on sunday as i was talking to dr. starr and on the phone with the colleagues many of you were probably preparing for a super bowl party. i was preparing for this day. and i was thinking about mcps and our team and what it means. you know, we're going to be changing quarterbacks, you know. we've had a great relationship. i personally have had a very wonderful relationship working with dr. starr these past 3 1/2 years. i was very proud to raise my hand in support of him when he was hired. 3 1/2 years ago. but the board of education has decided to have another quarterback. and, you know there are eight -- there are eight individuals on the board. they're with eight different thoughts opinions using their own instincts and evaluating the system. we are the only ones who have the authority to appoint a superintendent and we will make sure that we continue the work that dr. starr and his staff and the staff that goes in our schools. >> looking for a relationship, though. >> you know i -- every superintendent at the end of four ye

dr. starr's call. >> reporter: discussions between dr. starr and the eight members of the school board continue. to renew dr. starr as superintendent will take five vote fors him. >> i support dr. starr and look forward to raising my hand for him. >> i'm in support of dr. starr. >> reporter: opponents of dr. starr say he has not done enough to close the education gap between white and minority students. others wonder if that's the real reason. >> i listened to some discussion from board members that don't support him. personal reasons don't bother me. it's just like you don't get along with everybody. that's life. when people start talking about achievement gap and all this this has been going on a long time. >> reporter: the board of education will meet tomorrow and receive legal advice on the superintendent's contract and vote whether or not to renew dr. starr. in montgomery county chris gordan news4. >>> a local family is dealing with a sudden loss for a second time. we'll tell you what we're learning about the hit-and-run tham took a m

dr. starr was hired in 2011 and a source says he's found it difficult to do his job since media reports surfaced about divided support for him on the cool board. talks of an ongoing for the last several days. a source tells chris gordon that dr. starr will not work through the end of his contract which is june 30th. the board did appear briefly in a public session this it morning. that's the video that you see here. they then adjourned to talk in private. they are doing that now still calling this a personnel matter. we're told they are talking with legal counsel at this point. talks could go on as long as an hour. you can watch that news conference live on our app. we'll be streaming it live and have more later on in the show. . barbara, back to you. >>> right now, temperatures remain below freezing in many places but the wind is begin. ing to die down. chuck bell joins us with his first forecast for midday today. >> good mobarbar fortunately the wind is startiemperatures this low the windchil

there were reports that dr. starr lost the support of four of the eight board members who thought the superintendent did not do enough to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. >> we want to work -- >> not going to tell us why? >> reporter: but today there were few answers for reporters asking why starr had to go. >> the message is not one of quitting all right. the message i hope would be one that don't get into a fight that you know you're not going to win, right. and then the board made it clear that it wanted to go a different direction, i'm not going to fight that. why would i? right? they have the right to do that. >> reporter: the union that represents 12,000 teachers has worked closely with dr. starr during his 3 1/2 years as superintendent. >> i think it's a sad day for the school system. it's something that we hoped hadn't gotten to this point, but since it has we will work with the school system to make sure we can move forward productively for all of our students. >> reporter: larry

in on the search for a new superintendent now that joshua starr is ou >> reporter: the school board emerged from a closed-door meeting with dr. joshua starr and then voted to accept a mutual agreement terminating his tenure as montgomery county school superintendent. >> it's unanimous. >> reporter: dr. starr's resignation is e if i can tifffective as of february 16th but he'll be paid through the end of his contract which expires june 30th. >> we're going to be changing quarterbacks. you know we've had a great relationship. >> reporter: dr. starr lost the support of the eight-member board of education with four members reportedly feeling he had not closed the achievement gap between white and minority students and were not going to offer him a contract renewal. reporters asked starr why he's leaving in two weeks rather than at the end of the school semester. >> the message is not one of quitting all right, the message i hope would be one that don't get into a fight you know you're not going to win, right. and when the board made it clear that it wanted to go a different direction, i'm not going to fight that. why would i, ri

