Initial boundary options for Woodward study area are up

[Anonymous]

Option 3 is def. an option you morons. The scores are too low in a bunch of schools and MCPS is all about optics. The kids bussed in will raise those scores which will make the school look good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing that most concerns me is that, with all the options, they'd move kids around right in the middle of middle school.

If I read it correctly, a rising 7th grader in the 2027-28 school year who lives within a shifting boundary would be forced to move to their new boundary-assigned school. It's a recipe for disaster for those kids.

First, the kids would not be alone. They would be with many peers.

Second, kids move and change schools all of the time. They will be OK.

Last, someone has to move first, in order to change boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing that most concerns me is that, with all the options, they'd move kids around right in the middle of middle school.

If I read it correctly, a rising 7th grader in the 2027-28 school year who lives within a shifting boundary would be forced to move to their new boundary-assigned school. It's a recipe for disaster for those kids.

First, the kids would not be alone. They would be with many peers.

Second, kids move and change schools all of the time. They will be OK.

Last, someone has to move first, in order to change boundaries.

Clearly your kid is not affected. Kids do not move from a school down the street to a school that is a 45 minute bus ride away all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing that most concerns me is that, with all the options, they'd move kids around right in the middle of middle school.

If I read it correctly, a rising 7th grader in the 2027-28 school year who lives within a shifting boundary would be forced to move to their new boundary-assigned school. It's a recipe for disaster for those kids.

First, the kids would not be alone. They would be with many peers.

Second, kids move and change schools all of the time. They will be OK.

Last, someone has to move first, in order to change boundaries.

Clearly your kid is not affected. Kids do not move from a school down the street to a school that is a 45 minute bus ride away all the time.

That isn't going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing that most concerns me is that, with all the options, they'd move kids around right in the middle of middle school.

If I read it correctly, a rising 7th grader in the 2027-28 school year who lives within a shifting boundary would be forced to move to their new boundary-assigned school. It's a recipe for disaster for those kids.

First, the kids would not be alone. They would be with many peers.

Second, kids move and change schools all of the time. They will be OK.

Last, someone has to move first, in order to change boundaries.

Clearly your kid is not affected. Kids do not move from a school down the street to a school that is a 45 minute bus ride away all the time.

It would suck, but hyperbole like "recipe for disaster" for those kids isn't an adult response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

No, Option 3 is extreme so that in September when they offer a modified version of it, it seems palatable.

We will go with some version of option 3 and there will be some people who need to bus in unnecessarily — just not as many as is currently in the table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Option 3 is def. an option you morons. The scores are too low in a bunch of schools and MCPS is all about optics. The kids bussed in will raise those scores which will make the school look good

No they won’t because people with means who would improve those scores will go private or move. -DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

No, Option 3 is extreme so that in September when they offer a modified version of it, it seems palatable.

We will go with some version of option 3 and there will be some people who need to bus in unnecessarily — just not as many as is currently in the table.

Option 2 seems the more likely option to move forward, with some tweaks. It is the only option that leaves no school over capacity. They just need to make some changes at the margins of several areas to improve walkability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

No, Option 3 is extreme so that in September when they offer a modified version of it, it seems palatable.

We will go with some version of option 3 and there will be some people who need to bus in unnecessarily — just not as many as is currently in the table.

Option 2 seems the more likely option to move forward, with some tweaks. It is the only option that leaves no school over capacity. They just need to make some changes at the margins of several areas to improve walkability.

None of these options is moving forward. These are just for people to react to. They will change cone the fall. And you can bet that diversity will be an important complement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

No, Option 3 is extreme so that in September when they offer a modified version of it, it seems palatable.

We will go with some version of option 3 and there will be some people who need to bus in unnecessarily — just not as many as is currently in the table.

Option 2 seems the more likely option to move forward, with some tweaks. It is the only option that leaves no school over capacity. They just need to make some changes at the margins of several areas to improve walkability.

None of these options is moving forward. These are just for people to react to. They will change cone the fall. And you can bet that diversity will be an important complement.

Utilization is going to be a greater factor, given the budget situation we are in and will continue to be in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

No, Option 3 is extreme so that in September when they offer a modified version of it, it seems palatable.

We will go with some version of option 3 and there will be some people who need to bus in unnecessarily — just not as many as is currently in the table.

Option 2 seems the more likely option to move forward, with some tweaks. It is the only option that leaves no school over capacity. They just need to make some changes at the margins of several areas to improve walkability.

None of these options is moving forward. These are just for people to react to. They will change cone the fall. And you can bet that diversity will be an important complement.

Utilization is going to be a greater factor, given the budget situation we are in and will continue to be in.

