TT trying to eliminate open lunch

[Anonymous]

Unrelated but I think schools should prohibit food delivery to students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(I use "you" to refer to everyone in this thread against open lunch) Hi, I'm a freshman at BCC. I leave the school every day for open lunch, and I'd like to address some of your criticisms of open lunch. First, I'd like to start with the issue of being late due to the short lunch period. BCC's lunch period is 55 minutes, and with the passing period added, it's an hour. Second, the issue of places to eat within 5-10 minutes of the campus. You may not live in or be well acquainted with downtown Bethesda. Still, within a 5-10-minute walk of the campus, there are multiple restaurants/places to eat: Andy's, Jean's deli, Sprout, Lidl (for pre-prepared foods), &Pizza, Crescent convenience store (close to the metro), Dunkin' Donuts, Simona cafe, Subway, Starbucks, 7-11, Sister's Sandwiches. The list goes on, but the common denominator among all these places is that they all cost under $15. I'm not saying your kid has to get food out every day, but for a weekly meal, these are all easy to get to. Third, regarding students entering class late, I'll admit that I'm guilty of entering the school near the end of the lunch period, but when I do, I see at most 20 kids walking in at 12:00 pm. If you mean to say that students are entering the class itself late, that's an issue with skipping class, not open lunch.
If you take into account BCC's population of 2500 students, having them all in the school will lead to crowded classrooms and hallways, lower sun exposure, and space for clubs. There are ~110 classrooms in the school, meaning that every classroom would have at least 22 students in it, which lowers space for clubs and direct student assistance. If 20 teachers are holding test retakes and another 10 are in their planning period, as well as 10 who are directly assisting students, the number of students in a classroom on average is 35. That spills into the hallways, causing crowding and boredom. Sun exposure is vital to learning because it boosts mood and increases focus. When you take a walk, eat, and talk with your friends, it increases your mood and therefore makes it easier for you to learn. If I stay inside the building all day, I tend to stop focusing on learning after lunch; this is easily remedied by a quick walk outside of the school. My third point is that without open lunch, clubs wouldn't be able to find somewhere to meet. If 22.5 students fill a classroom, on average, there is no world where a medium to large-sized club will find space; most clubs have 10 members, and student unions such as LSU, ASU, and JSU will often have 20+ students; the students will have nowhere to meet, which lowers the student community, which would eventually lead to students forming clicks and rates of bullying increasing because students wouldn't have any mixing based on interest.

Before you answer any of my points on overcrowding, please look inside the school, or at least look at a map of it.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask!

Also if you haven't visited BCC or the area around it in depth in a while, please consider it!

Every other school manages just fine. Personally my kids are not spending $15 a day for lunch and your parents failed to teach you about money if you do daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unrelated but I think schools should prohibit food delivery to students.

Many do. My school will not allow delivery drivers into the school. I have worked at some schools that either eat the food or throw it away when student orders are brought to the office. Zero cares about whether or not the student or parent is upset about the wasted money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(I use "you" to refer to everyone in this thread against open lunch) Hi, I'm a freshman at BCC. I leave the school every day for open lunch, and I'd like to address some of your criticisms of open lunch. First, I'd like to start with the issue of being late due to the short lunch period. BCC's lunch period is 55 minutes, and with the passing period added, it's an hour. Second, the issue of places to eat within 5-10 minutes of the campus. You may not live in or be well acquainted with downtown Bethesda. Still, within a 5-10-minute walk of the campus, there are multiple restaurants/places to eat: Andy's, Jean's deli, Sprout, Lidl (for pre-prepared foods), &Pizza, Crescent convenience store (close to the metro), Dunkin' Donuts, Simona cafe, Subway, Starbucks, 7-11, Sister's Sandwiches. The list goes on, but the common denominator among all these places is that they all cost under $15. I'm not saying your kid has to get food out every day, but for a weekly meal, these are all easy to get to. Third, regarding students entering class late, I'll admit that I'm guilty of entering the school near the end of the lunch period, but when I do, I see at most 20 kids walking in at 12:00 pm. If you mean to say that students are entering the class itself late, that's an issue with skipping class, not open lunch.
If you take into account BCC's population of 2500 students, having them all in the school will lead to crowded classrooms and hallways, lower sun exposure, and space for clubs. There are ~110 classrooms in the school, meaning that every classroom would have at least 22 students in it, which lowers space for clubs and direct student assistance. If 20 teachers are holding test retakes and another 10 are in their planning period, as well as 10 who are directly assisting students, the number of students in a classroom on average is 35. That spills into the hallways, causing crowding and boredom. Sun exposure is vital to learning because it boosts mood and increases focus. When you take a walk, eat, and talk with your friends, it increases your mood and therefore makes it easier for you to learn. If I stay inside the building all day, I tend to stop focusing on learning after lunch; this is easily remedied by a quick walk outside of the school. My third point is that without open lunch, clubs wouldn't be able to find somewhere to meet. If 22.5 students fill a classroom, on average, there is no world where a medium to large-sized club will find space; most clubs have 10 members, and student unions such as LSU, ASU, and JSU will often have 20+ students; the students will have nowhere to meet, which lowers the student community, which would eventually lead to students forming clicks and rates of bullying increasing because students wouldn't have any mixing based on interest.