. >> i support dr. starr.d forward to raising my hand for him. >> reporter: does it appear he might get the five votes to be renewed? >> i really can't comment. >> reporter: we just learned that the school board will meet tomorrow morning to discuss superintendent starr's fate. we're told it will be a closed-door meeting to receive legal advice on starr's contract. live in montgomery county kristen wright, news 4. >> thank you. >>> new jersey governor chris christie is in london right now on his agenda today, a meeting with british prime minister david cameron. the possible 2016 republican presidential contender is in britain to promote his state life sciences. that's what he was doing yesterday. the governor watched the super bowl at a pub in london with exchange students from new jersey. he tweeted these picks out. over the weekend, he also went to a soccer match. >>> today, president obama will urge republican lawmakers to pass a bill to fund the department of homeland security. he will release his budget p

dr. starr, can i ask you another

dr. starr says that many of the teeth r can b saved, but gross will still need root canals posts and new crowns put in. ms ahead to make that transf more permanent. > you may soon be able to driv faster in highways. the ste senate passed a bill to raise the speed limit from 65 to 70 miles per hour. a similar bil pendsing in the house of delegates. the vote marks a milestone for e bill which died in a senate comme last year. s say that increasing the speed limit is dangerous becae it would cause some driver. >>> a big transition is coming for d.c. performing arts scene. award- conductor and piant kristoff eshenbach will step down in 2017. the nso and the kennedy center made that announcement this week. hel continue with more limited perfor as the orchestra's r laureate. looking forward to free fun when wea warms up. when "news4 this week" returns, the new program that could get you and your family into the nation parks for free. > and a different type of resc for some local firefi. now, more and

. >> dr. starr? dr. starr, can i ask you another question sir? >> despite dozens of questions, the most important one remains, why? >> it is a personnel matter. >> no it's not a personnel matter. you're selecting a public official. why is that a personal matter? >> board made the decision much that's all there is to say. >> and so the board of ed saying it wants to take mcps "in a new direction" all the while refusing to tell anyone what direction that is. as far as superintendent starr's replacement goes mcps will soon launch a nationwide search. no word if it already has any candidates in mind. live in rockville, kevin lewis, abc 7 news. >> thank you. now, while starr will be gone from the school system this month, he won't be off the payroll until the end of june. that's just under $100,000 in pay. he'll be paid $46,000 for unused time off and have his health insurance paid for the remainder of the year unless he gets another job first. he's also being allowed to drive his county-owned jeep until the end of march. >> new at 5:00 d.c. public sc

. >> after much discussion, the board and dr. starr agreed it would be in the best interest as a district to appoint a new leader to carry forward the board's vision. >> reporter: so who will lead this top school system in one of the highest performing school systems, state school systems in the entire country? well, it is larry bowers, larry a. bowers. he's been interim superintendent in the past. he will be interrip superintendent now. he's a 37-year employee of the school board. he's been chief operating officer for the last 16 years. we don't know much about his philosophy at this point. we don't know much about the priorities that the school board will have going forward. we know that they're going to be engaged in a nationwide search for a new superintendent. we know they're providing somewhat they call transition assistance to joshua starr. we'll get some more answers. we'll have them for you on the app and coming up on the broadcast this afternoon. andrea, back to you. >> bruce, the superintendent's contract goes through may. w

indicated they will break their silence tomorrow as to whether or not school superintendent joshua dr. starr will stay or go. starr has led montgomery county schools since 2011. a recent memo is out highlighting his accomplishments pointing to higher graduation rates and closing the achievement gap between white and minority students. however, starr has not seen eye to eye with some board members. his handling of sexual assault cases involving team offers and employees has raised -- teachers and employees has raised questions and he was criticized on a decision pushing out school start times. his contract is up in may. he had until yesterday to notify the board of his intentions but no word from either side. >>> tv basketball analyst greg anthony pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to arrange a rendezvous with a prostitute in d.c. police say last month the married father of four arranged to meet a prostitute at the doubletree hotel in northwest. the woman was an undercover cop. the officer told anthony intercourse would cost 80 bucks. when asked if he wanted her to dress up, police say an

dr. joshua starr has been the superintendent of montgomery county schools. but we reported we've always not seen eye to eye when it comes to his relations with board members. >> later today, we could learn if he'll continue in his role or move on. nikki burdine is live in rockville with more. good morning, nikki. we said earlier they have a behind closed doors session scheduled for later this morning, the board. >> reporter: that's correct. that session is scheduled for 10:30. it is behind closed doors. but we'll know one way or another after that session if joshua starr will remain superintendent of montgomery county schools or not. we don't know what that decision will be but this is what we can tell you so far. starr's contract is up coming up in may. we can also tell you that the deadline for him to let the board know his intentions on whether he will stay or go, that deadline passed on sunday. now, members of the school board will be here for a meeting later on this morning. and they have indicated they will actually be making a statement. several board

