March 2004 Newsbriefs

Maryland eases exit exam requirements
The Maryland State Board of Education passed a plan on Feb. 25 that would make graduation possible for a student who fails one or more of the four High School Assessments (HSAs), as long as the student scores higher than an as-of-yet-unset minimum target score on each test. The new resolution, passed 8-1, will take effect for the Class of 2009, the first class that will need to pass the HSAs to graduate. Students will now have to earn a total of 1,613 out of 3,200 possible points in order to receive a diploma.

Board of Education primary winners announced
Blair teachers and several hundred Blair students had the opportunity to vote in Maryland's primary elections on March 2. Elections were held for three seats on the Board of Education (BOE). Former PTSA president Valerie Ervin (District 4), Stephen Abrams (District 2) and BOE President Sharon Cox (At-Large) won their school board races with 46.2 percent, 42 percent and 68.5 percent of the vote in their races, respectively. In District 4, Ervin will face candidate Sheldon Fishman, who garnered 33 percent of the vote. The three winners and all second-place finishers will move on to the Nov. 2 general election.

Entrepreneurship Academy runs school store
The Academy of Entrepreneurship will run the school store until the end of April. Two periods of Derek Sontz's Entrepreneurship class alternate control of the store, named "Tha Hot Spot," each week, and a prize will be awarded to the class that manages the business best. The venture is the culmination of last semester's class, in which students learned the theory and practice behind running a business. "We're learning to deal with vendors and businesses in general. It's easy to talk about it, but it's very different to actually do it," said senior Saskia Fagan. The classes are divided into three groups, according to junior DaVon Proctor: marketing, purchasing and accounting. Each division is responsible for different aspects of running the store, and Proctor said that the efficiency of the business is improving. "When we actually got down to it, there were a lot of problems, like communication," she said. "But as time progressed, it has gotten better."

Senate restricts new drivers
In a 38-8 vote on March 2, the Maryland State Senate passed a bill that would ban drivers in their first six months of driving from giving rides to teenagers. The bill is in response to growing concerns about teenage drivers' safety and will now go to the Maryland State House in order to be passed. The legislation has been in the works for years and is receiving new attention because of a series of fatal teenage car accidents. In past years, similar bills have passed in the Senate but have died in the House.