Thoughts about Richard Montgomery HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be aware that the school is already overcrowded and there is a ton of overdevelopment scheduled for that cluster. There will be a boat load of new housing going up in the area, and there are no plans to alleviate the already overcrowded HS.

The development is taking place over decades, and is mostly luxury METRO-based development that will have few kids. It's really a non-issue when you factor in that two new HSs will open before that development ever fully builds out.

1. RM is already overcrowded without any additional developments
2. There are other approved developments already in production that have nothing to do with the Twinbrook apartments. If you lived in the cluster you would realize this was an issue that was brought up during the RM ES #5 boundary study. There is new development expected in Tower Oaks which will be assigned to Bayard Rustin and other approved housing in the cluster. I believe around Fallsgrove was another approved site. I can't remember the other sites off the top of my head, but you can look in.the boundary study info online for all the developments that MCPS included for informational purposes, but conveniently did not include in their future projection numbers.

If the developments are already approved, then they're also already included in the enrollment projections.

You can look at projected number of Bayard Rustin used by MCPS and just take a look at capacity. BRES will be near capacity in 1-2 years. MCPS was still projecting that there will be empty seats after many years.

Clearly, numbers from new developments are included, but they are under-projected numbers and wrong.

Part of the issue with the Bayard Rustin projections is the changes in the neighborhood.

Many of the SFHs in that neighborhood are being converted into multi-family rentals (illegally). This leads to many more kids than expected in each home. This has been a trend in some parts of the County. Where the owner takes a SFH and converts it into an illegal accessory apartment and rents it to multiple unrelated families.

Impossible for MCPS to predict enrollment when this type of issue arises.

This is all of Twinbrook too. Not even illegal multi family rentals. Just literal multi extended families living in same house. Even with driveways, there are nothing but cars parked on every single road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be aware that the school is already overcrowded and there is a ton of overdevelopment scheduled for that cluster. There will be a boat load of new housing going up in the area, and there are no plans to alleviate the already overcrowded HS.

The development is taking place over decades, and is mostly luxury METRO-based development that will have few kids. It's really a non-issue when you factor in that two new HSs will open before that development ever fully builds out.

1. RM is already overcrowded without any additional developments
2. There are other approved developments already in production that have nothing to do with the Twinbrook apartments. If you lived in the cluster you would realize this was an issue that was brought up during the RM ES #5 boundary study. There is new development expected in Tower Oaks which will be assigned to Bayard Rustin and other approved housing in the cluster. I believe around Fallsgrove was another approved site. I can't remember the other sites off the top of my head, but you can look in.the boundary study info online for all the developments that MCPS included for informational purposes, but conveniently did not include in their future projection numbers.

If the developments are already approved, then they're also already included in the enrollment projections.

You can look at projected number of Bayard Rustin used by MCPS and just take a look at capacity. BRES will be near capacity in 1-2 years. MCPS was still projecting that there will be empty seats after many years.

Clearly, numbers from new developments are included, but they are under-projected numbers and wrong.

Part of the issue with the Bayard Rustin projections is the changes in the neighborhood.

Many of the SFHs in that neighborhood are being converted into multi-family rentals (illegally). This leads to many more kids than expected in each home. This has been a trend in some parts of the County. Where the owner takes a SFH and converts it into an illegal accessory apartment and rents it to multiple unrelated families.

Impossible for MCPS to predict enrollment when this type of issue arises.

This is all of Twinbrook too. Not even illegal multi family rentals. Just literal multi extended families living in same house. Even with driveways, there are nothing but cars parked on every single road.

This has been an issue in many neighborhoods in Montgomery County. Some of the multi-family homes are legal, but many are not.

Montgomery County differentiates between owner-occupied homes, with multiple families and ones that are owned by someone who lives elsewhere, but rents to multiple families (definitely illegal to have an accessory apartment like that).