Ok, if you say so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I would fire you immediately if you were my agent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

No, Option 3 is extreme so that in September when they offer a modified version of it, it seems palatable.

We will go with some version of option 3 and there will be some people who need to bus in unnecessarily — just not as many as is currently in the table.

Option 2 seems the more likely option to move forward, with some tweaks. It is the only option that leaves no school over capacity. They just need to make some changes at the margins of several areas to improve walkability.

None of these options is moving forward. These are just for people to react to. They will change cone the fall. And you can bet that diversity will be an important complement.

Utilization is going to be a greater factor, given the budget situation we are in and will continue to be in.

I think so too. You can talk openly about utilization without any demographic undertones. And it's borne out by pure numbers. However it also needs to look a population projections since we aren't resisting every 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option 3 has got to be the throw away option.

It has united DCUM in opposition to it.

Do you think those lower income clusters are going to benefit from being shipped across town? Do you think their parents want the extra commuting time and costs, much less to be surrounded by a bunch of affluent families who most definitely don't want it? I think the universal feedback is people want to attend local schools in their neighborhoods that aren't overcrowded. If they can enhance diversity and minimize overcrowding around the edges, then great! Anything else is an exercise in social engineering and will make just about everyone unhappy.

This! Even many students in lower socio economic schools don’t want to be bussed away, they want equality in resources. This should be the focus!

This. I don’t want my kids bused and I am fine with a lower income school. I do care w don’t have the same classes and opportunities.

You gotta make your voice heard. The BOE apparently doesn’t get this idea and thinks bussing is fine it seems. It’s one thing to shift the edge of a boundary over to another school if not in the walk zone. Say moving the edge of Wheaton to Woodward or the edge of Gaithersburg HS to Crown. Especially when the old school isn’t significantly closer than the new school. But don’t go sending kids to a further school!

I’d be thrilled if we were switched to Wheaton as our DCC does not have the classes my kids need. I cannot imagine we’ll move and I don’t fully care as my youngest is in hs so it will not impact us. You want it, you fight. BOE does not care.

It’s unclear from these boundary options what will happen to the DCC. The program survey also went out recently so I worry there won’t be any more consortiums and lottery options. Don’t assume anything Will stay the same with MCPS!

The program analysis will determine the future of the consortia and other schools' special programs. We should get an update on their plans in June.

Yeah I would keep my eye on this because I think they are (somewhat quietly) planning to change this paradigm in a pretty significant way. I think Niki Hazel and the superintendent put out a very short survey that did not really ask the right questions. My strong sense is they’ve already decided they want to completely change many of the programs and locations and already know what they plan to do but needed to do a performative “survey” as part of their process. I bet this has been decided mostly behind closed doors already and they’re going to push it through quickly while we are distracted by the boundary discussions because they need to do a lot of work shifting resources, processes, staff and spaces before implementation. At the last board meeting, even the board was unclear on the timeline and order of when this would happen. And it’s hard to know if you are for or against a change for programs and consortia when you don’t even know what your home assigned school option will be yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will happen to property values of those in WJ rezoned to Woodward?

I think these are largely baked in at this point. Everyone who has bought in the last ten years has known that WJ was overcrowded, Woodward was opening to relieve that overcrowding, that the two schools are very close to each other, and anything in the general area would be fair game to go to the new school instead of the old overcrowded one. And if you bought more than ten years ago I’m not listening to your complaints about property values.
- agent

I don’t think that’s right. You’d have to be paying a ton of attention to things to know about that anywhere near 10 years ago. Most people know the zoned school and not a ton more.

Plus, even people aware of Woodward wouldn’t know what being in Woodward would mean, and we still don’t. If Woodward is districted in a way to make it a “good school,” there probably won’t be a big impact. But if the ultimate zoning makes it a meaningful “worse” school than current WJ, it will definitely impact property values.

Option 3 would be devasting for those in the Farmland district. Who would buy a house there knowing that your kid is going to be bused across the county to a school with just 13% white students and close to 50% FARMs.

Especially since they said time and time again that they would not bus kids across county for diversity purposes. This is exactly that. We have plenty of diversity in Farmland already - FARMS and ESOL. Lots of MC people, single moms in apartments and rentals. They will struggle with the long distance to Kennedy. When they could simply walk to Woodward. Never more disappointed in MCPS.

I don’t think the boundary people are local or get it. It makes no sense.

Either Option 3 is a poison pill for any effort to address segregation, or these 4 options are just a complete waste of time.

Or, with all due respect, you are in denial about MCPS and the Board and their intentions. There was a time when this was exactly what they wanted. We’ll see what the current board says/does.

The board needs to read the room about DEI. There is a lot of appetite for DEI-based lawsuits right now and I can imagine the federal government trying to get involved.