dr. joshua starr, who was seated here. he signed the agreement, which who provides this he will serve until february 16th and be paid until the end of his contract june 30th. he felt it was too dpiflt to do his job with rumors circulating the board would not offer him a renewal for another four years. the reason reported was that dr. starr failed to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. i asked him if he thought that was the real reason. >> the board and i have been in conversation over the last couple weeks about this. i wish them the best. >> reporter: all new at 5:00 parents of students in the montgomery county public schools react ooh the resignation. >> i think surprise would probably sum it up pretty well. >> chris gordon, news4. >>> now to a raid with an exclusive neighborhood that has million-dollar mansions. >> for the second time in six months police are cracking down on squatters. a convoy of police cars tore into the community in prince george's county this morning. tracee wilkins found

so we expect that there will be meetings today among the montgomery county board of education and dr. starruntil march to decide whether they want to extend his contract, but he's supposed to make some decisions about whether he wants to wait until that point. i think today is when that deadline is expected to pop up. >>> we want to show you live pictures from the washington navy yard right now where in just a couple of hours, people who work there will take a huge step toward putting the tragedy that unfolded there behind them. >> we have a special look at the ceremony that is ahead. as the navy reopens building 197. that's coming up onn news 4 today at 6:00 a.m.. >>> 39 degrees outside our studios. some of you waking up to wet roadways. some of you dealing with a little bit of ice. howard county public schools on a two hour delay today because of some of the weather that rolled through there overnight. tomorrow kierein has a look at today's forecast and melissa mollet of course with your first 4 traffic >>> i'm sorry, but i can't believe the call. >> we cannot believe the call either. you

dr. joshua starr.row members of the board of education indicated they will break their silence whether or not starr is going to stay on. scott broom is following the situation and joins us live with more. what have you learned? >> big event today, starr was a no show at a county council committee hearing how neglect cases are held which fueled more speculation that the one contract superintendent may be on his way out. dr. joshua starr came to montgomery county schools in 2011 during a time of exploding growth in low income and nonenglish speaking students at the same time state standards were quickly changing. starr proposed a three year moratorium on standardized testing and focused on the social and emotional needs of kids. according to a recent memo on his accomplishments, graduation rates are up and the achievement gap between minority and white students is slowly closing. starr has crossed wires with some members of the board of education, a series of crisis involving sex charges against teachers

but abc 7 has learned that the board of education and dr. starr are still talking. those conversations are expected to continue tomorrow. and we expect to get a full statement from the board of education sometime then. >> coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00, how you can avoid wasting your money on a couch that won't sit well with your wallet. >> first she missed out on a rose and now she's home. we'll talk with a local contestant from "the bachelor" about the whole experience. >> we have an update on whitney houston's daughter. tmz is reporting that bobbi kristina is doing better in the hospital but she remains in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. police say they found bobbi kristina unresponsive face down in a bathtub at her georgia home on saturday. doctors say the swelling on her brain has gone down. her father singer bobby brown released a statement allowing -- or asking the public to allow his family privacy. moving on to this now. if you're watching "the bachelor," then you know the name jillian. that arlington resident has made a name for herself on t

dr. joshua starr will stay or go. the man was a no show at a county council hearing today on how sex charges against school employees have been handled. supporters applaud him for raising graduation rates and slowly closing the achievement gap, but privately some board members are worried about his style. >>> it's been almost a year and a half since a killer stalked the halls of the navy yard's building 197 and murdered 12 people. >> after millions in renovations the first of thousands of workers started to return to thing today, but even -- to the building today, but even among the remodeled offices there are reminders this was where deranged contractor aaron alexis hunted people down hallways and staircases. >> some of my friends who actually went down those stairs could hear the gun shots. >> a memorial of water and light does honor the 12 victims. the vice admiral in charge of naval sea systems command said people went back to work the day after the shootings driven by the mission of building and maintain the navy

dr. joshua starr announced today that he and the school system are parting ways as of february 16th. larry bowers who is currently chief operating officer of the school has been named interim superintendent. the school board did not say why starr is leaving. starr said the board wanted to go in another direction. >>> your commute on metro may take a little longer. the cold weather is forcing metro to restrict the speed of trains in some location because of the potential for cracked rails. metro is using a track geometry vehicle that examines rails to determine where restrictions are needed. the speed is being reduced by one-third. we put out a list earlier on social media where the speed is restricted and you can find it on nbcwashington.com. >>> police in prince george's county moved in today to remove some squatters in another upscale house in the county. that house was abandoned. it had been foreclosed on. residents are asking tonight whether the police should be doing more. robbery suspect and nine others including children were found squatting in the home. the people there say t

