Prince George's Residents Decry Bullying, School Staffing Cuts

Concerns over bullying and staffing cuts at Prince George's County schools were raised at a community forum held this week by incoming county executive Rushern Baker.

Joe Murchison, a Laurel resident and the executive director of the nonprofit Side by Side, said he was worried about the effect recent parent liaison layoffs at county schools would have on the Hispanic community.

"Our Spanish-speaking families, they make up a sizable number of our families," said Murchison, at the Tuesday night forum at Lake Arbor Elementary School. Census Bureau data from 2009 reveals that persons of Hispanic or Latino origin make up 13.5 percent of the population of Prince George's County. Many of those families don't speak English and need bilingual parent liaisons to help them get involved, Murchison said.