Before you answer any of my points on overcrowding, please look inside the school, or at least look at a map of it.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask!

Also if you haven't visited BCC or the area around it in depth in a while, please consider it!

Why would a high school freshman be here posting on a parents' forum?

Are you kidding me? A lot of kids read this forum and I'm sure many post. You don't have to show an ID card that you are a bona fide parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(I use "you" to refer to everyone in this thread against open lunch) Hi, I'm a freshman at BCC. I leave the school every day for open lunch, and I'd like to address some of your criticisms of open lunch. First, I'd like to start with the issue of being late due to the short lunch period. BCC's lunch period is 55 minutes, and with the passing period added, it's an hour. Second, the issue of places to eat within 5-10 minutes of the campus. You may not live in or be well acquainted with downtown Bethesda. Still, within a 5-10-minute walk of the campus, there are multiple restaurants/places to eat: Andy's, Jean's deli, Sprout, Lidl (for pre-prepared foods), &Pizza, Crescent convenience store (close to the metro), Dunkin' Donuts, Simona cafe, Subway, Starbucks, 7-11, Sister's Sandwiches. The list goes on, but the common denominator among all these places is that they all cost under $15. I'm not saying your kid has to get food out every day, but for a weekly meal, these are all easy to get to. Third, regarding students entering class late, I'll admit that I'm guilty of entering the school near the end of the lunch period, but when I do, I see at most 20 kids walking in at 12:00 pm. If you mean to say that students are entering the class itself late, that's an issue with skipping class, not open lunch.
If you take into account BCC's population of 2500 students, having them all in the school will lead to crowded classrooms and hallways, lower sun exposure, and space for clubs. There are ~110 classrooms in the school, meaning that every classroom would have at least 22 students in it, which lowers space for clubs and direct student assistance. If 20 teachers are holding test retakes and another 10 are in their planning period, as well as 10 who are directly assisting students, the number of students in a classroom on average is 35. That spills into the hallways, causing crowding and boredom. Sun exposure is vital to learning because it boosts mood and increases focus. When you take a walk, eat, and talk with your friends, it increases your mood and therefore makes it easier for you to learn. If I stay inside the building all day, I tend to stop focusing on learning after lunch; this is easily remedied by a quick walk outside of the school. My third point is that without open lunch, clubs wouldn't be able to find somewhere to meet. If 22.5 students fill a classroom, on average, there is no world where a medium to large-sized club will find space; most clubs have 10 members, and student unions such as LSU, ASU, and JSU will often have 20+ students; the students will have nowhere to meet, which lowers the student community, which would eventually lead to students forming clicks and rates of bullying increasing because students wouldn't have any mixing based on interest.

Before you answer any of my points on overcrowding, please look inside the school, or at least look at a map of it.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask!

Also if you haven't visited BCC or the area around it in depth in a while, please consider it!

Every other school manages just fine. Personally my kids are not spending $15 a day for lunch and your parents failed to teach you about money if you do daily.

No, every other school does not manage just fine. There are a good number of schools that have to have open lunch because the cafeteria is much too small to make a closed lunch work. If your school doesn't need that, that's fine--they can have a closed lunch. But this should be determined on a school-by-school basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great for kids to be able to access teachers for meetings etc. And not eat lunch at 7:45 AM. And it does look like this unfortunately is happening. Vote is in a few weeks. Board members and TT is all on board unless I am missing something? With little time for comment.

The vote isn’t in a few weeks - it’s on May 21, a week from today! Why are they rushing this? Why the short comment period?

PLEASE READ THIS THREAD THOROUGHLY AND WATCH THE BOE's POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING.

Both of your questions are addressed in there.

You keep saying that, but I have read it and there’s really no good explanation. You screaming about it doesn’t change that.

