Death has been a grim, constant marker of the ultimate impact of the the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
The casualty count is updated daily. Nationally, the death total that approached 334,000 as New Year s week began already dwarfed the casualties of such historic events as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Pearl Harbor and the Vietnam War.
In Florida, the virus has accounted for the deaths of more than 21,300 Florida residents, a figure that doesn t include more than 300 non-resident deaths. In Volusia County, as of Monday, there have been 430 deaths. In Flagler County, there have been another 48.
Behind each of those numbers is a story.
Following the county Board of Education s lengthy discussion about school resource officers earlier this month, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is defending the program and seeking to clarify its mission.
The Frederick County Sheriff s Office provides one lieutenant, one sergeant, two corporals and 11 deputies to the SRO program, including SRO assignments at schools in Frederick city at Frederick High, Gov. Thomas Johnson High and Heather Ridge School. SROs and other deputies conduct safety checks at other schools, as well.
Frederick and Brunswick police departments also provide SROs to the district.
On Dec. 9, the school board voted 5-2 to accept a $168,000 grant from the Maryland Center for School Safety. From that discussion, Jenkins found fault with the way board members defined the responsibilities of SROs and the board s decision to seek a grant he believes they didn t need in the first place.
Brunswick Elementary School is scheduled to be rebuilt within the next three years to address growth in the area, but it is possible the new building could open and the school would still be over-capacity.
School system officials shared this with the Frederick County Board of Education on Wednesday as they were presented with initial schematic designs for the new school.
Brunswick Elementary is currently over capacity by at least 200 students. The new school building, which is expected to open in fall 2023, would add an additional 217 seats. However, FCPS enrollment projections show the number of students at the school continuing to rise until at least 2029.