Woodward Boundary Study discussion at next BoE meeting

[Anonymous]

So now we're not only speculating about which boundaries may be changed two years from now, we're also speculating about which parents will then file lawsuits in response to these possible changes, and whether those lawsuits will then be dismissed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

It doesn't mean the lawsuits didn't have merit. It just means MCPS played the covid card, had $11M(?) in attorney's, and questionable relationships.

I read that Erlich is requesting a 10% increase in property taxes for "education"?

I'd love to look at the details of that budget. I'm sure that all sorts of goodies will be in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

It doesn't mean the lawsuits didn't have merit. It just means MCPS played the covid card, had $11M(?) in attorney's, and questionable relationships.

I read that Erlich is requesting a 10% increase in property taxes for "education"?

I'd love to look at the details of that budget. I'm sure that all sorts of goodies will be in there.

The law passed in 2020 says that any changes to property taxes require a unanimous vote from the county council, but apparently, he can sneak this through by using some loophole that is supposed only to cover school maintenance. It sounds illegal to me, but others seem to think he can get away with it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We will be moving to the area from out of state. We will likely be renting a house in the Whitman neighborhood. Will this new study on boundries affect where my child will go to school? I’m not understanding really what changes will happen to kids living in the neighborhood of their assigned school. What will determine which kids go to which schools? Will it be a lottery? I’m genuinely curious. I would not love the idea of my kid living close to a school but assigned to one that would mean a 30-40 minute bus ride to a different school. Is this a real possibility?

Whitman, Wootton and Churchill clusters will hire lawyers and fight any changes to their sacred boundary changes. And MCPS and the board will cave in out of fear.

And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

They may not win in court but it wouldn’t get that far. The cost of fighting litigation would be too high for the county. It will be cheaper and easier just to give in to the parents fighting them and abandon any rezoning plan they put forth. I may be wrong and the county/MCPS leaders will have more backbone than I give them credit for. I hope I am.

It's not cheaper and easier to give into the parents, because if MCPS makes the wrong decisions, then they lose millions in revenue from the state for new school construction and school expansion. And no, they won't give in. The Clarksburg parents tried to sue, and they still lost and got redistricted lol. The magnet parents from these same clusters tried to sue, and they lost. It doesn't cost a lot of money to shut down, because nothing illegal is going on.

MCPS has done a bunch of things illegally, most especially not following their own policies and being nontransparent about a lot of crap. They've gone through tons of FOIAs and the stuff that have been discovered is unreal. But the issue is that MCPS spends a TON of money on lawyers and ultimately those who sue them eventually run out of money to keep fighting.

There's nothing illegal about MCPS changing its school boundaries. Anyone who tries to sue because of this is ridiculous.

No one has ever sued MCPS for changing boundaries.

Actually, they have (though this is a different cluster than the ones mentioned here): https://moco360.media/2020/05/11/lawsuit-alleges-mcps-boundary-changes-part-of-nationwide-racial-equity-push/

No it wasn't about changing boundaries. It was the process and how it violated policies.

That may have been the argument but the intent could still have been to challenge the boundaries. I doubt parents would bring a lawsuit just over the process if they were fine with the new boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

It doesn't mean the lawsuits didn't have merit. It just means MCPS played the covid card, had $11M(?) in attorney's, and questionable relationships.

I read that Erlich is requesting a 10% increase in property taxes for "education"?

I'd love to look at the details of that budget. I'm sure that all sorts of goodies will be in there.

It actually did mean the lawsuits didn't have merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We will be moving to the area from out of state. We will likely be renting a house in the Whitman neighborhood. Will this new study on boundries affect where my child will go to school? I’m not understanding really what changes will happen to kids living in the neighborhood of their assigned school. What will determine which kids go to which schools? Will it be a lottery? I’m genuinely curious. I would not love the idea of my kid living close to a school but assigned to one that would mean a 30-40 minute bus ride to a different school. Is this a real possibility?

Whitman, Wootton and Churchill clusters will hire lawyers and fight any changes to their sacred boundary changes. And MCPS and the board will cave in out of fear.

And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

They may not win in court but it wouldn’t get that far. The cost of fighting litigation would be too high for the county. It will be cheaper and easier just to give in to the parents fighting them and abandon any rezoning plan they put forth. I may be wrong and the county/MCPS leaders will have more backbone than I give them credit for. I hope I am.

It's not cheaper and easier to give into the parents, because if MCPS makes the wrong decisions, then they lose millions in revenue from the state for new school construction and school expansion. And no, they won't give in. The Clarksburg parents tried to sue, and they still lost and got redistricted lol. The magnet parents from these same clusters tried to sue, and they lost. It doesn't cost a lot of money to shut down, because nothing illegal is going on.

MCPS has done a bunch of things illegally, most especially not following their own policies and being nontransparent about a lot of crap. They've gone through tons of FOIAs and the stuff that have been discovered is unreal. But the issue is that MCPS spends a TON of money on lawyers and ultimately those who sue them eventually run out of money to keep fighting.

There's nothing illegal about MCPS changing its school boundaries. Anyone who tries to sue because of this is ridiculous.

