windows that won't open a metaphor what's wrong with MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never worked in an office building where the windows open.

I would hope that schools are safer than office buildings. These are children for crying out loud!

I think the idea is that modern HVAC systems are not based on opened windows.

We've been explicitly asked to not open windows at our new school. I worry about older schools without decent air exchange systems, though.

The plan was to use in-room air cleaners at the handful of schools or classrooms where they weren't able to achieve sufficient air exchange rates. But again, air purifiers can't function properly if the windows are open, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, the parents at Somerset ES don't get to use their private money to upgrade facilities at their children's public school.

Also, seeing windows =/= knowing what is required to fix the windows. MCPS says the windows require customized replacement parts. What do you know that they don't?

Why can't parents fix the windows with private money in this emergency situaiton? This is ridiculous! Functioning windows during this pandemic are a necessity.

They really are not. If you're in a building with a modern air-handling system, opening the windows actually reduces the overall filtration effectiveness. You are going with the window opening as the intervention because you can see it and know whether or not it's happening and you feel better. But you aren't actually improving the situation--you are prioritizing your mental experience, potentially at the expense of safety.

If you do not trust the school with the well-being of your child, do not send your child into that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why not? If MCPS has such a backlog, it is in everyone's interest to have things taken off the list in any way possible, moving any project behind Somerset higher on the list. No one is helped at other schools and, in fact others are hurt, by refusing help where it is offered.

The real danger in this is that MCPS starts to expect wealthier schools to pay to fix their own problems, rather than allocating funds to those schools on par with other schools.

If you want to be able to use your money to buy better facilities for your child's school, then you have to send your child to private school.

Please also refrain from explaining how it would actually benefit poor people if the public school system allowed you to altruistically use your money to buy better facilities for your child's public school.

Rather than just telling me I shouldn't explain why it is better for everyone, why don't you actually refute what I said with a substantive response? But let's give an example.

Say there are five open maintenance request and each one will take one month to fix. Somerset is currently #3 on the list. If Somerset gets completed with private funds, schools #4 and #5 get their maintenance request finished a month faster than they would otherwise. If you had a kid in school #4, would you be happy if their windows got fixed a month earlier?

One reason is because when private money is used for specific projects, it's often at the expense of the system as a whole. This is a perfect example. If your child's building has a correctly-functioning HVAC system, opening the windows worsens the performance of that system. By paying to make the windows openable, you could be defeating, not supplementing, the air-handling capacities in the building. But you liked the idea and you had money so you got what you wanted and "feel more comfortable" with your child sitting near an open window, even though it is objectively bad for other people (and probably your child as well, if/when they are in other parts of the building).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why not? If MCPS has such a backlog, it is in everyone's interest to have things taken off the list in any way possible, moving any project behind Somerset higher on the list. No one is helped at other schools and, in fact others are hurt, by refusing help where it is offered.

The real danger in this is that MCPS starts to expect wealthier schools to pay to fix their own problems, rather than allocating funds to those schools on par with other schools.

If you want to be able to use your money to buy better facilities for your child's school, then you have to send your child to private school.

Please also refrain from explaining how it would actually benefit poor people if the public school system allowed you to altruistically use your money to buy better facilities for your child's public school.

Rather than just telling me I shouldn't explain why it is better for everyone, why don't you actually refute what I said with a substantive response? But let's give an example.

Say there are five open maintenance request and each one will take one month to fix. Somerset is currently #3 on the list. If Somerset gets completed with private funds, schools #4 and #5 get their maintenance request finished a month faster than they would otherwise. If you had a kid in school #4, would you be happy if their windows got fixed a month earlier?

One reason is because when private money is used for specific projects, it's often at the expense of the system as a whole. This is a perfect example. If your child's building has a correctly-functioning HVAC system, opening the windows worsens the performance of that system. By paying to make the windows openable, you could be defeating, not supplementing, the air-handling capacities in the building. But you liked the idea and you had money so you got what you wanted and "feel more comfortable" with your child sitting near an open window, even though it is objectively bad for other people (and probably your child as well, if/when they are in other parts of the building).

No, they shouldn't be allowed to do it if it would harm the overall system. That's reasonable. But for most desired fixes that wouldn't be the case, and I don't even know if that is the case at Somerset.

Assume opening the windows would have no adverse impact on the overall system and the only reason the windows aren't open is because they are broken and no one has gotten around to fixing them. Who is better off by not allowing parents to help fix the broken windows?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

One reason is because when private money is used for specific projects, it's often at the expense of the system as a whole. This is a perfect example. If your child's building has a correctly-functioning HVAC system, opening the windows worsens the performance of that system. By paying to make the windows openable, you could be defeating, not supplementing, the air-handling capacities in the building. But you liked the idea and you had money so you got what you wanted and "feel more comfortable" with your child sitting near an open window, even though it is objectively bad for other people (and probably your child as well, if/when they are in other parts of the building).