Your answer indicates you did not read or watch the policy meeting, or that you lack comprehension skills.

1) In the policy meeting, Julie Yang explicitly asked why this policy was being brought to the policy committee, even though it was not previously on their work plan. MCPS Legal Counsel Robyn Seabrook responded that Dr. Taylor was considering changes with regard to open lunch policy that could impact the upcoming school year, and he did not want to get ahead of the board. So that's your answer to why're they're rushing this.

2) Re: Why the short comment period. Because Dr. Taylor wants to impact the upcoming school year, and he believes it's an urgent thing to address because of the inconsistency in implementation and the safety concerns.

Again, if you watched and read, you would know this. That you don't, means you didn't read or watch or that you lack comprehension skills.

I did read (this thread and the transcript). These answers don’t explain why this became an emergency NOW. Why hasn’t he brought this to the board sooner? What happened that made it so imperative that this policy be rescinded for the upcoming school year? That hasn’t been answered anywhere, including in your response.

Yes, it has been answered. You refuse to listen. Blake happened. Because of the ambiguity around Open/Closed Lunch, kids were allowed to eat lunch in the parking lot. The immediate consequence and first official communication coming out of Blake after the fight and shooting in the parking lot was a tightening up of this semi-open lunch policy:

SOURCE: https://mocoshow.com/2026/04/29/blake-high-school-details-gun-incident-announces-new-safety-measures/

In response, the school is implementing several immediate safety changes beginning April 30. Students will no longer be permitted to eat lunch outside for the remainder of the school year, and outside food deliveries such as DoorDash and Uber Eats will be prohibited. The school will also increase staff supervision throughout the building as part of an enhanced safety effort.

How many more times do we have to explain it to you before you get it?

If there was ambiguity around open/closed lunch at Blake, seems like the way to address the issue is to clarify the policy so there’s no ambiguity. But the idea that the incident at Blake was because of this ambiguity is absurd. This is a performative action that won’t solve the problem of guns, fights, assaults, etc.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't Howard county have staggered lunch periods? When do the Howard county students meet for clubs? After school? It's a smaller county and maybe the high school student population is not as large as any of the high schools in Montgomery county

[Anonymous]

My understanding is the decision is mostly based on where the school is and what us near by. Blair is closed because it is surrounded by busy streets. Kids do not all sit in the cafeteria though. They are at club neetings, in classrooms, outside. DD ate in the same classroom with mostly the same kids/teacher for 4 years. They were just a lunch club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great for kids to be able to access teachers for meetings etc. And not eat lunch at 7:45 AM. And it does look like this unfortunately is happening. Vote is in a few weeks. Board members and TT is all on board unless I am missing something? With little time for comment.

The vote isn’t in a few weeks - it’s on May 21, a week from today! Why are they rushing this? Why the short comment period?

PLEASE READ THIS THREAD THOROUGHLY AND WATCH THE BOE's POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING.

Both of your questions are addressed in there.

You keep saying that, but I have read it and there’s really no good explanation. You screaming about it doesn’t change that.

Your answer indicates you did not read or watch the policy meeting, or that you lack comprehension skills.

1) In the policy meeting, Julie Yang explicitly asked why this policy was being brought to the policy committee, even though it was not previously on their work plan. MCPS Legal Counsel Robyn Seabrook responded that Dr. Taylor was considering changes with regard to open lunch policy that could impact the upcoming school year, and he did not want to get ahead of the board. So that's your answer to why're they're rushing this.

2) Re: Why the short comment period. Because Dr. Taylor wants to impact the upcoming school year, and he believes it's an urgent thing to address because of the inconsistency in implementation and the safety concerns.

Again, if you watched and read, you would know this. That you don't, means you didn't read or watch or that you lack comprehension skills.

I did read (this thread and the transcript). These answers don’t explain why this became an emergency NOW. Why hasn’t he brought this to the board sooner? What happened that made it so imperative that this policy be rescinded for the upcoming school year? That hasn’t been answered anywhere, including in your response.

Yes, it has been answered. You refuse to listen. Blake happened. Because of the ambiguity around Open/Closed Lunch, kids were allowed to eat lunch in the parking lot. The immediate consequence and first official communication coming out of Blake after the fight and shooting in the parking lot was a tightening up of this semi-open lunch policy:

SOURCE: https://mocoshow.com/2026/04/29/blake-high-school-details-gun-incident-announces-new-safety-measures/

In response, the school is implementing several immediate safety changes beginning April 30. Students will no longer be permitted to eat lunch outside for the remainder of the school year, and outside food deliveries such as DoorDash and Uber Eats will be prohibited. The school will also increase staff supervision throughout the building as part of an enhanced safety effort.

