A Response to Rita Montoya calling Community Members Racist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
As a recent white-Asian immigrant to the US, I want everyone to stop considering race and to focus solely on income disparities. It sucks to be a white or Asian person coming from generational poverty, because that's not a demographic that is recognized anywhere. It also sucks to be a poor Black or Hispanic person. The commonality is POVERTY, not race.

We need to move on from race, and focus on economic inequality.

For magnet vs home models... I think both can be done well, and that the devil is in the execution, not the location.

Disparities by race are larger than disparities by income. Racism is real and has real impacts. You don't want policymakers to consider that. Fine. But that's your opinion, and many disagree with that.

Do you have any data to support your claim. Or is it just your opinion. MoCo is one of the most liberal counties in the whole country. And yet, you are saying that even here race impacts everything.

Data from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for 2026 indicates that racial disparities in education are often larger and more persistent than income disparities. While poverty significantly impacts outcomes, racial achievement gaps exist regardless of family income and are sometimes twice as large among higher-income students as among those from low-income families.

Racial factors frequently play a larger role than household poverty in long-term academic outcomes such as standardized test scores and college enrollment. In Algebra I benchmarks, there is an 18-percentage-point gap between low-income White and low-income Black students (29% vs. 11%). For higher-income students, this gap widens to 40 percentage points, with 62% of White students meeting benchmarks compared to 22% of Black students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
As a recent white-Asian immigrant to the US, I want everyone to stop considering race and to focus solely on income disparities. It sucks to be a white or Asian person coming from generational poverty, because that's not a demographic that is recognized anywhere. It also sucks to be a poor Black or Hispanic person. The commonality is POVERTY, not race.

We need to move on from race, and focus on economic inequality.

For magnet vs home models... I think both can be done well, and that the devil is in the execution, not the location.

Well, as you say, you're new here and it shows. People have fought for that change for centuries in this counrty.

[Anonymous]

I'm Asian, grew up in a similar circumstance as that writer, but have a different viewpoint.

There are all types of Asians, but the sort that is in W schools are materialistic in a way that definitely reflects racism and classism. I don't think they realize it from inside their echo chamber.

Most Asians are not like this thankfully and we choose to stay clear of those clusters.

[Anonymous]

Whatever you may think of the issue at hand, it is inappropriate for an elected official to call all dissenters as racist.

There very well may be racists people—there always is—but that doesn’t mean every person who disagrees is racist.

In this case, people can’t even agree on what her comment was in reference to, which is yet another reason why her comment was inappropriate and unhelpful, regardless if it was in reference to the regional program or the boundary or both.

But assuming it was for the regional program. I actually think this new proposal will hurt lower-resource schools most of all. Take region 4: RM, Wootton, Churchill, Rockville.

Can anyone say with a serious face that more kids will go from the higher performing schools to Rockville HS? What’s really going to happen is a brain drain of kids going to higher performing schools. This isn’t going to help disparities. This will make things worse.

If the BoE wants to solve the actual issue of disparity, they should fix the root instead of calling dissenters racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

I agree. I think it is important to be specific when calling out racism, and Montoya didn't do that when she made the hot mic comment. It makes a mockery of anti-racism to use it in this snarky and catty fashion. Unfortunately that is quite common in the anti-racist movement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian, grew up in a similar circumstance as that writer, but have a different viewpoint.

There are all types of Asians, but the sort that is in W schools are materialistic in a way that definitely reflects racism and classism. I don't think they realize it from inside their echo chamber.

Most Asians are not like this thankfully and we choose to stay clear of those clusters.

So you are saying every Asian person at a W school is racist and classist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

I agree. I think it is important to be specific when calling out racism, and Montoya didn't do that when she made the hot mic comment. It makes a mockery of anti-racism to use it in this snarky and catty fashion. Unfortunately that is quite common in the anti-racist movement.

For all those ppl saying she was saying this in reference to the regional program and not boundary study, is this the best defense of Rita you can think of? Is it ever appropriate to call everyone who disagrees with you on a policy as racist? Is board member Julie Yang also racist then?

Rita’s regional programming speech was dripping in Anti-Asian hate. Rita Montoya hates Asians kids and Asian parents. We knew this before she let her mask slip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian, grew up in a similar circumstance as that writer, but have a different viewpoint.

There are all types of Asians, but the sort that is in W schools are materialistic in a way that definitely reflects racism and classism. I don't think they realize it from inside their echo chamber.

Most Asians are not like this thankfully and we choose to stay clear of those clusters.

So you are saying every Asian person at a W school is racist and classist?

No because many Asian families are happy about the move to Crown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian, grew up in a similar circumstance as that writer, but have a different viewpoint.

There are all types of Asians, but the sort that is in W schools are materialistic in a way that definitely reflects racism and classism. I don't think they realize it from inside their echo chamber.

Most Asians are not like this thankfully and we choose to stay clear of those clusters.

So you are saying every Asian person at a W school is racist and classist?

No because many Asian families are happy about the move to Crown.

Sorry you are racist and classist per the PP.

He/she/they said “There are all types of Asians, but the sort that is in W schools are materialistic in a way that definitely reflects racism and classism.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever you may think of the issue at hand, it is inappropriate for an elected official to call all dissenters as racist.

There very well may be racists people—there always is—but that doesn’t mean every person who disagrees is racist.