No, they shouldn't be allowed to do it if it would harm the overall system. That's reasonable. But for most desired fixes that wouldn't be the case, and I don't even know if that is the case at Somerset.

Assume opening the windows would have no adverse impact on the overall system and the only reason the windows aren't open is because they are broken and no one has gotten around to fixing them. Who is better off by not allowing parents to help fix the broken windows?

No, no. The assumption is that allowing affluent parents to pay to fix the windows at their child's public school would have no adverse impact on the overall public school system. Which is a false assumption.

[Anonymous]

Come to Baltimore City schools. They built the new schools with windows that won't open. Add in the majority of schools with windows that don't open or classrooms with no windows. Mine has a window but it won't open. The heat is blasting and the room is 84 degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anyone notice how Bethesda beat changed the title of the article from Somerset being named explicitly to a “school in CC” in the title. Hmmmmm

[Anonymous]

I understand parents' concerns, but this quote, pitting equity in the system as a whole against air quality in one school is not a good look for Somerset:

“MCPS likes to throw out the term ‘equitable’ a lot, to the point of, ‘You can’t do this because it’s not equitable, because all of the other schools can’t do it, too,’” Zaft said. “That’s fine if that’s your stance, but then how is it equitable for these kids to not have functioning windows when most of the rest in MCPS are functioning. You can’t have it both ways.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone notice how Bethesda beat changed the title of the article from Somerset being named explicitly to a “school in CC” in the title. Hmmmmm

Are you talking about the article that refers explicitly to Somerset ES in four different places as well as in the photo? If so -- no, I did not.

[Anonymous]

I teach in an MCPS elementary school, and my classroom has no windows. No.windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is insane. The windows have been stuck shut for a decade. There have been a zillion repair requests over that time. And yet a year into an AIRBORNE PANDEMIC the district still hasn't fixed--and hilariously won't let the parent community fundraise to fix either. I know this school. I have seen these windows. The are basic double-hung windows. This is not rocket science.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/elementary-parents-raise-covid-19-concerns-because-classroom-windows-dont-open/

And the article also says "An online data dashboard maintained by MCPS shows that Somerset has the highest rating for its ventilation system, meaning its equipment provides “outside air to individual classrooms and support staff workspaces."

It is not enough for MCPS to meet HVAC requirements only in rooms that have windows and that too only when the weather is nice and windows can be open. Considering multiple factors such as rooms with no windows, students with asthma, pollen rich environment, cold weather, etc., I for one am glad that MCPS did not depend on open windows for meeting ventilation requirements.

Shame on those ginning up a faux controversy ... or should I say Fox News style controversy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, the parents at Somerset ES don't get to use their private money to upgrade facilities at their children's public school.

Also, seeing windows =/= knowing what is required to fix the windows. MCPS says the windows require customized replacement parts. What do you know that they don't?

Of course they do as they can afford it. Schools like ours cannot afford it and our PTSA struggles with getting any money let alone that kind of money so our kids go without.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is insane. The windows have been stuck shut for a decade. There have been a zillion repair requests over that time. And yet a year into an AIRBORNE PANDEMIC the district still hasn't fixed--and hilariously won't let the parent community fundraise to fix either. I know this school. I have seen these windows. The are basic double-hung windows. This is not rocket science.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/elementary-parents-raise-covid-19-concerns-because-classroom-windows-dont-open/

And the article also says "An online data dashboard maintained by MCPS shows that Somerset has the highest rating for its ventilation system, meaning its equipment provides “outside air to individual classrooms and support staff workspaces."

It is not enough for MCPS to meet HVAC requirements only in rooms that have windows and that too only when the weather is nice and windows can be open. Considering multiple factors such as rooms with no windows, students with asthma, pollen rich environment, cold weather, etc., I for one am glad that MCPS did not depend on open windows for meeting ventilation requirements.

Shame on those ginning up a faux controversy ... or should I say Fox News style controversy.

Meh.. DCUM majority has declared its fully safe to return without those tings or social distancing. Our school doesn't have an HVAC and a boiler system, windows that don't open and they are still waiting for the portable filters to be installed. Talk about equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
One reason is because when private money is used for specific projects, it's often at the expense of the system as a whole.

I really get tired of this smug nonsense. People just want stuff that works and here we have someone that wants to adopt and project an expert voice when they have no clue what they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand parents' concerns, but this quote, pitting equity in the system as a whole against air quality in one school is not a good look for Somerset:

“MCPS likes to throw out the term ‘equitable’ a lot, to the point of, ‘You can’t do this because it’s not equitable, because all of the other schools can’t do it, too,’” Zaft said. “That’s fine if that’s your stance, but then how is it equitable for these kids to not have functioning windows when most of the rest in MCPS are functioning. You can’t have it both ways.”

Maybe Zaft could consider a tour of other school buildings in MCPS.