MoCo BOE primary election results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

You can't move up Neelsville and South Lake without delaying other projects. Which projects would you delay?

Also, there is not room for roughly 1000 kids at Rocky Hill, Clemente, MLK, and Kingsview. Rocky Hill is at capacity, Clemente is over capacity, MLK is about 250 under capacity, and Kingsview is about 100 under capacity. To say nothing of splitting them up among 4 different high school clusters (Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Northwest, and Watkins Mill). If it's too far from Cabin Branch to Neelsville, then it's really really too far from South Lake ES to any of those middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

You can't move up Neelsville and South Lake without delaying other projects. Which projects would you delay?

Also, there is not room for roughly 1000 kids at Rocky Hill, Clemente, MLK, and Kingsview. Rocky Hill is at capacity, Clemente is over capacity, MLK is about 250 under capacity, and Kingsview is about 100 under capacity. To say nothing of splitting them up among 4 different high school clusters (Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Northwest, and Watkins Mill). If it's too far from Cabin Branch to Neelsville, then it's really really too far from South Lake ES to any of those middle schools.

They can also move the remaining kids to Seneca Valley. There's room there for the next couple of years so they can temporarily move there while they build a new Neelsville. There are also seats available at Montgomery Village, Forest Oak, and Gaithersburg Middle Schools. Maybe they can move kids there who are from Stedwick ES and Southlake and it would significantly reduce their bus times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

You can't move up Neelsville and South Lake without delaying other projects. Which projects would you delay?

Also, there is not room for roughly 1000 kids at Rocky Hill, Clemente, MLK, and Kingsview. Rocky Hill is at capacity, Clemente is over capacity, MLK is about 250 under capacity, and Kingsview is about 100 under capacity. To say nothing of splitting them up among 4 different high school clusters (Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Northwest, and Watkins Mill). If it's too far from Cabin Branch to Neelsville, then it's really really too far from South Lake ES to any of those middle schools.

They can also move the remaining kids to Seneca Valley. There's room there for the next couple of years so they can temporarily move there while they build a new Neelsville. There are also seats available at Montgomery Village, Forest Oak, and Gaithersburg Middle Schools. Maybe they can move kids there who are from Stedwick ES and Southlake and it would significantly reduce their bus times.

Now you're advocating to split the 1000 Neelsville kids up among 8 buildings (including 1 high school) in 5 different high school clusters. The Neelsville MS building must really be terrible for you to believe MCPS should go to these extraordinary lengths. Is it worse than the soon-to-be-former Col E Brooke Lee MS? Is it worse than the old Seneca Valley HS building?

And before you ask - I've been in the Neelsville MS and old Seneca Valley HS buildings; I have not been in the soon-to-be-former Col E Brooke Lee MS building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

You can't move up Neelsville and South Lake without delaying other projects. Which projects would you delay?

Also, there is not room for roughly 1000 kids at Rocky Hill, Clemente, MLK, and Kingsview. Rocky Hill is at capacity, Clemente is over capacity, MLK is about 250 under capacity, and Kingsview is about 100 under capacity. To say nothing of splitting them up among 4 different high school clusters (Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Northwest, and Watkins Mill). If it's too far from Cabin Branch to Neelsville, then it's really really too far from South Lake ES to any of those middle schools.

They can also move the remaining kids to Seneca Valley. There's room there for the next couple of years so they can temporarily move there while they build a new Neelsville. There are also seats available at Montgomery Village, Forest Oak, and Gaithersburg Middle Schools. Maybe they can move kids there who are from Stedwick ES and Southlake and it would significantly reduce their bus times.

One of the four factors in the FAA policy is "stability of assignment". Based on the projections, and all this moving around that's being posted, also goes against that factor. I'm pretty sure there would be parents who would be upset at the instability of the school assignments.

I'll say it again... it is nearly impossible to weigh all four factors equally when drawing boundaries.

-dp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
One of the four factors in the FAA policy is "stability of assignment". Based on the projections, and all this moving around that's being posted, also goes against that factor. I'm pretty sure there would be parents who would be upset at the instability of the school assignments.

I'll say it again... it is nearly impossible to weigh all four factors equally when drawing boundaries.