How many more times do we have to explain it to you before you get it?

If there was ambiguity around open/closed lunch at Blake, seems like the way to address the issue is to clarify the policy so there’s no ambiguity. But the idea that the incident at Blake was because of this ambiguity is absurd. This is a performative action that won’t solve the problem of guns, fights, assaults, etc.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great for kids to be able to access teachers for meetings etc. And not eat lunch at 7:45 AM. And it does look like this unfortunately is happening. Vote is in a few weeks. Board members and TT is all on board unless I am missing something? With little time for comment.

The vote isn’t in a few weeks - it’s on May 21, a week from today! Why are they rushing this? Why the short comment period?

PLEASE READ THIS THREAD THOROUGHLY AND WATCH THE BOE's POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING.

Both of your questions are addressed in there.

You keep saying that, but I have read it and there’s really no good explanation. You screaming about it doesn’t change that.

Your answer indicates you did not read or watch the policy meeting, or that you lack comprehension skills.

1) In the policy meeting, Julie Yang explicitly asked why this policy was being brought to the policy committee, even though it was not previously on their work plan. MCPS Legal Counsel Robyn Seabrook responded that Dr. Taylor was considering changes with regard to open lunch policy that could impact the upcoming school year, and he did not want to get ahead of the board. So that's your answer to why're they're rushing this.

2) Re: Why the short comment period. Because Dr. Taylor wants to impact the upcoming school year, and he believes it's an urgent thing to address because of the inconsistency in implementation and the safety concerns.

Again, if you watched and read, you would know this. That you don't, means you didn't read or watch or that you lack comprehension skills.

I did read (this thread and the transcript). These answers don’t explain why this became an emergency NOW. Why hasn’t he brought this to the board sooner? What happened that made it so imperative that this policy be rescinded for the upcoming school year? That hasn’t been answered anywhere, including in your response.

Yes, it has been answered. You refuse to listen. Blake happened. Because of the ambiguity around Open/Closed Lunch, kids were allowed to eat lunch in the parking lot. The immediate consequence and first official communication coming out of Blake after the fight and shooting in the parking lot was a tightening up of this semi-open lunch policy:

SOURCE: https://mocoshow.com/2026/04/29/blake-high-school-details-gun-incident-announces-new-safety-measures/

In response, the school is implementing several immediate safety changes beginning April 30. Students will no longer be permitted to eat lunch outside for the remainder of the school year, and outside food deliveries such as DoorDash and Uber Eats will be prohibited. The school will also increase staff supervision throughout the building as part of an enhanced safety effort.

How many more times do we have to explain it to you before you get it?

If there was ambiguity around open/closed lunch at Blake, seems like the way to address the issue is to clarify the policy so there’s no ambiguity. But the idea that the incident at Blake was because of this ambiguity is absurd. This is a performative action that won’t solve the problem of guns, fights, assaults, etc.

Which is precisely what the BOE’s policy committee is doing….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great for kids to be able to access teachers for meetings etc. And not eat lunch at 7:45 AM. And it does look like this unfortunately is happening. Vote is in a few weeks. Board members and TT is all on board unless I am missing something? With little time for comment.

The vote isn’t in a few weeks - it’s on May 21, a week from today! Why are they rushing this? Why the short comment period?

PLEASE READ THIS THREAD THOROUGHLY AND WATCH THE BOE's POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING.

Both of your questions are addressed in there.

You keep saying that, but I have read it and there’s really no good explanation. You screaming about it doesn’t change that.

Your answer indicates you did not read or watch the policy meeting, or that you lack comprehension skills.

1) In the policy meeting, Julie Yang explicitly asked why this policy was being brought to the policy committee, even though it was not previously on their work plan. MCPS Legal Counsel Robyn Seabrook responded that Dr. Taylor was considering changes with regard to open lunch policy that could impact the upcoming school year, and he did not want to get ahead of the board. So that's your answer to why're they're rushing this.

2) Re: Why the short comment period. Because Dr. Taylor wants to impact the upcoming school year, and he believes it's an urgent thing to address because of the inconsistency in implementation and the safety concerns.

Again, if you watched and read, you would know this. That you don't, means you didn't read or watch or that you lack comprehension skills.