In this case, people can’t even agree on what her comment was in reference to, which is yet another reason why her comment was inappropriate and unhelpful, regardless if it was in reference to the regional program or the boundary or both.

But assuming it was for the regional program. I actually think this new proposal will hurt lower-resource schools most of all. Take region 4: RM, Wootton, Churchill, Rockville.

Can anyone say with a serious face that more kids will go from the higher performing schools to Rockville HS? What’s really going to happen is a brain drain of kids going to higher performing schools. This isn’t going to help disparities. This will make things worse.

If the BoE wants to solve the actual issue of disparity, they should fix the root instead of calling dissenters racist.

+1. Regional programming is about to widening the disparity gap. Good job Rita! Maybe you should listen to dissenters instead of calling anyone who dares to disagree with you a racist.

Btw there’s a huge list of people who adamantly oppose the regional programming. Are they all racist? Per Rita Montoya, MCEA would be racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

I agree. I think it is important to be specific when calling out racism, and Montoya didn't do that when she made the hot mic comment. It makes a mockery of anti-racism to use it in this snarky and catty fashion. Unfortunately that is quite common in the anti-racist movement.

For all those ppl saying she was saying this in reference to the regional program and not boundary study, is this the best defense of Rita you can think of? Is it ever appropriate to call everyone who disagrees with you on a policy as racist? Is board member Julie Yang also racist then?

Rita’s regional programming speech was dripping in Anti-Asian hate. Rita Montoya hates Asians kids and Asian parents. We knew this before she let her mask slip.

I didn't hear any hateful language in Rita's regional programming speech. I thought it was dumb because she conflated the DCC and NEC with magnet programs that aren't part of the consortia. Describing the racial makeup of the magnet programs is not hateful or racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

I agree. I think it is important to be specific when calling out racism, and Montoya didn't do that when she made the hot mic comment. It makes a mockery of anti-racism to use it in this snarky and catty fashion. Unfortunately that is quite common in the anti-racist movement.

For all those ppl saying she was saying this in reference to the regional program and not boundary study, is this the best defense of Rita you can think of? Is it ever appropriate to call everyone who disagrees with you on a policy as racist? Is board member Julie Yang also racist then?

Rita’s regional programming speech was dripping in Anti-Asian hate. Rita Montoya hates Asians kids and Asian parents. We knew this before she let her mask slip.

+ 1, I am saddened by the anti-Asian hate that pervades our community. I'm not Asian, but I feel the blast of it, which I know is my small perception of it in consideration of how it must make the Asian community feel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

I agree. I think it is important to be specific when calling out racism, and Montoya didn't do that when she made the hot mic comment. It makes a mockery of anti-racism to use it in this snarky and catty fashion. Unfortunately that is quite common in the anti-racist movement.

For all those ppl saying she was saying this in reference to the regional program and not boundary study, is this the best defense of Rita you can think of? Is it ever appropriate to call everyone who disagrees with you on a policy as racist? Is board member Julie Yang also racist then?

Rita’s regional programming speech was dripping in Anti-Asian hate. Rita Montoya hates Asians kids and Asian parents. We knew this before she let her mask slip.

+ 1, I am saddened by the anti-Asian hate that pervades our community. I'm not Asian, but I feel the blast of it, which I know is my small perception of it in consideration of how it must make the Asian community feel.

Could you be specific about the exact words she used that were hateful toward the Asian community? Has she mocked Asian accents? Claimed Asian community members are Chinese agents? What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a thoughtful response to Rita Montoya's comment caught on a hot mic at the March 26th BOE meeting:

https://moderatelymoco.com/when-disagreement-becomes-racism/

I'm not following this argument that relocating Wootton "breaks up" the community. There was a boundary study that impacted a lot of high schools. The only school being taken out of Wootton is Cold Spring and I think they are fine with that.

I think it’s because they fear that Crown will be overcrowded and sooner or later they will be broken apart. Eg Parkway families become the new edge property and first one to be pushed out if and when Crown is overcrowded.

But also I think the authors point was even if you disagree with this premise, it’s not appropriate to call anyone who disagrees with you racist.

We are weaponizing racism so much to the point where it’s beginning to lack meaning.

I agree. I think it is important to be specific when calling out racism, and Montoya didn't do that when she made the hot mic comment. It makes a mockery of anti-racism to use it in this snarky and catty fashion. Unfortunately that is quite common in the anti-racist movement.

For all those ppl saying she was saying this in reference to the regional program and not boundary study, is this the best defense of Rita you can think of? Is it ever appropriate to call everyone who disagrees with you on a policy as racist? Is board member Julie Yang also racist then?

Rita’s regional programming speech was dripping in Anti-Asian hate. Rita Montoya hates Asians kids and Asian parents. We knew this before she let her mask slip.

I didn't hear any hateful language in Rita's regional programming speech. I thought it was dumb because she conflated the DCC and NEC with magnet programs that aren't part of the consortia. Describing the racial makeup of the magnet programs is not hateful or racist.

Per Rita, those who oppose regional programming whatever their reason (perhaps they want to preserve DCC and NEC), are all racist.

As a parent of color who is a huge fan of DCC, this is offensive on its face.

So to all the people who are saying o no Rita’s comment wasn’t about boundary program, it was about regional program—that’s not a defense babes. The most basic point of the article is elected officials shouldn’t call disagreement as racism. Thats not a controversial or hot take.

Try having a honest conversation with people rather than dismiss them as racist.