-dp

Not to mention - there's regular panic on DCUM about 13-year-old girls in high school hallways with 21-year-old men!!1!!!!@!!!

Now imagine the panic about 10-year-old girls in high school hallways with 21-year-old men.

My guess is that the PP with the split-them-up suggestion is newly rezoned from Rocky Hill MS to Neelsville MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

You can't move up Neelsville and South Lake without delaying other projects. Which projects would you delay?

Also, there is not room for roughly 1000 kids at Rocky Hill, Clemente, MLK, and Kingsview. Rocky Hill is at capacity, Clemente is over capacity, MLK is about 250 under capacity, and Kingsview is about 100 under capacity. To say nothing of splitting them up among 4 different high school clusters (Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Northwest, and Watkins Mill). If it's too far from Cabin Branch to Neelsville, then it's really really too far from South Lake ES to any of those middle schools.

They can also move the remaining kids to Seneca Valley. There's room there for the next couple of years so they can temporarily move there while they build a new Neelsville. There are also seats available at Montgomery Village, Forest Oak, and Gaithersburg Middle Schools. Maybe they can move kids there who are from Stedwick ES and Southlake and it would significantly reduce their bus times.

Now you're advocating to split the 1000 Neelsville kids up among 8 buildings (including 1 high school) in 5 different high school clusters. The Neelsville MS building must really be terrible for you to believe MCPS should go to these extraordinary lengths. Is it worse than the soon-to-be-former Col E Brooke Lee MS? Is it worse than the old Seneca Valley HS building?

And before you ask - I've been in the Neelsville MS and old Seneca Valley HS buildings; I have not been in the soon-to-be-former Col E Brooke Lee MS building.

Yes it's terrible. I'm a teacher there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I would move up Neelsville and Southlake. And of course I would use boundary changes to reduce overcrowding when there is legitimate overcrowding. I would also support temporarily moving all kids from Neelsville now to neighboring middle schools so that they do not have to attend that school. There's room (at Rocky Hill, Clemente, Martin Luther King, and Kingsview). Since there's room at all these schools, then maybe we don't need to build a new school and just shut down that facility altogether.

You can't move up Neelsville and South Lake without delaying other projects. Which projects would you delay?

Also, there is not room for roughly 1000 kids at Rocky Hill, Clemente, MLK, and Kingsview. Rocky Hill is at capacity, Clemente is over capacity, MLK is about 250 under capacity, and Kingsview is about 100 under capacity. To say nothing of splitting them up among 4 different high school clusters (Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Northwest, and Watkins Mill). If it's too far from Cabin Branch to Neelsville, then it's really really too far from South Lake ES to any of those middle schools.

They can also move the remaining kids to Seneca Valley. There's room there for the next couple of years so they can temporarily move there while they build a new Neelsville. There are also seats available at Montgomery Village, Forest Oak, and Gaithersburg Middle Schools. Maybe they can move kids there who are from Stedwick ES and Southlake and it would significantly reduce their bus times.

Now you're advocating to split the 1000 Neelsville kids up among 8 buildings (including 1 high school) in 5 different high school clusters. The Neelsville MS building must really be terrible for you to believe MCPS should go to these extraordinary lengths. Is it worse than the soon-to-be-former Col E Brooke Lee MS? Is it worse than the old Seneca Valley HS building?

And before you ask - I've been in the Neelsville MS and old Seneca Valley HS buildings; I have not been in the soon-to-be-former Col E Brooke Lee MS building.

Yes it's terrible. I'm a teacher there.

Teacher again.. I also want to add that none of my students want to be there. They know the school is terrible and they know MCPS is ignoring them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher again.. I also want to add that none of my students want to be there. They know the school is terrible and they know MCPS is ignoring them.

Tell 'em about this, if school starts again in the fall, which I most sincerely hope. But not the ones who were rezoned for Rocky Hill MS, because they'll be at Rocky Hill MS.

Major Capital Projects – Secondary

Neelsville Middle School
Completion date: September 2024
Proposed budget: $65 million
Design goals:
• Primarily a replacement project; majority of facility will be replaced, while also
exploring possible options that may preserve some existing spaces
• Will be constructed on site, with consideration of phasing options; no use of swing
space
• Increase capacity to 1200 to meet student enrollment needs
• Initial evaluation of existing facility indicates renovation would be costly and
would not achieve the desired teaching and learning space objectives due to space
configuration and infrastructure challenges of the existing facility
• Results in need to replace facility to provide enrollment and programmatic benefits

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP21_SupplementCMajorCapitalProjectsUpdate.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher again.. I also want to add that none of my students want to be there. They know the school is terrible and they know MCPS is ignoring them.

