Reply to My gut feeling on 3/26 BOE vote

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The irony is that BOE is actually MUCH more torn and concerned about the Woodward study than the Crown one. That one has real issues with community engagement and equity--this one only has louder voices. How do I know? You'll see on Thursday.[/quote]

I blame MCPS and their consulting firm for how their surveys. In addition to low participation in the DCC, nobody collected data about what ES you’re zoned for. Someone could also lie or be confused. For example, I live in the DCC and can’t remember which cluster I registered for in the survey. My kid doesn’t go to their home school, but still within the DCC.

Also, whose voices are we trying to cater to? Families that will have to deal with the transition in boundaries/programs in secondary schools in 2027-2032? Families of rising kindergarteners still on the fend about their home school versus an immersion school? Tax payers that can’t afford tax hikes? The families that will be in MCPS in 10 years?

These boundaries will likely stay in place for decades. I don’t think individuals with current students should be the ONLY voice we hear. Taylor has done his due diligence with balancing enrollment. SOMEBODY has to leave Wheaton because it’s so crowded. Whether you move schools to Woodward or Rockville, it will be unexpected.

In hindsight, it would have been nice for Taylor to meet with every elementary PTA in each of his recommended changes but his schedule doesn’t match working parents and many PTA presidents are MCPS employees who fear retaliation/conflict of interest.

At this point, the BOE and MCPS should focus their effort and time on HOW this transition will happen. Lots of logistics that seem like they could go wrong. How can we make it smoother and less expensive? What’s the plan for communities that have chosen to segregate from each other who will now be together?  [/quote]

These are wise words. I endorse all of this.[/quote]

It is extremely hard to get the general parent population to pay attention to anything until it is close and real - ie, the Superintendent’s actual recommendation.

The majority of the A-G proposals had Wheaton Woods staying at Wheaton, but 2 of them had WW moving to Woodward. On the one hand it’s reasonable even for people who are paying attention to think that a 2/7 scenario is not likely to be the chosen option. But it was clearly on the table.

People have a lot going on and if something seems far away or their focus is on more immediate concerns, it’s hard to get that feedback early in the process. This was a LONG process for people who were involved and paying attention the whole time. But there are also a lot of people who are not going to pay attention until the very end no matter how long you make the process.

By the time the Super got down to one recommended option, he and MCPS had a lot invested in that one option. And at least some BOE members were very involved in the development of that option, at least for Woodward. [/quote]

The biggest complaint is that Option H seemed to come out of the blue. Looking backwards, the chronology of events would indicate that MCPS considered (and was planning for) moving Wootton to Crown in mid-2024 - it just didn’t tell anyone that was a possibility until December 2025.

There were apparently emails sent to MCPS staff to prepare for a move to Crown - before Option H was released. Even if this was a contingency, and not a pre-determined outcome for Option H, it still demonstrates MCPS knew it was a possibility. [/quote]

Honestly, even if your conspiracy theory is totally correct that MCPS discussed moving Wootton to Crown before the boundary study or before option H, so what? How is that relevant to anything? It's almost as if people think that MCPS was not allowed to do its job on a daily basis and had to remain silent about anything related to boundaries except for public meetings and in public docs?! Do people really believe this? Do they think that MCPS doing their jobs to consider how to handle enrollment projections and renovation demands is unlawful? Because they didn't talk to Wootton first? Or consider their corrupted survey results as votes? I mean....this is bonkers stuff. People really need to learn the fundamentals of government. MCPS has a deliberative process disclosure exemption like every other government body for a reason - because the government is supposed to be able to do its job discussing various scenarios free from the chilling effects of having every discussion disclosed. All of this "predetermined" talk is ludicrous  - do you think BOE members would be responsible if they had zero idea how they are going to vote until the minute the vote comes up? Are they not allowed to form opinions based on gathering information and having discussions? [/quote]

No one cares that MCPS had internal discussions—that’s not the issue.

The issue is whether a major decision like  losing and relocating a high school was already in motion before the public was told. If it was, then the “public process” wasn’t really a process—it was a rollout.
[/quote]

The people alarmed about alleged emails from 2024 certainly seem to think they’re some sort of smoking gun. By definition, Taylor’s decision to move Wootton to Crown had to be “in motion” before releasing it to the public. His job is to make a recommendation based on the public process that occurred. That’s the process. Options. Public input. More options. More input. Even more options. Even more input. Then it’s time to make a decision. Taylor made the decision. Announced it. More public input. Now BOE votes. Taylor wasn’t required to announce another round of options.[/quote]

DP here.

I am not a Save Wootton person. I pretty much agree with everything you said.

But I do think the problem is less about people not understanding the process and more about how MCPS uses public input in a very political way. They put stuff out, see who screams the loudest and change things to placate them with priority on the richest communities that have the most time to scream. I don't see this as a process that is about trying to truly arrive at the best solution from a public policy perspective or to understand individual community needs and perspectives. It actually does sound to me like Taylor came up with Option H because Wootton successfully advocated for a new building. That's insane. They have a list of schools and what condition they are in. Option H should have been there from the first round. It shouldn't be about which community screams the loudest for a new building. Now Taylor is in bind because he has no money to renovate Wootton or Magruder. Crown can't be a holding school it's not a holding school if the other school isn't being renovated.[/quote]

Taylor has $70M. No worries on cash.[/quote]

That's not enough money to renovate Wootton[/quote]

Right. MCPS only gives money to their friends to do “construction”.  More is needed to pad the bills. [/quote]

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