I did read (this thread and the transcript). These answers don’t explain why this became an emergency NOW. Why hasn’t he brought this to the board sooner? What happened that made it so imperative that this policy be rescinded for the upcoming school year? That hasn’t been answered anywhere, including in your response.

Yes, it has been answered. You refuse to listen. Blake happened. Because of the ambiguity around Open/Closed Lunch, kids were allowed to eat lunch in the parking lot. The immediate consequence and first official communication coming out of Blake after the fight and shooting in the parking lot was a tightening up of this semi-open lunch policy:

SOURCE: https://mocoshow.com/2026/04/29/blake-high-school-details-gun-incident-announces-new-safety-measures/

In response, the school is implementing several immediate safety changes beginning April 30. Students will no longer be permitted to eat lunch outside for the remainder of the school year, and outside food deliveries such as DoorDash and Uber Eats will be prohibited. The school will also increase staff supervision throughout the building as part of an enhanced safety effort.

How many more times do we have to explain it to you before you get it?

If there was ambiguity around open/closed lunch at Blake, seems like the way to address the issue is to clarify the policy so there’s no ambiguity. But the idea that the incident at Blake was because of this ambiguity is absurd. This is a performative action that won’t solve the problem of guns, fights, assaults, etc.

Which is precisely what the BOE’s policy committee is doing….

No it’s not! They could have done that. Their intention is to say it should not be under BOE purview and they think it should fall under Thomas Taylor and Essie McGuire as a systemwide operational issue. Then TT and EM will have even more power to do whatever the heck they want without regard to individual schools and with no oversight or accountability. TT has signaled he wants to end open lunch systemwide and come up with districtwide bell schedules too. So much for no kings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is the decision is mostly based on where the school is and what us near by. Blair is closed because it is surrounded by busy streets. Kids do not all sit in the cafeteria though. They are at club neetings, in classrooms, outside. DD ate in the same classroom with mostly the same kids/teacher for 4 years. They were just a lunch club.

Exactly. The old Blair when it was near downtown Silver Spring had open campus. There was also a small market directly adjacent to the school that students patronized. Open campus is about location in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great for kids to be able to access teachers for meetings etc. And not eat lunch at 7:45 AM. And it does look like this unfortunately is happening. Vote is in a few weeks. Board members and TT is all on board unless I am missing something? With little time for comment.

The vote isn’t in a few weeks - it’s on May 21, a week from today! Why are they rushing this? Why the short comment period?

PLEASE READ THIS THREAD THOROUGHLY AND WATCH THE BOE's POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING.

Both of your questions are addressed in there.

You keep saying that, but I have read it and there’s really no good explanation. You screaming about it doesn’t change that.

Your answer indicates you did not read or watch the policy meeting, or that you lack comprehension skills.

1) In the policy meeting, Julie Yang explicitly asked why this policy was being brought to the policy committee, even though it was not previously on their work plan. MCPS Legal Counsel Robyn Seabrook responded that Dr. Taylor was considering changes with regard to open lunch policy that could impact the upcoming school year, and he did not want to get ahead of the board. So that's your answer to why're they're rushing this.

2) Re: Why the short comment period. Because Dr. Taylor wants to impact the upcoming school year, and he believes it's an urgent thing to address because of the inconsistency in implementation and the safety concerns.

Again, if you watched and read, you would know this. That you don't, means you didn't read or watch or that you lack comprehension skills.

I did read (this thread and the transcript). These answers don’t explain why this became an emergency NOW. Why hasn’t he brought this to the board sooner? What happened that made it so imperative that this policy be rescinded for the upcoming school year? That hasn’t been answered anywhere, including in your response.

Yes, it has been answered. You refuse to listen. Blake happened. Because of the ambiguity around Open/Closed Lunch, kids were allowed to eat lunch in the parking lot. The immediate consequence and first official communication coming out of Blake after the fight and shooting in the parking lot was a tightening up of this semi-open lunch policy:

SOURCE: https://mocoshow.com/2026/04/29/blake-high-school-details-gun-incident-announces-new-safety-measures/

In response, the school is implementing several immediate safety changes beginning April 30. Students will no longer be permitted to eat lunch outside for the remainder of the school year, and outside food deliveries such as DoorDash and Uber Eats will be prohibited. The school will also increase staff supervision throughout the building as part of an enhanced safety effort.

How many more times do we have to explain it to you before you get it?

If there was ambiguity around open/closed lunch at Blake, seems like the way to address the issue is to clarify the policy so there’s no ambiguity. But the idea that the incident at Blake was because of this ambiguity is absurd. This is a performative action that won’t solve the problem of guns, fights, assaults, etc.

