B-CC MS number 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So instead of balancing capacity and demographics NOW, they kicked the can down 5 years. Then we hear it wasn't REALLY about proximity, it was more about articulation? They will be isolated? Not buying it. They are "saving" space at Westland for Pyle kids that has no additional space. Where in the regulations does it say that is a factor? Also, I feel that the board didn't want to disrespect Dr Smith and went with his recommendation.

The criteria is freely available for anyone to read in Regulation FAA-RA: Long-Range Educational Facilities Planning.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/planning/faa.pdf

1) Demographic characteristics of student population
2) Geographic proximity of communities to schools
3) Stability of school assignments over time
4) Facility utilization

Consideration of adding students from the Westbard development would come under Criteria #3.

This is primarily why NCC parents against Option 7 were focussed so intently on Criteria #1 and #4. They were trying to demonstrate that the boundary would fail MCPSs own standards.

In any event, the current situation is not sustainable over even the medium term. Everyone knows this. Natural population growth from turnover of existing housing stock coupled with acceleration from new development in the cluster is going to blow this whole thing up very soon.

My guess is that when the new HS is ready, things will go either one of two ways. If Floreen makes County Executive (which we should all hope does not happen), the new HS will get filled up with 1/3 former WJ kids and the rest Garret Park and Kensington kids. That would leave the rest of our schools overcrowded and dying. If Floreen doesn't get elected, the new HS will probably take more than half of WJ kids, a Whitman cluster ES most likely either Carderock, Bradley Hills or both would move to WJ and part of the western Bethesda ES boundary would go to Whitman. The second option would be hugely unpopular but would be the only way to manage future capacity at both BCC and Whitman, unless eastern parts of the BCC cluster in RHPS and NCC boundaries and cleaved from BCC entirely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So instead of balancing capacity and demographics NOW, they kicked the can down 5 years. Then we hear it wasn't REALLY about proximity, it was more about articulation? They will be isolated? Not buying it. They are "saving" space at Westland for Pyle kids that has no additional space. Where in the regulations does it say that is a factor? Also, I feel that the board didn't want to disrespect Dr Smith and went with his recommendation.

They could've just saved us all the drama and went with this rationale from the beginning. There was no need for subsequent hearings this fall following the Superintendent's recommendation when there was a full year of public input. The fact that they even went through the show of considering a new Option 11 that had not been consulted on shows that the BOE is an unprofessional mess. Just look at all of the ridiculous drama these clowns have caused by such a terrible process. They have made people more angry than they otherwise would've been by going through the pretense that they would even consider a different outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time to split RHPS CCES NCC. Enough of bussing our little kids if equity doesn't matter. My kids are going private but I will help with the charge to get this done. The Chevy Chase community has been screwed a second time. Bye bye housing values. Thanks RCF! You also screwed yourselves, your values will go down too. The board just set precedent. Proximity is what matters. Time for the RHPS bussing experiment to die, even if it means taking MCPS to court. Yes, I am bitter.

Ahhh... Looks like the board could see what some of us other parents were seeing all along. You don't care about equity just your property value!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So instead of balancing capacity and demographics NOW, they kicked the can down 5 years. Then we hear it wasn't REALLY about proximity, it was more about articulation? They will be isolated? Not buying it. They are "saving" space at Westland for Pyle kids that has no additional space. Where in the regulations does it say that is a factor? Also, I feel that the board didn't want to disrespect Dr Smith and went with his recommendation.

I saw board members go directly at the superintendent in last nights meeting. Especially Kaufmann..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So instead of balancing capacity and demographics NOW, they kicked the can down 5 years. Then we hear it wasn't REALLY about proximity, it was more about articulation? They will be isolated? Not buying it. They are "saving" space at Westland for Pyle kids that has no additional space. Where in the regulations does it say that is a factor? Also, I feel that the board didn't want to disrespect Dr Smith and went with his recommendation.

I saw board members go directly at the superintendent in last nights meeting. Especially Kaufmann..

Could you provide more detail on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Time to split RHPS CCES NCC. Enough of bussing our little kids if equity doesn't matter. My kids are going private but I will help with the charge to get this done. The Chevy Chase community has been screwed a second time. Bye bye housing values. Thanks RCF! You also screwed yourselves, your values will go down too. The board just set precedent. Proximity is what matters. Time for the RHPS bussing experiment to die, even if it means taking MCPS to court. Yes, I am bitter.

whoa. why don't you have some wine or maybe smoke something, or mother's little helper?
Your housing values are not going down because of this.
You have no chance in court.
You are free to leave for private school but leave us out of your little revenge scenario.
Many of us are still happy with the schools, including the current k-2/3-5 split.

Speak for yourself PP. We'd never go private, but my family (immmigrants) will advocate much more strenuously for neighborhood schools for all. RHPS is an outdated arrangement that many of us tolerated simply because there was no reason to rock the boat. Now we see that MCPS is explicitly disinterested in advancing diversity via busing. Fine. So they have no justification for busing our kids to Rosemary Hills.

