Cliff Notes summary of MCPS boundary study fight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's not astonishing, given the recent changes the BOE made to policy FAA, which made diversity the most important factor in determining school assignment.

It just happened in Clarksburg and Germantown. New boundaries have resulted in change of school assignment and longer bus rides for some students in order to better balance diversity.

On Sept. 24, 2018, Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) changed its Policy FAA, Educational Facilities
Planning to put student demographics (including racial/ethnic composition and FARMS rate) above all other factors
(including geographic proximity and facility utilization/overcrowding) in redistricting. Before, they were ranked
equally to balance the needs of families as well as the school system. (FARMS rate refers to the rate of students
receiving Free And Reduced-price Meals.)

On Nov. 26, 2019, BOE put this policy into practice and redrew school boundaries in Clarksburg and Germantown.
The option that 81.9% of the survey respondents in Clarksburg wanted sent Clarksburg students to
Clarksburg schools and Germantown students to Germantown schools. However, the Superintendent rejected this
and a similarly related option: “I am not able to support these options because they do not advance the
demographic characteristics of schools factor when evaluated from the FARMS population perspective.”
The option the Superintendent recommended and BOE adopted buses Clarksburg students to Germantown
and Germantown students to Clarksburg to balance out FARMS rates. Students will spend much longer time on the
bus than in the rejected plan above. Clearly, when redrawing school boundaries, FARMS rate trumps geography.

No matter how much some people in Cabin Branch may yell about it, the facts are:

1. The upcounty boundary changes were based on ALL FOUR FACTORS, not just demographics.
2. Southern Clarksburg to northern Germantown just simply is not "busing across the county."
3. Zero walkers from the Clarksburg cluster got reassigned to be Seneca Valley cluster bus-riders.
4. Policy FAA does NOT say that demographics is the most important factor.

When the BOE added the word "especially" to policy FAA, it put the heaviest weight on demographics.

From policy FAA:
Demographic characteristics of student population
Analyses of options take into account the impact of various options on the
overall populations of affected schools. Options should especially strive to
create a diverse student body in each of the affected schools in alignment
with Board Policy ACD, Quality Integrated Education. Demographic data
showing the impact of various options include the following: racial/ethnic
composition of the student population, the socioeconomic composition of
the student population, the level of English language learners, and other
reliable demographic indicators and participation in specific educational
programs

An interesting discussion by the BOE on the implications of adding the word "especially" can be seen at the April 12, 2018 BOE meeting, around 45 minutes in:

https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/20635?fbclid=IwAR3sFNjrzCOXlaiWKlKqMxuuCbLWC4lh_EimLEHL0Zxf-dZL8rMMH-NdDhc#60

DP.. I do think BOE puts some emphasis on diversity, but not as much as some people think. Points 1 to 3 above support that. It was not "cross county busing". Again, BOE won't do that. They will do busing to neighboring clusters (as they should if the current cluster is overcrowded), but not cross county. Let's put that one to bed, shall we?

[Anonymous]

for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's not astonishing, given the recent changes the BOE made to policy FAA, which made diversity the most important factor in determining school assignment.

It just happened in Clarksburg and Germantown. New boundaries have resulted in change of school assignment and longer bus rides for some students in order to better balance diversity.

On Sept. 24, 2018, Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) changed its Policy FAA, Educational Facilities
Planning to put student demographics (including racial/ethnic composition and FARMS rate) above all other factors
(including geographic proximity and facility utilization/overcrowding) in redistricting. Before, they were ranked
equally to balance the needs of families as well as the school system. (FARMS rate refers to the rate of students
receiving Free And Reduced-price Meals.)

On Nov. 26, 2019, BOE put this policy into practice and redrew school boundaries in Clarksburg and Germantown.
The option that 81.9% of the survey respondents in Clarksburg wanted sent Clarksburg students to
Clarksburg schools and Germantown students to Germantown schools. However, the Superintendent rejected this
and a similarly related option: “I am not able to support these options because they do not advance the
demographic characteristics of schools factor when evaluated from the FARMS population perspective.”
The option the Superintendent recommended and BOE adopted buses Clarksburg students to Germantown
and Germantown students to Clarksburg to balance out FARMS rates. Students will spend much longer time on the
bus than in the rejected plan above. Clearly, when redrawing school boundaries, FARMS rate trumps geography.

No matter how much some people in Cabin Branch may yell about it, the facts are:

1. The upcounty boundary changes were based on ALL FOUR FACTORS, not just demographics.
2. Southern Clarksburg to northern Germantown just simply is not "busing across the county."
3. Zero walkers from the Clarksburg cluster got reassigned to be Seneca Valley cluster bus-riders.
4. Policy FAA does NOT say that demographics is the most important factor.

When the BOE added the word "especially" to policy FAA, it put the heaviest weight on demographics.