No one has ever sued MCPS for changing boundaries.

Actually, they have (though this is a different cluster than the ones mentioned here): https://moco360.media/2020/05/11/lawsuit-alleges-mcps-boundary-changes-part-of-nationwide-racial-equity-push/

No it wasn't about changing boundaries. It was the process and how it violated policies.

It was about the outcome. They didn't like the outcome. So they sued about the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

It doesn't mean the lawsuits didn't have merit. It just means MCPS played the covid card, had $11M(?) in attorney's, and questionable relationships.

I read that Erlich is requesting a 10% increase in property taxes for "education"?

I'd love to look at the details of that budget. I'm sure that all sorts of goodies will be in there.

That was expeditious, but I can assure you the lawsuits lacked merit. They need to show harm which is difficult to do when the group in question still has more seats than any other cohort.

[Anonymous]

Here is the revised resolution for the boundary study scope, scheduled to be voted on today. It does state outright that no elementary schools will be part of the study.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/CQ8RHF6E10E2/$file/Bdry%20Study%20Rec%20Reopen%20Woodward%20HS%20REV.pdf

[Anonymous]

Here's the details:

They are going to look at the boundaries of 8 high schools and 14 middle schools (no ES). Due to the scope, they are hiring a consultant to help with facilitation and community engagement during the process.

Resolved, That the scope of the boundary study to establish the service area for the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School includes the following high schools:
• Bethesda Chevy-Chase
• Montgomery Blair
• John F. Kennedy
• Albert Einstein
• Northwood
• Walter Johnson
• Wheaton
• Walt Whitman

includes the following middle schools:
• Argyle
• Eastern
• A. Mario Loiederman
• Newport Mill
• North Bethesda
• Parkland
• Thomas W. Pyle
• Odessa Shannon
• Silver Creek
• Silver Spring International
• Sligo
• Takoma Park
• Tilden
• Westland

Resolved, That an anticipated timeline for the boundary study process to determine the service area for the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School is provided below:
• Spring 2023—Request for Proposal is released
• Summer 2023—Board of Education approves consultant
• Fall 2023—Montgomery County Public Schools staff and consultant prepare for community engagement process and provide stakeholders with meeting information
• Early 2024–Fall 2024—Boundary Study process (community meetings, option development, feedback)
• Early 2025—Boundary Study report is released
• Winter 2025 (February)—Superintendent’s recommendation on the boundary study is released
• Winter 2025 (February–March)—Board of Education work sessions, public hearings, and action on the superintendent’s recommendation on the boundary study

This should give this forum plenty to squabble about for the next two years.

[Anonymous]

Indeed! Esp the “B-CC is not going to be in that study” fans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Indeed! Esp the “B-CC is not going to be in that study” fans.

But it's at the top of the list even and since it will be adjacent to Woodward it's a done deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McKnight wants it to include BCC! And Whitman!

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2022-2023/Community-Message-20230222.html

Future School Boundary Analyses (Agenda Item 7.1)

Future openings of two new high schools will require boundary studies in multiple areas throughout the county. The new Charles W. Woodward High School is scheduled to reopen in 2026 and will impact current school boundaries. The clusters included in the superintendent’s recommendation for the boundary scope include Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, Walter Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Northwood, Wheaton and Walt Whitman high schools. Additional future boundary studies will address midcounty overutilization with the opening of Crown High School (2027) and upcounty with the expansion of Damascus High School (2026).

Let the Sturm und Drang ensue!

McKnight is the best!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Indeed! Esp the “B-CC is not going to be in that study” fans.

But it's at the top of the list even and since it will be adjacent to Woodward it's a done deal.

What does that even mean? Woodward does not have any boundaries yet, so no school can be adjacent until the boundaries are drawn and redrawn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Indeed! Esp the “B-CC is not going to be in that study” fans.

But it's at the top of the list even and since it will be adjacent to Woodward it's a done deal.

What does that even mean? Woodward does not have any boundaries yet, so no school can be adjacent until the boundaries are drawn and redrawn.

I think it means given BCC's proximity to Woodward. It's at the very top of the list of schools that will be affected by its opening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And what exactly are their lawyers going to do? It isn't illegal to redistrict those schools, and those parents may have purchased homes zoned for those schools at the time, but they did not purchase admission those schools themselves as they are public schools, not private schools.

The lawyers won't have any skin in the argument, especially because all counties in Maryland are under a lot of pressure to redistrict schools right now. The state isn't going to hand over more money for new school construction or expansion until seats are filled. The lawyers are going to lose, just like they did a few years ago when it came to the lawsuit against magnet programs lol.

It doesn't mean the lawsuits didn't have merit. It just means MCPS played the covid card, had $11M(?) in attorney's, and questionable relationships.

I read that Erlich is requesting a 10% increase in property taxes for "education"?

I'd love to look at the details of that budget. I'm sure that all sorts of goodies will be in there.

That was expeditious, but I can assure you the lawsuits lacked merit. They need to show harm which is difficult to do when the group in question still has more seats than any other cohort.

Tell you what. Let's cut the MCPS attorney budget from $11M to using only in-house counsel.

That will tell you how much 'merit' MCPS cases have.