MoCo BOE primary election results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

De jure segregation in MCPS ended in 1961, actually.

De facto segregation? Well, here we still are.

Indeed. Although what really needs to change is housing policy. We need to eliminate the option for developers to buy their way out of complying with low-income housing mandates. We also need to improve public transportation in certain areas of the County to entice a broader range of residents. I do agree that, whenever possible, kids should attend their closest school. But I would LOVE to see some action taken to improve housing and transportation, as I believe that would have a much more meaningful impact on diversity.

Housing policy needs to change, but housing policy is slow. Kids in school right now shouldn't have to wait that long.

There are transportation policy changes we could make that would be faster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

De jure segregation in MCPS ended in 1961, actually.

De facto segregation? Well, here we still are.

Indeed. Although what really needs to change is housing policy. We need to eliminate the option for developers to buy their way out of complying with low-income housing mandates. We also need to improve public transportation in certain areas of the County to entice a broader range of residents. I do agree that, whenever possible, kids should attend their closest school. But I would LOVE to see some action taken to improve housing and transportation, as I believe that would have a much more meaningful impact on diversity.

Housing policy needs to change, but housing policy is slow. Kids in school right now shouldn't have to wait that long.

There are transportation policy changes we could make that would be faster.

Kids in school regardless of where they attend should be given the best education RIGHT NOW. That means they need the right resources and teachers who will support them, challenge them, and encourage them to be successful. They need to be in facilities that do not have rats or mold. All fixable by MCPS and the county. What are we waiting on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

De jure segregation in MCPS ended in 1961, actually.

De facto segregation? Well, here we still are.

Indeed. Although what really needs to change is housing policy. We need to eliminate the option for developers to buy their way out of complying with low-income housing mandates. We also need to improve public transportation in certain areas of the County to entice a broader range of residents. I do agree that, whenever possible, kids should attend their closest school. But I would LOVE to see some action taken to improve housing and transportation, as I believe that would have a much more meaningful impact on diversity.

Housing policy needs to change, but housing policy is slow. Kids in school right now shouldn't have to wait that long.

There are transportation policy changes we could make that would be faster.

Kids in school regardless of where they attend should be given the best education RIGHT NOW. That means they need the right resources and teachers who will support them, challenge them, and encourage them to be successful. They need to be in facilities that do not have rats or mold. All fixable by MCPS and the county. What are we waiting on?

Well for the facilities issue they need money, and lots of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Kids in school regardless of where they attend should be given the best education RIGHT NOW. That means they need the right resources and teachers who will support them, challenge them, and encourage them to be successful. They need to be in facilities that do not have rats or mold. All fixable by MCPS and the county. What are we waiting on?

M-O-N-E-Y

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

De jure segregation in MCPS ended in 1961, actually.

De facto segregation? Well, here we still are.

Indeed. Although what really needs to change is housing policy. We need to eliminate the option for developers to buy their way out of complying with low-income housing mandates. We also need to improve public transportation in certain areas of the County to entice a broader range of residents. I do agree that, whenever possible, kids should attend their closest school. But I would LOVE to see some action taken to improve housing and transportation, as I believe that would have a much more meaningful impact on diversity.

Housing policy needs to change, but housing policy is slow. Kids in school right now shouldn't have to wait that long.

There are transportation policy changes we could make that would be faster.

Kids in school regardless of where they attend should be given the best education RIGHT NOW. That means they need the right resources and teachers who will support them, challenge them, and encourage them to be successful. They need to be in facilities that do not have rats or mold. All fixable by MCPS and the county. What are we waiting on?

Well for the facilities issue they need money, and lots of it.

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Fortunately, nobody is proposing to do that. NOBODY.

To change a boundary, there needs to be a boundary study. And there are 4 factors in every MCPS boundary study:

1. facility utilization
2. geography
3. demographics
4. stability of school assignments over time

So you can stop worrying about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Fortunately, nobody is proposing to do that. NOBODY.

To change a boundary, there needs to be a boundary study. And there are 4 factors in every MCPS boundary study:

1. facility utilization
2. geography
3. demographics
4. stability of school assignments over time


So you can stop worrying about this.

You missed the biggest point. The point is no one should be moving kids to shitty schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Fortunately, nobody is proposing to do that. NOBODY.

To change a boundary, there needs to be a boundary study. And there are 4 factors in every MCPS boundary study:

1. facility utilization
2. geography
3. demographics
4. stability of school assignments over time


So you can stop worrying about this.

You missed the biggest point. The point is no one should be moving kids to shitty schools.

NP: why are the schools shitty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Just for high schools, MCPS needs to build three new ones: Northwood, Woodward, Crown. The new Seneca Valley HS building cost $150 million. So that's $450 million just for high schools in the next few years.
Now, look at just one elementary school: South Lake ES, in Gaithersburg. 2019-20 enrollment 897, capacity 694, built in 1972 and never renovated.

At-a-glance: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02564.pdf
School boundaries: http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/SouthLakeES.pdf

Please do look at the South Lake ES school boundaries, because they're bananas. Also consider that the assigned middle school for South Lake ES is Neelsville MS, which (1) is way over there in Germantown and (2) was built in 1981 and has never been renovated.

So: how much are you willing to increase what you pay in taxes, in order to avoid boundary changes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Fortunately, nobody is proposing to do that. NOBODY.

To change a boundary, there needs to be a boundary study. And there are 4 factors in every MCPS boundary study:

1. facility utilization
2. geography
3. demographics
4. stability of school assignments over time

So you can stop worrying about this.

You missed the biggest point. The point is no one should be moving kids to shitty schools.

