Superintendent's Recommendation for Richard Montgomery ES #5 Boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fallsgrove should be reassigned to Cold Spring.

It would make CS over capacity. Fallsgrove is just huge. 5 full buses. They could always split up FG I suppose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is pathetic how the board keeps kicking the can down the road.

The real elephant in the room is Twinbrook with 70% FARMs and 64% Hispanic population and Ritchie Park a tiny elitist enclave with 7% FARMs and a misfit RP5 appendix. All within a short distance from each other.

The cluster boundaries need to be redrawn or these imbalances and fights will keep coming up over and over. Especially when neighboring schools are under capacity.

TB is happy with 70% FARMs and RP is happy with 7% FARMs. That's how segregation works and cycle continues.


It's not even about what you can do. TB and RP are happy to maintain 70% and 7%.

Twinbrook is segregated because they want to be. If you moved to another country, you would more than likely find an area with people like you. Twinbrook has grown into a high Hispanic population by choice. Many do not speak English. I highly doubt they would be happy moving and feeling isolated. If you want to call that segregation, then go ahead.

I understand what Dixon wanted to do but with the timing and all the changes, it was too late. Sprinkling kids is a terrible idea. Add the fact that TB is already the lowest FARMS school receiving Title 1 at 67% means even 75 kids could affect that. Pulling from T1 was even worse since it is the walkable zone. Bussing 20 kids to each school in 4 separate busses going to each school 20min away only half full. Too costly. It just wouldn't work.

There is no way to restructure Twinbrook without looking at other cluster schools around their zone. Beall is easy to move because they are centered. RP, GC, and TB have more boundary lines hitting other out of cluster ES than in-cluster. We need to stop focusing on in-cluster to keep kids closer to their homes.
I would have

^ I would had offered a grandfather option to FARMS kids from TB who wanted to go to another school. I am not sure if any would take it but if parents work in another area, that could have been an option to handle their 101% capacity and give an option without force.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fallsgrove should be reassigned to Cold Spring.

To go even further? No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still think the county should introduce a lottery system so students struggling at their home school can opt to go to one of the underenrolled ones.

I think this is a great idea, but it would be expensive for MCPS to offer buses to those kids. However, if the parents wanted to drive them, then it should be open to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is pathetic how the board keeps kicking the can down the road.

The real elephant in the room is Twinbrook with 70% FARMs and 64% Hispanic population and Ritchie Park a tiny elitist enclave with 7% FARMs and a misfit RP5 appendix. All within a short distance from each other.

The cluster boundaries need to be redrawn or these imbalances and fights will keep coming up over and over. Especially when neighboring schools are under capacity.

TB is happy with 70% FARMs and RP is happy with 7% FARMs. That's how segregation works and cycle continues.


It's not even about what you can do. TB and RP are happy to maintain 70% and 7%.

RP was happy with 20% FARMs, too. But, it wasn't happy with the 6 portables, nor would any parent in RP want additional commute time for their kids, just like any other parent from another ES.

I don't think TB is "happy" with 70% FARMs. But, some realize 1. That gives them Title 1 funding 2. low income families have a hard enough time living without adding more commute time for the ES kids 3. losing their community support would be a hardship

I grew up low income, and when I got sick, I had to walk home from school. No car. Thank goodness I lived less than 1 mi from my school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fallsgrove should be reassigned to Cold Spring.

It would make CS over capacity. Fallsgrove is just huge. 5 full buses. They could always split up FG I suppose.

Actually, Cold Spring is under capacity by about 150 students, and enrollment is projected downwards. Fallsgrove has approximately 150 students. Capacity-wise, it would be perfect. Proximity-wise, it would make more sense for a closer neighborhood, like Horizon Hill, to go to Cold Spring, should Ritchie Park receive more than 4 portables in the next 4-6 years (per the amendment passed last night).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fallsgrove should be reassigned to Cold Spring.

To go even further? No

Cold Spring is exactly the same distance as Ritchie Park - they are across the street. Plus, in that case if a child from Fallsgrove got into the CES (formerly HGC) they could stay at Cold Spring instead of being bused out to Barnsley. There is no difference in distance between Cold Spring and Ritchie Park from Fallsgrove.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still think the county should introduce a lottery system so students struggling at their home school can opt to go to one of the underenrolled ones.

I think this is a great idea, but it would be expensive for MCPS to offer buses to those kids. However, if the parents wanted to drive them, then it should be open to them.

I don't think bus should be given in that case, but having an opportunity is a huge thing. Dixon's idea was spot on due to her background even though execution is difficult.

Evans had no clue what Dixon was saying and Evans was just playing to the gallery by twisting Dixon's word. Evans was worried about what message a 'action' could send and not really talking time to even think if 'action' will help anyone. She 'felt' that boundary should be divided certain way. Doing anything based on feeling is doing a huge disservice to many kids. MCPS long range has criterion defined to avoid anyone deciding based on feelings. You are not buying a shoe here.

We got a dummy in BOE member here. Unfortunately we may be stuck with this her for many years. Well, democratic process throws all kinds of people in position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fallsgrove should be reassigned to Cold Spring.

It would make CS over capacity. Fallsgrove is just huge. 5 full buses. They could always split up FG I suppose.

Actually, Cold Spring is under capacity by about 150 students, and enrollment is projected downwards. Fallsgrove has approximately 150 students. Capacity-wise, it would be perfect. Proximity-wise, it would make more sense for a closer neighborhood, like Horizon Hill, to go to Cold Spring, should Ritchie Park receive more than 4 portables in the next 4-6 years (per the amendment passed last night).

PP here.. I thought it was more like 200 kids, but I have thought about FG going to CS. It would bring FARMs kids to that school, too. I actually was thinking RP2/6 should be bussed to CS, or even part of TB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[RP was happy with 20% FARMs, too./quote]

I seriously doubt that after reading circulation of PTA note in RP community. Without reading that I may have believed it. After backlash, PTA came up with clarifications and hushed it saying that some one got access and sent it, but no one gets access randomly and send something like that to entire PTA members. It had 15-20 talking points and not written by some one getting quick access.

I would say some sections in RP would have been happy with 20% in RP too, but some sections were surely gunning for 7% FARMs in RP. I also had benefit of interacting with many in RP due to having my son attending it. Anyway, RM#5 is closer for me , but I would have been fine in either RP or RM#5.

[Anonymous]

CS has enough space to absorb Fallsgrove and it's not going to increase travel time.

Doing so will create more room in RM cluster and cluster needs it. Hopefully, BOE starts looking for using excess capacity in all nearby schools to address this serious issue.

[Anonymous]

Remember that older lady who testified well beyond her 3 minutes stating how Option A was the only fair option for the students of CG3?

Wonder what she's thinking today...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember that older lady who testified well beyond her 3 minutes stating how Option A was the only fair option for the students of CG3?

Wonder what she's thinking today...

It was the most useless entire WG group taking valuable time to talk a bunch of nonsense. If all neighborhoods take that kind of stance then you can never change boundaries. Lady didn't just come alone, she was part of entire group making noise.


Many folks could have used that time to discussion something meaningful.

[Anonymous]

im impressed with the student member's maturity and intelligence. when i was his age, all i was doing was playing video games

he still shouldn't have a vote for such an important process though.

[Anonymous]

why did mrs dixon vote for option B? everything she was saying contradicted her choice.