Unfortunately, the county either chooses not to, or doesn't have enough staff to enforce the zoning rules, so people get away with overcrowding these homes. Definitely changes the feel of the neighborhood when you can't even drive down the street.

But, mainly it's an issue for parents in certain clusters because it affects school enrollment projections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either CG or TB has to move out of RM cluster due to over crowding. CG may help with balancing diversity in Gaithersburg/Crown so I expect CG to move out of RM cluster.

Keep in mind that there are broader redistricting issues in play here as well. When it's all said and done, I would not be surprised to see TB move to Wootton or Churchill to balance out demographics better. It's a pretty easy commute from TB to both schools.

Unlikely when students in the northwestern parts of Twinbrook can easily walk to RM.

DP.. We live in Horizon Hill. We could easily walk to Wootton, and 20 or so years ago, this neighborhood was in fact zoned for Wootton. But MCPS decided that RM needed more upper income families, so now our kids take a bus to RM. Not that I'm complaining, since we purposefully picked RM cluster over Wootton (we looked in Fallsmead neighborhood which is literally across the street from HH neighborhood), but MCPS doesn't care if the HS kids could literally walk to school if it means that there is more diversity spread around. So don't put too much stock into "but that school is so much closer that my kids could walk to it".

THIS HAPPENED IN 1987.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either CG or TB has to move out of RM cluster due to over crowding. CG may help with balancing diversity in Gaithersburg/Crown so I expect CG to move out of RM cluster.

Keep in mind that there are broader redistricting issues in play here as well. When it's all said and done, I would not be surprised to see TB move to Wootton or Churchill to balance out demographics better. It's a pretty easy commute from TB to both schools.

Do we have an example of entire ES being an island in MCPS?

Not currently. But in several of the options being considered for Clarksburg HS, Fox Chapel ES is an island separated from the rest of the Clarksburg cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids OP?

Be aware that the school is already overcrowded and there is a ton of overdevelopment scheduled for that cluster. There will be a boat load of new housing going up in the area, and there are no plans to alleviate the already overcrowded HS.

Can someone elaborate what is scheduled to be build in the RM cluster and where?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just like Blair, the magnet is super but that’s about it. Non magnet portion is like any other MCPS HS (not counting BCC and w schools).

Yup, they add the magnets to the schools that need the most boost in test scores. QO is just as good as RM without the magnet. Cheaper real estate too. Rockville is trying to improve Twinbrook, but I don't see it turning even after all the massive construction.

It isn't a bad school, but it sure is cliquey. They try to say it is diverse and it is, but they all hang out with their own at RM.

Cheaper real estate as it is much farther out with no close metro access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids OP?

Be aware that the school is already overcrowded and there is a ton of overdevelopment scheduled for that cluster. There will be a boat load of new housing going up in the area, and there are no plans to alleviate the already overcrowded HS.

Can someone elaborate what is scheduled to be build in the RM cluster and where?

There are three new buildings in the town center. Only one of those will have a lot of units (the one that takes up the last half of what used to be the regal parking lot). That's not what people are upset about though, they're upset about the "Twinbrook Quarter". 90% of those students will be zoned for WJ if the boundary is the same when they are complete. It's a good thing for the city because it's going to put housing close to the Metro. For reference, look at this street view image. Everything on the North side (left in the image where the mattress store is) will be demolished all the way to Party City (second google street view image). They're going to have just under 2,000 units built along with a Wegmens, some businesses in mixed use buildings, parks, and a new walk/bike friendly road to take instead of walking/biking on Rockville Pike. It's a huge project that they have 30 years to complete. People are up in arms because of WJ, almost none will go to RM and those that will are slated to be last to be built.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0618405,-77.1241019,3a,75y,67.31h,76.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2jijKbFqfVaFtmZAjocMOg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0651115,-77.1265455,3a,75y,72.27h,75.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWOX73EzEOheumrfLTUyPQQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Anonymous]

I imagine those 2000 families will walk to certain nearby businesses. But they are also going to be adding lots of cars to Rockville Pike. No one is biking from Twinbrook to Pike and Rose, Rockville Town Center, Montgomery Mall. I live near Rockville Town Center. If I want to go to Wegmans I will drive. Will I walk and bus to Rockville Metro, metro 1 stop, shop and carry my items home on the metro/bus and then walk home. No! I wonder how many people take Metro to Rockville Town Center. Not many I would guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either CG or TB has to move out of RM cluster due to over crowding. CG may help with balancing diversity in Gaithersburg/Crown so I expect CG to move out of RM cluster.

