus on-time performance, but many parents continue to be frustrated by Zum's poor performance.— "The change to school start times became effective this week in Howard County, but despite the plan's goal of increasing on-time arrivals, persisting issues have further frustrated parents." READ MORE

• "Now, the Maryland School Bus Contractors Association, which represents 3,000 school buses in 19 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions, is weighing in and calling on the county school system to terminate its contract with California-based company Zum Transportation that operates 210+ buses for the school system." READ MORE

WTOP News Radio, by Clara Wells, September 22, 2023,

During the last HoCo Board of Education's "Public Participation" agenda, one mother of students who have now become "walkers" gave the the following memorable "numeric" testimony:

• 5,200 IS THE POLICY NUMBER THAT WAS PASSED WITHOUT A PUBLIC HEARING

•  3,500 IS THE NUMBER OF OF STUDENTS AFFECTED BY THAT POLICY

• TWO (2) IS THE NUMBER OF MILES STUDENTS MAY HAVE TO WALK TO SCHOOL

• 40 – 48 IS THE NUMBER OF MINUTES IT TAKES A CHILD TO WALK THOSE TWO MILES

• 15 – 25 IS THE AVERAGE WEIGHT FOR THE BACKPACKS THAT THESE KIDS HAVE TO CARRY WHILE WALKING THOSE TWO MILES

• 16 IS THE NUMBER OF TIMES CHILDREN IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD MUST CROSS THE ROAD ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL

• 0 IS THE NUMBER OF CROSSING GUARDS AT EACH OF THOSE 16 ROAD CROSSINGS

• 5-19 ARE THE AGES OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT MAKE UP HALF OF THE UNDERAGE PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES IN MARYLAND

Testimony of Rebecca Jensen

Whether gender Ideology should be part of the school curriculum is a question that is both personal and political.

The medical issues of children transitioning from one sex to another, however, are both complex and serious. On Thursday, October 5th, M4L is hosting a Gender Ideology Forum featuring two excellent speakers. Kathleen Goonan, MD is uniquely positioned to help us understand the physical realities along the path to a gender change.

Kathleen Goonan, M.D. is an internal medicine physician trained at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard and a health policy expert, formerly senior vice president of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield. She manages parent advocacy for Genspect, an international and non-partisan organization which represents thousands of parents of gender dysphoric children, adolescents, and young adults, as well as trans people, detransitioners, clinicians, and allied groups. In that role, she has advised well over 120 families since 2021. Kate is an advisor to the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine. She was a member of the Panel of Judges for the Baldrige National Quality Award (all industries including Education) and lead author of Journey to Excellence: How Baldrige Health Care Leaders Succeed.

For more information on the perspective that Dr. Goonan and Genspect bring to this issue, read the "Open Letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics."

This past Monday evening, the Howard County Chapter of Moms for Liberty held its regular monthly Chapter meeting in the Elkridge Library. But this meeting was special. The speaker for this night was a former Glenelg teacher and Harpers Choice Middle School Principal and author of the book, Dead Last: the Triumph of Character, Passion and Teamwork in Education. He would be speaking about how he was able to take "the worst school in Howard County" and, in just four years, manage a turnaround that resulted in Harpers Choicer Middle being named a State Character School of the Year, cited among the top schools in the Virginia–Washington, D.C.–Maryland area, and later designated a National School of Excellence. Steve Wallis, himself, earned the American Federation of School Administrators Distinguished Leadership Award, which cited him among “the top eight school principals in the nation.”

Moms for Liberty publicized this meeting fairly heavily and attracted not just supporters, but a substantial number of detractors. There was a good deal of initial concern the there would be (verbal) fireworks.

But that didn't happen. Other than a few very minor outbursts, the whole crowd sat and listened respectfully. . .with a little guidance from M4L Chair, Lisa Geraghty and Vice-Chair, Tudy Adler. After the formal meeting adjourned, many members of both groups stayed and talked -- with each other. We were able to have a real exchange of views. Reasonable people acting with civility.

No, it's unlikely that anyone changed their point of view, but I think everyone left the event feeling a bit less hostility and a bit more understanding of those "other" points of view.