Parents On Hand As Baltimore City Public School Board Holds Meeting On Maintenance Issues
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- More Baltimore City schools were closed Tuesday because of maintenance issues.
A school board meeting was held at the Baltimore City Public Schools headquarters at 200 East North Avenue Tuesday night, which included parents.
"You will have your time to be outspoken. You will have your time to be angry," said Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises at the meeting.
The board tossed out its Tuesday night agenda after frustrations overflowed inside a packed meeting room.
"Meetings are nice. Action is better," parent Kahlilah Harris said. "We can't wait for you to tell us what's going to happen further, because you don't seem to have a level of urgency for our children."
"This is just proof of neglect," said parent Keinya Sullivan. "There is no reason that this should be OK. This is not something you sweep under a rug. This is from an accumulation of neglect."
Sullivan says she never wants to see children in coats and jackets freezing again in Baltimore classrooms.
"When I saw it on national news--on CBS--it was very embarrassing to me," she said. "You say you have the best interest of the children--be accountable."
"We simply cannot allow children to be punished year after year because their adult leaders are failing," Gov. Hogan said. "The decades of under funding by city leaders has been exacerbated by their woeful mismanagement by the city school board of the state funding.
"The way they handled this crisis was absolutely awful. They shouldn't have stayed open, in conditions like that," teacher Mike Pesa said.
"I'm not going to blame it on the money. I'm not going to blame it on you all. I'm not going to blame it on the mayor or the governor. This has been going on for decades," grandparent Kimberly Smith said.
The following schools were closed Tuesday:
- Furman L. Templeton Elementary School
- Furley Elementary School
- Calverton Elementary-Middle School
- Harlem Park Elementary School
- Leith Walk Elementary School
- Pimlico Elementary/Middle School
Later in January, schools will hold a special town hall for the heating problems. According to officials, there will also be an online process where parents can submit comments and complaints.
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