Tell 'em about this, if school starts again in the fall, which I most sincerely hope. But not the ones who were rezoned for Rocky Hill MS, because they'll be at Rocky Hill MS.

Major Capital Projects – Secondary

Neelsville Middle School
Completion date: September 2024
Proposed budget: $65 million
Design goals:
• Primarily a replacement project; majority of facility will be replaced, while also
exploring possible options that may preserve some existing spaces
• Will be constructed on site, with consideration of phasing options; no use of swing
space
• Increase capacity to 1200 to meet student enrollment needs
• Initial evaluation of existing facility indicates renovation would be costly and
would not achieve the desired teaching and learning space objectives due to space
configuration and infrastructure challenges of the existing facility
• Results in need to replace facility to provide enrollment and programmatic benefits

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP21_SupplementCMajorCapitalProjectsUpdate.pdf

I am aware of the above thank you. But that doesn't help the other half of the students who didn't get moved and it doesn't help the students previously assigned to Rocky Hill who now have to be in these horrid conditions. I care about ALL students and the ones I have now will never see the new school. MCPS is horrible and instead of fixing the schools, they'd rather pit communities against one another to fight for resources. I have personally told a friend who has a child that is getting moved here to don't do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am aware of the above thank you. But that doesn't help the other half of the students who didn't get moved and it doesn't help the students previously assigned to Rocky Hill who now have to be in these horrid conditions. I care about ALL students and the ones I have now will never see the new school. MCPS is horrible and instead of fixing the schools, they'd rather pit communities against one another to fight for resources. I have personally told a friend who has a child that is getting moved here to don't do it.

PP, they're going to build a new building. That's fixing the school (or at least the school building). Unfortunately it's not possible to build a new building instantly; it takes time.

Also, the MCPS CIP is $1.82 billion. That's the money they're using to do what you want: fix the schools.

And yes, $1.82 billion is not enough. But that's not pitting communities against each other, it's just a statement of fact. It's not enough. So MCPS has to prioritize.

[Anonymous]

Not getting everything you want in the democratic process doesn't mean you're a victim. It just means you can't get everything you want. People from Bethesda (and I say this as someone from Bethesda) are known to be incredibly whiny and entitled. Sometimes people are going to be annoyed by that, and show it.

[Anonymous]

Or maybe those people from Bethesda are advocating for their kids at their overcrowded school (Bethesda ES, and Ashburton ES, where kids were sitting on upside down trashcans one year because their weren't enough chairs/desks).

So to be clear, it is ok to advocate for your kids at other schools, but Bethesda parents are not allowed to advocate for their kids because they are white, wealthy and whiny.
Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or maybe those people from Bethesda are advocating for their kids at their overcrowded school (Bethesda ES, and Ashburton ES, where kids were sitting on upside down trashcans one year because their weren't enough chairs/desks).

So to be clear, it is ok to advocate for your kids at other schools, but Bethesda parents are not allowed to advocate for their kids because they are white, wealthy and whiny.
Got it.

I keep hearing about the trashcans at Ashburton, but that has nothing to do with the overcrowdedness of the school. It just means there weren't enough chairs. Order some more chairs.

Also, nobody is stopping you from advocating. You are allowed to advocate for whatever you like, however you like (within the bounds of legal advocacy). And everybody else is allowed to say whatever they want about your advocacy (within the bounds of legal opinion-expressing). That's how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or maybe those people from Bethesda are advocating for their kids at their overcrowded school (Bethesda ES, and Ashburton ES, where kids were sitting on upside down trashcans one year because their weren't enough chairs/desks).

So to be clear, it is ok to advocate for your kids at other schools, but Bethesda parents are not allowed to advocate for their kids because they are white, wealthy and whiny.
Got it.

Define "not allowed". Because you are definitely allowed, my friend. Sorry the rest of the county wants nothing to do with Steve Austin.