[Anonymous]

I think the board has now opened up a serious can of worms regarding rosemary hills and that is really unfortunate. Hard to justify busing kids throughout the cluster to Rosemary Hills after last night's decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the board has now opened up a serious can of worms regarding rosemary hills and that is really unfortunate. Hard to justify busing kids throughout the cluster to Rosemary Hills after last night's decision.

Why is it a can of worms? Break it up and draw new boundaries. Should've been on the table in the beginning, its unsustainable.

[Anonymous]

So basically, this is the winning proposal?

Option 7—the service areas for the paired schools of Chevy Chase, North Chevy Chase, and Rosemary Hills elementary schools and Rock Creek Forest Elementary School (excluding the students who attend the Spanish Immersion program) be reassigned from Westland Middle School to Bethesda-Chevy Chase Middle School #2; and be it further
Resolved, That the students who attend Rock Creek Forest Elementary School for the Spanish Immersion program and currently articulate to Westland Middle School for the Spanish Immersion program continue to articulate to Westland Middle School; and be it further

Resolved, That the students who attend Rock Creek Forest Elementary School for the Spanish Immersion program and currently articulate to Westland Middle School for the Spanish Immersion program continue to articulate to Westland Middle School; and be it further

[Anonymous]

How many 5th grade parents will really pull their kids from MCPS next year? I think people will give it a few years to shake out.

One problem I foresee is that many of the very active PTA parents were so involved in this boundary issue that they may not be mentally prepared to turn around and start a brand new PTA from scratch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time to split RHPS CCES NCC. Enough of bussing our little kids if equity doesn't matter. My kids are going private but I will help with the charge to get this done. The Chevy Chase community has been screwed a second time. Bye bye housing values. Thanks RCF! You also screwed yourselves, your values will go down too. The board just set precedent. Proximity is what matters. Time for the RHPS bussing experiment to die, even if it means taking MCPS to court. Yes, I am bitter.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So instead of balancing capacity and demographics NOW, they kicked the can down 5 years. Then we hear it wasn't REALLY about proximity, it was more about articulation? They will be isolated? Not buying it. They are "saving" space at Westland for Pyle kids that has no additional space. Where in the regulations does it say that is a factor? Also, I feel that the board didn't want to disrespect Dr Smith and went with his recommendation.

They could've just saved us all the drama and went with this rationale from the beginning. There was no need for subsequent hearings this fall following the Superintendent's recommendation when there was a full year of public input. The fact that they even went through the show of considering a new Option 11 that had not been consulted on shows that the BOE is an unprofessional mess. Just look at all of the ridiculous drama these clowns have caused by such a terrible process. They have made people more angry than they otherwise would've been by going through the pretense that they would even consider a different outcome.

Yeah but if they didn't "listen" to us and go through the process, then they would have been required to vote before the November elections, where they would be held accountable. God forbid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time to split RHPS CCES NCC. Enough of bussing our little kids if equity doesn't matter. My kids are going private but I will help with the charge to get this done. The Chevy Chase community has been screwed a second time. Bye bye housing values. Thanks RCF! You also screwed yourselves, your values will go down too. The board just set precedent. Proximity is what matters. Time for the RHPS bussing experiment to die, even if it means taking MCPS to court. Yes, I am bitter.

wow-- this poster sounds ridiculous. all your kids (our kids) will be fine. A few extra people of color around and parents start going crazy. calm down. you list. don't get ridiculous about housing prices, etc....

[Anonymous]

wow-- this poster sounds ridiculous. all your kids (our kids) will be fine. A few extra people of color around and parents start going crazy. calm down. you list. don't get ridiculous about housing prices, etc....

Not really...

RHPS/CCES/NCC families are getting screwed. These families have been busing their 6 year old son/daughter to Rosemary Hills while the rest of the cluster has had the convenience of attending a local elementary school. This was done in the spirit of diversity and balance for the entire cluster but now we learned that isn't important. Why should CCES/NCC parents carry this burden alone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Time to split RHPS CCES NCC. Enough of bussing our little kids if equity doesn't matter. My kids are going private but I will help with the charge to get this done. The Chevy Chase community has been screwed a second time. Bye bye housing values. Thanks RCF! You also screwed yourselves, your values will go down too. The board just set precedent. Proximity is what matters. Time for the RHPS bussing experiment to die, even if it means taking MCPS to court. Yes, I am bitter.

wow-- this poster sounds ridiculous. all your kids (our kids) will be fine. A few extra people of color around and parents start going crazy. calm down. you list. don't get ridiculous about housing prices, etc....

My RHPS friends of color are angry too. Don't make this about race, it's not. It is about equity and creating two disparate schools where one school has many more advantages over the other. All the while the BOE show themselves to be the hypocrits they are.

If equity in diversity doesn't matter and then we at RHPS have had neighborhood schools taken away from our youngest children for decades for nothing. We believed in our purpose, to be told it doesn't matter is insulting. We have every right to be angry. Time to end RHPS busing. Let our kindergartners walk to school like everyone else.