Keep in mind that there are broader redistricting issues in play here as well. When it's all said and done, I would not be surprised to see TB move to Wootton or Churchill to balance out demographics better. It's a pretty easy commute from TB to both schools.

Unlikely when students in the northwestern parts of Twinbrook can easily walk to RM.

DP.. We live in Horizon Hill. We could easily walk to Wootton, and 20 or so years ago, this neighborhood was in fact zoned for Wootton. But MCPS decided that RM needed more upper income families, so now our kids take a bus to RM. Not that I'm complaining, since we purposefully picked RM cluster over Wootton (we looked in Fallsmead neighborhood which is literally across the street from HH neighborhood), but MCPS doesn't care if the HS kids could literally walk to school if it means that there is more diversity spread around. So don't put too much stock into "but that school is so much closer that my kids could walk to it".

THIS HAPPENED IN 1987.

Yes it did. It's an example how of MCPS can and will zone a walkable neighborhood from one school to a school further away that's not walkable, as in TB to Churchill or Wootton, which is what I was addressing.. that MCPS has done this before, and I don't see why they wouldn't do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either CG or TB has to move out of RM cluster due to over crowding. CG may help with balancing diversity in Gaithersburg/Crown so I expect CG to move out of RM cluster.

Keep in mind that there are broader redistricting issues in play here as well. When it's all said and done, I would not be surprised to see TB move to Wootton or Churchill to balance out demographics better. It's a pretty easy commute from TB to both schools.

Unlikely when students in the northwestern parts of Twinbrook can easily walk to RM.

DP.. We live in Horizon Hill. We could easily walk to Wootton, and 20 or so years ago, this neighborhood was in fact zoned for Wootton. But MCPS decided that RM needed more upper income families, so now our kids take a bus to RM. Not that I'm complaining, since we purposefully picked RM cluster over Wootton (we looked in Fallsmead neighborhood which is literally across the street from HH neighborhood), but MCPS doesn't care if the HS kids could literally walk to school if it means that there is more diversity spread around. So don't put too much stock into "but that school is so much closer that my kids could walk to it".

THIS HAPPENED IN 1987.

Yes it did. It's an example how of MCPS can and will zone a walkable neighborhood from one school to a school further away that's not walkable, as in TB to Churchill or Wootton, which is what I was addressing.. that MCPS has done this before, and I don't see why they wouldn't do it again.

1987 was 32 years ago.

In 1987, the Montgomery County population was about 703,000; Gorbachev was calling for glasnost; and Whitney Houston was singing that she wants to dance with somebody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I imagine those 2000 families will walk to certain nearby businesses. But they are also going to be adding lots of cars to Rockville Pike. No one is biking from Twinbrook to Pike and Rose, Rockville Town Center, Montgomery Mall. I live near Rockville Town Center. If I want to go to Wegmans I will drive. Will I walk and bus to Rockville Metro, metro 1 stop, shop and carry my items home on the metro/bus and then walk home. No! I wonder how many people take Metro to Rockville Town Center. Not many I would guess.

? Plenty of people are biking. And more people will do it once the city starts adding bike infrastructure.

I don't know why people so often say "Nobody will do this" when they mean "I don't do this."

(Montgomery Mall?!?!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either CG or TB has to move out of RM cluster due to over crowding. CG may help with balancing diversity in Gaithersburg/Crown so I expect CG to move out of RM cluster.