Which is precisely what the BOE’s policy committee is doing….

No it’s not! They could have done that. Their intention is to say it should not be under BOE purview and they think it should fall under Thomas Taylor and Essie McGuire as a systemwide operational issue. Then TT and EM will have even more power to do whatever the heck they want without regard to individual schools and with no oversight or accountability. TT has signaled he wants to end open lunch systemwide and come up with districtwide bell schedules too. So much for no kings.

That is one of the outcomes that could be decided.

Or the board could suspend the policy while it updates it with community input.

Or they could decide to ban it, like PG.

We’ll have to see what the full board decides to do at the next meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great for kids to be able to access teachers for meetings etc. And not eat lunch at 7:45 AM. And it does look like this unfortunately is happening. Vote is in a few weeks. Board members and TT is all on board unless I am missing something? With little time for comment.

The vote isn’t in a few weeks - it’s on May 21, a week from today! Why are they rushing this? Why the short comment period?

PLEASE READ THIS THREAD THOROUGHLY AND WATCH THE BOE's POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING.

Both of your questions are addressed in there.

You keep saying that, but I have read it and there’s really no good explanation. You screaming about it doesn’t change that.

Your answer indicates you did not read or watch the policy meeting, or that you lack comprehension skills.

1) In the policy meeting, Julie Yang explicitly asked why this policy was being brought to the policy committee, even though it was not previously on their work plan. MCPS Legal Counsel Robyn Seabrook responded that Dr. Taylor was considering changes with regard to open lunch policy that could impact the upcoming school year, and he did not want to get ahead of the board. So that's your answer to why're they're rushing this.

2) Re: Why the short comment period. Because Dr. Taylor wants to impact the upcoming school year, and he believes it's an urgent thing to address because of the inconsistency in implementation and the safety concerns.

Again, if you watched and read, you would know this. That you don't, means you didn't read or watch or that you lack comprehension skills.

I did read (this thread and the transcript). These answers don’t explain why this became an emergency NOW. Why hasn’t he brought this to the board sooner? What happened that made it so imperative that this policy be rescinded for the upcoming school year? That hasn’t been answered anywhere, including in your response.

Yes, it has been answered. You refuse to listen. Blake happened. Because of the ambiguity around Open/Closed Lunch, kids were allowed to eat lunch in the parking lot. The immediate consequence and first official communication coming out of Blake after the fight and shooting in the parking lot was a tightening up of this semi-open lunch policy:

SOURCE: https://mocoshow.com/2026/04/29/blake-high-school-details-gun-incident-announces-new-safety-measures/

In response, the school is implementing several immediate safety changes beginning April 30. Students will no longer be permitted to eat lunch outside for the remainder of the school year, and outside food deliveries such as DoorDash and Uber Eats will be prohibited. The school will also increase staff supervision throughout the building as part of an enhanced safety effort.

How many more times do we have to explain it to you before you get it?

If there was ambiguity around open/closed lunch at Blake, seems like the way to address the issue is to clarify the policy so there’s no ambiguity. But the idea that the incident at Blake was because of this ambiguity is absurd. This is a performative action that won’t solve the problem of guns, fights, assaults, etc.

Which is precisely what the BOE’s policy committee is doing….

No it’s not! They could have done that. Their intention is to say it should not be under BOE purview and they think it should fall under Thomas Taylor and Essie McGuire as a systemwide operational issue. Then TT and EM will have even more power to do whatever the heck they want without regard to individual schools and with no oversight or accountability. TT has signaled he wants to end open lunch systemwide and come up with districtwide bell schedules too. So much for no kings.

You say what I see. TT is more interested in increasing his power than the benefits of anyone else.

[Anonymous]

A petition has officially been launched regarding the proposed accelerated changes to MCPS Open Lunch policy and the discussion around shortening the normal public comment period.

Whether you support open lunch or not, this should concern every parent, student, educator, and taxpayer.

Reducing transparency and limiting community input on major school policy decisions sets a dangerous precedent. Important decisions that impact student schedules, academic support, clubs, teachers, and the structure of the school day should not be rushed through with reduced public engagement.

Transparency matters.
Public trust matters.
Community input matters.

Please take a moment to sign and share the petition:

https://www.change.org/p/stop-mcps-from-rushing-changes-to-open-lunch-without-proper-community-input

The more voices that are heard now, the harder it will be to ignore the community later.