Of course, they will. As it stands, Wootton has one of the worst boundaries of any HS in the county. The majority of its students live closer to other high-schools. I dpn't know why we should pay to bus your kids to the school of your choice when there are other neighborhood schools nearby. |
Spoken like a true member of the board or central office staff! I'm sure everyone in MC will welcome traffic-backups at the left-hand-turn from 370 into Downtown Crown. As we are all aware, MC residents are super understanding of unilateral board and sup decisions that affect parent livelihood. I'm sure the police will also appreciate babysitting all the traffic mess. Just a suggestion - if MCPS is in a pissing contest, maybe they should post the issue for public written comments? (Not just a not-well-advertised public hearing, but an actual site permitting comments for more than 30-days and well-advertised by MCPS?) |
Nope, I'm just an engaged citizen and parent who's been trying to make things better for a while. MCPS has tons of meetings about new school construction. There are three work sessions - via Zoom - for Crown in the next 5 weeks. If you want to comment outside those meetings, you can email Rob Badstibner (Robbie_S_Badstibner@mcpsmd.org) - he's listed as the mcps construction contact. |
Which issue, specifically, do you think MCPS should post for public written comments? Whether MCPS should build the high school at Crown at the site designated for building the high school? Most people in Montgomery County are not going to care in the least about traffic back-ups at the left turn from westbound Sam Eig Highway onto Fields Road, just like most people in Montgomery County don't care in the least about traffic back-ups at every other high school in Montgomery County. Plus, who even would take 370 to Sam Eig to Fields Road to drive their child to the high school at Crown at arrival/dismissal times? If you're worried about traffic back-ups, then you should push MCPS for policies that nudge parents to put their kids on the school bus or walk them/let them walk to school, instead of driving them. |
They have to redraw the boundaries. If a kid goes on the bus to school A going north, then the boundaries get redrawn such that the kid now takes the bus to school B going south, about the same distance, I really don't see that as a problem. And it's not like your kid will be *the* only kid in your neighborhood going to a different school. Many of the boundaries are ridiculous, including Wootton's with that island out that way, and some of the neighborhoods are closer to other schools than Wootton. There are also neighborhoods zoned for Churchill that is pretty far from that school, and those people who live there who scream the loudest about neighborhood schools and "don't bus my kid just for diversity" look very silly. Also, diversity has always been part of the four factors when drawing boundaries. It's not a new thing. There is no way to draw boundaries giving each factor the same weight. Sometimes, diversity will be given a bit more weight than geography, and sometimes not. There have been at least two boundaries recently where the option that was chosen was not the one that had diversity as the most important factor. This was explained in the Supe's memo, and you could also clearly see it in the options. I feel like a broken record writing this. |
Don't speak for me - I care. Coming from the Metro, the right lane is normally backed up from traffic during rush. If you're lucky, the two left lanes are clear, unless someone is pulling in or out of the stop-and-go-traffic on the right. If MCPS starts blocking the middle lane headed straight West with 100 parents trying to pick up kids after work or extracurriculars, expect a lot more accidents. It's a very dangerous place to have accidents since you've got a three-way split coming off the toll and Metro. Whether a kid takes a bus or not is a parent's choice. Don't act like it's your choice to make. |
Presumably you care about traffic back-ups where/when you happen to be driving, but most people in Montgomery County are not going to be driving there/then and will not care. Whether a kid takes a bus or not is a parent's choice (for kids with MCPS-provided bus service) - true. Also true: it's MCPS's choice whether to make it convenient or inconvenient for people to pick up/drop off their kids by car. |
Many people in Western moco fear change especially to school boundaries. They are afraid of diversity and seem to not realize that all these schools are roughly the same. |
Lots of traffic on 270 makes me take metro..maybe lots of traffic on the way to school means more kids take the bus which is a good thing. |
Not sure if you are aware but in 2018 the BOE made diversity the most important factor in the boundary policy because "increasing diversity is the most important thing we can do for our students.". Imagine being in education and actually thinking that. Crazy. In any case, this means that Wootton (and any other student subject to a boy Daryl study) is in danger of being bused. In Wootton's case, kids could be sent to Gaithersburg, Rockville, RM, or Northwest to balance diversity. |
Yes, and bother Gaithersburg and Rockville high schools are adjacent and in desperate need of white and Asian kids to balance diversity. These are lokely busing destinations for Wootton kids. |
![]() (gotta watch out for those scary boy Daryl studies) |
Thank you for catching my typo. I'll repost. Not sure if you are aware but in 2018 the BOE made diversity the most important factor in the boundary policy because "increasing diversity is the most important thing we can do for our students." Imagine being in education and actually thinking that. Crazy. In any case, this means that Wootton (and any other student subject to a boundary study) is in danger of being bused. In Wootton's case, kids could be sent to Gaithersburg, Rockville, RM, or Northwest to balance diversity. |
Rockville HS has nothing to do with the Crown study. The five included schools are Gaithersburg, Northwest, Quince Orchard, Richard Montgomery, and Wootton. |
Yes, I'm aware. I'm also aware that the option they chose for upcounty did not have diversity as the most important factor. Again, that was in the Supe's memo. Yes, they took diversity into account because that is one of the four factors. Yes, in Wootton case, some neighborhoods could get sent to GHS or QO or RM. Why? Because a new HS is being built, and they need to redraw boundaries, and some of the neighborhoods in the Wootton cluster are closer or equidistant to other clusters. It makes little sense to have an over capacity cluster adjacent to an under capacity cluster. The only people who think that makes sense are the ones who are NIMBYs - everyone else can be moved but not us. Also, a kid who is currently taking the bus to Wootton may continue to take the bus to a different HS because, once again, a new HS is being built and boundaries need to be redrawn. Like I said - instead of going south x miles, you now go north or east or west x miles. A kid who is currently within walking distance to Wootton HS won't be taking a bus further away, unless it's by choice for a magnet. There has been zero boundaries redrawn since 2018 where a student who was a walker is now a bus rider to a different school. Why? Because geogpraphy (walk zone) is one of the four factors that they won't ignore. Why? Because it costs money to bus kids, money that MCPS doesn't have. |