Annapolis City Council Meeting: School District Update and City Dock Funding Announcement - June 18, 2026
Annapolis City Council Meeting: School District Update and City Dock Funding Announcement - June 18, 2026
This meeting of the Annapolis City Council featured two major segments: an annual update from Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) leadership and a press conference announcing the release of FEMA funding for the City Dock resilience project. The transcript also includes public service announcements and a brief presentation on the Golden Pass parking program. The meeting included remarks from Board of Education member Joanna Tobin, Superintendent Dr. Bedell, Mayor Jared Littman, County Executive Stuart Pittman, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congresswoman Sarah Elfrith, Congressman John Sarbanes, and Maryland Emergency Management Secretary Russ Strickland.
Discussion Items: AACPS Annual Update
- Enrollment Data: Dr. Tobin presented that AACPS is the fourth largest district in Maryland and 37th largest in the U.S., with 84,246 students. The Annapolis cluster experienced a significant enrollment decline, accounting for nearly 50% of the district's overall loss of approximately 750 students. Dr. Bedell attributed this to federal-level changes affecting ELL families. The district chose not to redistrict the Annapolis cluster due to the decline and the upcoming opening of New Village Academy, which will relieve Annapolis High School.
- Attendance & Early Release Reform: Dr. Bedell highlighted that the district moved from a 180-day schedule to an hours-based system (House Bill 226), eliminating 8 of 12 early release days. Early release days disproportionately harmed hourly-wage families. The change led to statistically significant increases in attendance rates, especially in community schools. Data has been submitted for publication.
- Academic Performance: The district achieved a record high of five-star rated schools (13% of schools, compared to 7% statewide). 95% of schools earned three stars or better, and only four schools (three of them middle schools) received two stars. Dr. Bedell set a goal to eliminate all two-star schools.
- Advanced Placement & College Readiness: The district removed gatekeeper models for AP, PSAT, and SAT participation. PSAT takers rose from 4,800 to over 15,000; SAT takers among 11th graders increased from 3,300 to 85%. College and career readiness (CCR) marks increased from 1,300 to over 6,400. Despite expanded access, the percentage of students scoring 3+ on AP exams increased every year, with the largest gains among African American, Hispanic, and free/reduced lunch students. National Merit Scholars increased from one to nine, all finalists.
- Graduation Rates: The district anticipates a 90% graduation rate for the class of 2026, driven by a reduction in credit requirements from 26 to 23 (state minimum). Eleven comprehensive high schools achieved 90% or better; none were below 82.5%. Annapolis High School is expected to reach 90% within two years.
- Educational Options: Programs like Phoenix Academy, evening high school, and the Teen Parent Education Program (with its first teen dad graduate) are located in Annapolis.
- Aftercare Needs: Dr. Tobin emphasized that Annapolis cluster elementary schools lack affordable aftercare compared to county schools, which charges $5/month for low-income families vs. $300/month in the city. This gap contributes to enrollment decline and is a priority for partnership between the city and schools.
- Mentorship: Dr. Bedell and the school system requested city employee involvement in mentoring, potentially on city time. A new mentorship coordinator, Andre Dillard, oversees the program.
Discussion Items: City Dock Funding Announcement
- FEMA Funding Released: After years of delay, FEMA released $33 million plus an additional $2.5 million for the Annapolis City Dock resilience project. The breakthrough followed a coordinated effort by the Maryland congressional delegation, including Senator Van Hollen, Congresswoman Elfrith, and former Congressman Sarbanes, as well as calls to the Pentagon and Navy regarding impacts on the Naval Academy.
- Project Funding Breakdown: Total project funding now includes $24 million from the Hillman Garage concession agreement, $10 million from the state of Maryland, $4.8 million in federal earmarks, $2 million from Anne Arundel County, and city bond funds. Mayor Littman confirmed all funding is in place.
- Project Significance: The City Dock project is designed to mitigate flooding from rising seas and king tides, protecting historic waterfront, local businesses, and the Naval Academy. It is expected to serve as a national model for climate resilience. Secretary Strickland noted a $6 return for every $1 invested in mitigation.
- Recognitions: Mayor Littman and other speakers thanked former Mayor Gavin Buckley for the initial vision, city staff (Eileen Fogarty, Kevin Simmons, David Mendel, Burr Vogel, Matt Fleming), and the entire “Team Maryland” including state and local partners.
Key Outcomes
- The city council received the AACPS annual update and discussed partnership opportunities regarding aftercare, mentoring, summer meals programs (Alderman Savage raised concerns about underserved communities), and technology challenges (Canvas LMS rollout). No formal votes were taken on these items.
- The FEMA funding announcement was celebrated as a major milestone, with all necessary funds now secured for the City Dock resilience project. Project execution will proceed through design and construction phases.
- Mayor Littman indicated he is working on a solution for aftercare in the next budget cycle (not the upcoming school year).
- The council agreed to follow up on the maritime apprenticeship program and mentorship policy for city employees via email.
Meeting Transcript
Hey, get out of here. Looks like I have to do proper trash placement and training again. If you put your trash out, please place it into a bag. And tie the bag up and place it to a water type receptacle with your address placed on it so they can be seen from the street at the end of your property for proper road collection. As a matter of fact, this recycle is done all wrong also. If you decide to place your recycling in a bag, please bring your bag to the receptacle and take all items out of the bag and place them into the can. And make sure the lid is closed, please. Let's bring back getting the trash monster so I can show you things that are not recyclable. See, 40% non recyclable right now. Please be mindful of your trash and recycle placement to avoid fines. Good. Okay. All right, you're good. Thank you. All right, good afternoon, everyone. I'm Joanna Tobin. I represent uh District Six on the Board of Education, which is includes the city of Annapolis within that district, and I have represented this district since twenty twenty. Presentation here, and we're looking forward to giving you all the annual update on our progress. So I know I keep looking at that screen, but you all have the presentation where you are. Okay. So I think we're ready. I will I will start. So perfect. So good afternoon. We will begin just reminding everyone of sort of the large profile of the district. We are the fourth largest district in Maryland. We are the 37th largest district in the United States. And to give you some context for that, there are at my last count over 13,000 school districts in this country. So as you can see, we are kind of a behemoth compared to most school districts. And obviously, you understand where we're located. You can see we have currently about 84,246 students, 56 students. You can see the breakdown of populations, 43.6% white, 22%, 22.7% African American, 22.5% Hispanic, two or more races, et cetera, smaller, smaller groups. You will often hear them referred to as free and reduced meals. They are not reduced, they're reduced priced. That is a significant population. And in this state, that population has continued to grow as it has across the country. And then multilingual learners at 10.6%. Here you can see uh very particularly some documentation on the Annapolis cluster enrollment. Uh many of you may recall we uh one of the many wonderful tasks this board charged Dr. Bedell with was uh redistricting of the entire county. And we didn't tell him that before we hired him. So I will tell you uh again, just so you know, Dr. Bedell joined us in 22. Uh we just completed renewing his contract for the next four years. Congratulations of all the terms. I was president of the board when we hired Dr. Biddell. I count that as one of the great um things that I've been able to do on this board. Um, and I should say he was hired unanimously and he was renewed unanimously. So the board is is very strong and firm and in support of everything that Dr.
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