It's odd how the "no one should be moving kids to shitty schools" people were never concerned about the kids currently at the shitty schools until there was the prospect of moving their kids to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Fortunately, nobody is proposing to do that. NOBODY.

To change a boundary, there needs to be a boundary study. And there are 4 factors in every MCPS boundary study:

1. facility utilization
2. geography
3. demographics
4. stability of school assignments over time

So you can stop worrying about this.

You missed the biggest point. The point is no one should be moving kids to shitty schools.

It's odd how the "no one should be moving kids to shitty schools" people were never concerned about the kids currently at the shitty schools until there was the prospect of moving their kids to them.

This is the DUMBEST argument I have ever heard of. Seriously. Do you think families have time to watch BOE meetings online to learn about the shitty schools that their kids do not attend? Sorry but not all of us are privileged to have that time. And why are you blaming families who are concerned about the shitty schools? For YEARS students and staff at the shitty schools have been complaining about their schools, their resources, their facilities to guess who.... Guess who ignored them? Guess who decided to put up astroturf on football fields instead of fixing falling ceiling tiles and rats at Southlake. LEt me give you a hint- it's not the people you complain about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is the DUMBEST argument I have ever heard of. Seriously. Do you think families have time to watch BOE meetings online to learn about the shitty schools that their kids do not attend? Sorry but not all of us are privileged to have that time. And why are you blaming families who are concerned about the shitty schools? For YEARS students and staff at the shitty schools have been complaining about their schools, their resources, their facilities to guess who.... Guess who ignored them? Guess who decided to put up astroturf on football fields instead of fixing falling ceiling tiles and rats at Southlake. LEt me give you a hint- it's not the people you complain about.

Obviously you're allowed to advocate only for your own kids, and never mind about all the other kids, if that's what you want to do. But don't be surprised if other people don't rush to take your side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I'm willing to increase what I pay in taxes to help fix it. I do not believe that solely moving kids around to balance out diversity numbers is going to do anything because all it's doing is shifting SOME kids to the "better" schools while leaving or moving kids around in the shitty schools. MCPS needs to be fixing shitty schools. That's the bottom line and all of these talks regarding boundaries are just another way of absolving them of this responsibility.

Just for high schools, MCPS needs to build three new ones: Northwood, Woodward, Crown. The new Seneca Valley HS building cost $150 million. So that's $450 million just for high schools in the next few years.
Now, look at just one elementary school: South Lake ES, in Gaithersburg. 2019-20 enrollment 897, capacity 694, built in 1972 and never renovated.

At-a-glance: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02564.pdf
School boundaries: http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/SouthLakeES.pdf

Please do look at the South Lake ES school boundaries, because they're bananas. Also consider that the assigned middle school for South Lake ES is Neelsville MS, which (1) is way over there in Germantown and (2) was built in 1981 and has never been renovated.

So: how much are you willing to increase what you pay in taxes, in order to avoid boundary changes?

Maybe people who don't want boundaries to change with adjacent clusters should pay to keep their boundaries as-is. They can pay waaay more in taxes to build out their schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is the DUMBEST argument I have ever heard of. Seriously. Do you think families have time to watch BOE meetings online to learn about the shitty schools that their kids do not attend? Sorry but not all of us are privileged to have that time. And why are you blaming families who are concerned about the shitty schools? For YEARS students and staff at the shitty schools have been complaining about their schools, their resources, their facilities to guess who.... Guess who ignored them? Guess who decided to put up astroturf on football fields instead of fixing falling ceiling tiles and rats at Southlake. LEt me give you a hint- it's not the people you complain about.

Obviously you're allowed to advocate only for your own kids, and never mind about all the other kids, if that's what you want to do. But don't be surprised if other people don't rush to take your side.

Let me help you expand your narrowed focus on this. MCPS has been ignoring the schools for YEARS. Okay? YEARS. While you cannot expect busy families to be aware of what's happening outside of their schools, there are certainly people who have been advocating to fix broken and underperforming schools within their cluster for years. Schools like Neelsville and Southlake. I know a teacher at Southlake who said the reality is MCPS does not want to invest in schools that are poor and high minority. That's the bottom line. I know that's hard for some of you to believe but that's the truth. Actions speak louder than words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is the DUMBEST argument I have ever heard of. Seriously. Do you think families have time to watch BOE meetings online to learn about the shitty schools that their kids do not attend? Sorry but not all of us are privileged to have that time. And why are you blaming families who are concerned about the shitty schools? For YEARS students and staff at the shitty schools have been complaining about their schools, their resources, their facilities to guess who.... Guess who ignored them? Guess who decided to put up astroturf on football fields instead of fixing falling ceiling tiles and rats at Southlake. LEt me give you a hint- it's not the people you complain about.

Obviously you're allowed to advocate only for your own kids, and never mind about all the other kids, if that's what you want to do. But don't be surprised if other people don't rush to take your side.

Let me help you expand your narrowed focus on this. MCPS has been ignoring the schools for YEARS. Okay? YEARS. While you cannot expect busy families to be aware of what's happening outside of their schools, there are certainly people who have been advocating to fix broken and underperforming schools within their cluster for years. Schools like Neelsville and Southlake. I know a teacher at Southlake who said the reality is MCPS does not want to invest in schools that are poor and high minority. That's the bottom line. I know that's hard for some of you to believe but that's the truth. Actions speak louder than words.

Good for the people advocating for capital improvements to Neelsville (and South Lake).

Meanwhile, here's the MCPS CIP: $1.818 billion, and even that really isn't enough. Which projects would you move up? Which projects would you delay? And if you could reduce capital spending needs by using boundary changes to reduce overcrowding, why the heck wouldn't you do it?