From policy FAA:
Demographic characteristics of student population
Analyses of options take into account the impact of various options on the
overall populations of affected schools. Options should especially strive to
create a diverse student body in each of the affected schools in alignment
with Board Policy ACD, Quality Integrated Education. Demographic data
showing the impact of various options include the following: racial/ethnic
composition of the student population, the socioeconomic composition of
the student population, the level of English language learners, and other
reliable demographic indicators and participation in specific educational
programs

An interesting discussion by the BOE on the implications of adding the word "especially" can be seen at the April 12, 2018 BOE meeting, around 45 minutes in:

https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/20635?fbclid=IwAR3sFNjrzCOXlaiWKlKqMxuuCbLWC4lh_EimLEHL0Zxf-dZL8rMMH-NdDhc#60

Words have meanings!

Yup. Just not the ones the "BoE decided that demographics is the most important factor!" PPs keep asserting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

Kindergartners in Bethesda will be forced on school buses at gunpoint and hauled to Long Branch, Fairland, and Damascus!!!!!1!1!!1!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

I think this is likely how things will shake out. But let’s not pretend the BOE has said this. They haven’t indicated how they will weigh and balance the various, at times competing, objectives they are trying to achieve. Doing so at this early juncture wouldn’t be prudent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

I think this is likely how things will shake out. But let’s not pretend the BOE has said this. They haven’t indicated how they will weigh and balance the various, at times competing, objectives they are trying to achieve. Doing so at this early juncture wouldn’t be prudent.

Actually they have said this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

I think this is likely how things will shake out. But let’s not pretend the BOE has said this. They haven’t indicated how they will weigh and balance the various, at times competing, objectives they are trying to achieve. Doing so at this early juncture wouldn’t be prudent.

Right. Because that would/should happen within the context of an actual boundary study, with a scope of included schools, and various options and their effects on the four factors. This isn't that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

I think this is likely how things will shake out. But let’s not pretend the BOE has said this. They haven’t indicated how they will weigh and balance the various, at times competing, objectives they are trying to achieve. Doing so at this early juncture wouldn’t be prudent.

Actually they have said this.

They haven’t. They have outlined their objectives. But they have not indicated how they will prioritize things when the objectives point to different results in particular areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

I think this is likely how things will shake out. But let’s not pretend the BOE has said this. They haven’t indicated how they will weigh and balance the various, at times competing, objectives they are trying to achieve. Doing so at this early juncture wouldn’t be prudent.

Actually they have said this.

They haven’t. They have outlined their objectives. But they have not indicated how they will prioritize things when the objectives point to different results in particular areas.

Yes, they have.

A Focus on Adjacency: We have received messages from some community members who have heard rumors that the districtwide boundary analysis will result in a “busing plan” that will reassign students from one end of the county to the other to address issues of overcrowding and diverse learning environments. First, as stated above, the analysis will not result in any specific recommendations for student reassignments. Second, as the Board’s resolution references and the consultant will show, at the regional meetings, schools and school clusters adjacent to one another across the county can have significantly different levels of utilization and student diversity. Finally, MCPS has and will continue to maximize walkers, in no small part, because it is economically efficient. However, there always will be a need for some students to ride buses to school. Currently, the majority of our student body (more than 100,000 students) is eligible to ride a school bus every day.

Have they stated what they will do under every possible circumstance that might arise? No, of course not, and it would be ridiculous to expect them to state in advance how they will make decisions based on analytical results they don't even have yet.

Another thing that's ridiculous: this panic about the boundary analysis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

100%

That's not true. Northwood kids are being bused across the county to a holding school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

100%

That's not true. Northwood kids are being bused across the county to a holding school.

That's true, if by "across the county" you mean "from Kemp Mill to North Bethesda". I mean, I've biked the distance in about 45 minutes.

And if you had a better idea for what to do with the Northwood HS kids while Northwood is being rebuilt, why didn't you suggest it to the BoE at the time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

100%

That's not true. Northwood kids are being bused across the county to a holding school.

Temporary busing to a holding school is not related to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

100%

That's not true. Northwood kids are being bused across the county to a holding school.

Temporary busing to a holding school is not related to this.

Yeah, there’s one person in the scary FB group who is totally spun up about her Potomac ES kids having to be bussed to Radnor. I mean, I know it isn’t great, but WTH would be another possible solution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:for the last time they are going to do minor tweaks to mainly address capacity issues while also looking at diversity in contiguous clusters only

no one is going to be going cross county

100%

That's not true. Northwood kids are being bused across the county to a holding school.

Temporary busing to a holding school is not related to this.

Yeah, there’s one person in the scary FB group who is totally spun up about her Potomac ES kids having to be bussed to Radnor. I mean, I know it isn’t great, but WTH would be another possible solution?

They wanted the kids to keep going to the old Potomac ES building while the new Potomac ES building is being built.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/school-systems-working-plan-is-to-move-potomac-elementary-students-to-radnor/