dr. starrs witnesses said a security guard were trying to the coast guard's up and he was shot. >>: her theanes and a turnaround and is less and security are responding he was a really good person he always check the to the stores and always in the stores it was always out walking back and forth doing his job. he is reminded of the hospital >>mark: they did not identify any suspects. if >>mark: the famous when mobile creches along a roadside was the the damage we're falling related development in the tech issue in denmark's we'll for the suspected gunman who was killed by police. >>mark: welcome back antioch police the driver stayed at the scene to cooperate with investigators did nothing to the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. this is a giant hot dog on will slid off the road and slammed into the poll no one was injured with the front of the 27 ft. vehicle was damaged in the backed up traffic foxmeyer uses to promote oscillation >>reporter: we're taking a look at temperatures where or to hit a lot of seven is once again on this president's day holiday more detail how lon

dr. joshua starr has not told the school board whether he wants his contract renewed. they meet tomorrow in closed session to talk about its options and what to do next. even if he wants to keep his job, he may not have enough support. right now they seem to be equally split which needs a majority to keep him on. >>> the zoo announced today it will do bag checks among forms of visitor screening during big events and restrict the number of people allowed inside the zoo. the moves come in response to several incidents including a shooting just outside the zoo last april. 17 vehicle owners in arlington are dealing with damaged vehicles and lost property for the weekend. their vehicles were broke swoon while in a parking garage on north lynn street. they say it happened saturday morning and sunday evening. they took loose change and ipods out of those vehicles. >>> governor chris christie has opened a new chapter over vaccination debate with news he made overseas. now, his office is taking back those remarks. brian, tell us what he said and what he's now saying. >> governo

dr. joshua starr made a recommendation that costs virtually th >> i am recommending that the board adopt the model where all high sch middle schools start 20 minutes later. elementar schools start ten minutes later. and all schools end 20 minutes later. >> report: the board considered anotr option to start elementary schools earlier than high schools, but that plan cost $3.9 million. >> i think there is fairly compelli evidence that we should be doing something. >> reportbu oth board members favored doing nothing to change s stt times. >> so i think option five where we do not change anything is where i cast my vote. >> repor ta voted 5-3 in favor of the superintendent's plan to start high schools and middle schools 20 minutes later elementar schools ten minutes later. so parents are pleased with the outcome. >> i'm glad that the high school kids are go more minutes o sleep, so i'm pleased at the extra 20 minutes. i wish they would have an extra hour of sleep, but right now the 20 minutes will hel >> report: others think 20 minutes itoh ext time for students. >> i don't ihat the decision

dr. joshua starr. questions remain about whether or not his contract will be renewed.oard members recently said they were prepared to vote against him. that's one short of the votes needed to get a majority of eight on the board. the board president patricia o'neill says discussions about his future are still continuing today. >>> super bowl xlix delivered what every fan hoped would catch them on the edge of their feet thanks to a dog fight. >> in the end the new england patriots came out on top beating the seattle seahawks. final score 28-24. terry okita in glendale, arizona. >> reporter: the new england patriots denied seattle back-to- back championships beating the seahawks in super bowl xlix. >> i've been a seahawks fan since 1976. i thought for sure we were going to repeat. >> a great game, one of the best super bowls ever. our team came out on top. >> reporter: new england struck first when tom brady threw an 1- yard touchdown pass to brandon in the second quarter. his td pass set a new record. then the seahawks responded. then the patriots. then the seahawks. th

dr. joshua starrr is stepping down. the mutual agreement comes four months before his contract expires. neither starr nor the board gave a specific reason for his departure. however, starr said he wouldn't quote, fight a fight he couldn't win. >> joe madison, there's a lot of mixed reaction to this. many surprised he's leaving. theye asking questions. why so sudden and who is to blame? >> i don't know who is to blame when it comes to a situation like this. let's just be clear, he doesn't have the votes. and that's how they operate. he goes before the board. he gives justification why he should stay on as superintendent. the board then takes a straw vote and you don't have the votes there. that's exactly what he means, look i'm not going to fight this fight. i can't change the minds of those who are opposed to me. it's a different montgomery county than from when my children went there. it's more diverse there, very complex demographics to deal with. so who knows? i believe you have new board members, so you don't know what they ran on in terms of their campaign. >> bremante do you need to know why? d