Keep in mind that there are broader redistricting issues in play here as well. When it's all said and done, I would not be surprised to see TB move to Wootton or Churchill to balance out demographics better. It's a pretty easy commute from TB to both schools.

Unlikely when students in the northwestern parts of Twinbrook can easily walk to RM.

DP.. We live in Horizon Hill. We could easily walk to Wootton, and 20 or so years ago, this neighborhood was in fact zoned for Wootton. But MCPS decided that RM needed more upper income families, so now our kids take a bus to RM. Not that I'm complaining, since we purposefully picked RM cluster over Wootton (we looked in Fallsmead neighborhood which is literally across the street from HH neighborhood), but MCPS doesn't care if the HS kids could literally walk to school if it means that there is more diversity spread around. So don't put too much stock into "but that school is so much closer that my kids could walk to it".

THIS HAPPENED IN 1987.

Yes it did. It's an example how of MCPS can and will zone a walkable neighborhood from one school to a school further away that's not walkable, as in TB to Churchill or Wootton, which is what I was addressing.. that MCPS has done this before, and I don't see why they wouldn't do it again.

1987 was 32 years ago.

In 1987, the Montgomery County population was about 703,000; Gorbachev was calling for glasnost; and Whitney Houston was singing that she wants to dance with somebody.

So what if it was 1987. What difference does it make who was in power and who was a pop star? The point is that MCPS has done this kind of thing before.

RMHS was under capacity. It was majority low income. They rezoned a wealthy neighborhood that had a walkable HS to RM, added a magnet, and now it's one of the most diverse HS clusters in the county. Why wouldn't MCPS do it again, but the other way around?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So what if it was 1987. What difference does it make who was in power and who was a pop star? The point is that MCPS has done this kind of thing before.

RMHS was under capacity. It was majority low income. They rezoned a wealthy neighborhood that had a walkable HS to RM, added a magnet, and now it's one of the most diverse HS clusters in the county. Why wouldn't MCPS do it again, but the other way around?

MCPS has also had de-jure segregated schools before. So what if that ended in 1961? What difference does it make who was in power and who was a pop star?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I imagine those 2000 families will walk to certain nearby businesses. But they are also going to be adding lots of cars to Rockville Pike. No one is biking from Twinbrook to Pike and Rose, Rockville Town Center, Montgomery Mall. I live near Rockville Town Center. If I want to go to Wegmans I will drive. Will I walk and bus to Rockville Metro, metro 1 stop, shop and carry my items home on the metro/bus and then walk home. No! I wonder how many people take Metro to Rockville Town Center. Not many I would guess.

? Plenty of people are biking. And more people will do it once the city starts adding bike infrastructure.

I don't know why people so often say "Nobody will do this" when they mean "I don't do this."

(Montgomery Mall?!?!)

It seems like her main disagreement is that people don't want to haul their groceries onto the Metro and I agree but she misses the point that the people living there will be able to walk to Metro and use it to get to work easily without filling Metro parking garages or driving all over the place as would happen if they all had to move to Clarksburg or Frederick. They'll be close to a lot of shopping with the Wegmens, mixed use shopping, Congressional/Congressional North across the street, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So what if it was 1987. What difference does it make who was in power and who was a pop star? The point is that MCPS has done this kind of thing before.

RMHS was under capacity. It was majority low income. They rezoned a wealthy neighborhood that had a walkable HS to RM, added a magnet, and now it's one of the most diverse HS clusters in the county. Why wouldn't MCPS do it again, but the other way around?

MCPS has also had de-jure segregated schools before. So what if that ended in 1961? What difference does it make who was in power and who was a pop star?

wow.. you're dense.

MCPS and MoCo being a very progressive liberal area isn't going to segregate, rather the opposite as we have seen, and TB going to Wootton or Churchill to address over crowding at RM and create diversity in those W schools is a win win for MCPS's resolution of focusing looking at diversity and adjacent clusters when rezoning.