Reply to Do the recommendations re: BCC boundary study come out today?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Moral of the story is two things, (1) be careful what you wish for and (2) that people need to take a bigger picture view.

1. MS#2 site selection: Two sites for MS#2 were proposed that made more logical sense than the current location.

The first was to co-locate at RHES. Amazingly, the RCF neighborhood opposed this option because at the time they believed that access to Westland was better for their property values. Now the parents at RCF want to be at the closer school, which for some reason pisses off CCES and NCC parents on this board.

A second option was a site off Jones Bridge that was opposed by Chevy Chase communities. Now the Chevy Chase parents are unhappy about capacity and overcrowding when a closer and larger site was available.

The site of MS#2 never made any sense to me, up in Kensington smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Personally, I always thought Lynnbrook School/Park was the most logical location, but it was oddly never even considered.

2. Capacity: First of all, it is important to note that limiting factor in all capacity questions for the cluster is what can be accommodated at BCC HS. There cannot be two MSs with a total of 3000 students, but BCC HS only having capacity for 2400 students (which is where it will be after its current and final expansion).

Second, it is important to note that while the projections say that Westland will be under capacity, everyone knows that MCPS projections are a joke. In response to the Chevy Chase Lake sector plan, the western half of BES was sent to Bradley Hills, BES was expanded, MS#2 was built and CCES and NCC will terminate at 5th grade. However the Chevy Chase Lake sector plan, also projected BES to have 517 students, it now has 599.

Current growth at BES is exceeding all expectations, there are over a thousand new multi-family units that have been built in boundary in the last 2 years and about 600 more units slated to open in the next year. Add to that the 8 million square feet called for under downtown Bethesda sector plan and it is easy to imagine that any spare capacity at Westland is already accounted for.

In addition, I am not sure people are aware that the Westbard sector plan also calls for changing boundaries to send more kids from that area to Westland. This proposal seems less likely to occur right now because the MCPS Capital Improvement Budget released today calls for expanding both Pyle and Whitman, likely to account for expected Westbard growth.[/quote]

"A second option was a site off Jones Bridge that was opposed by Chevy Chase communities. Now the Chevy Chase parents are unhappy about capacity and overcrowding when a closer and larger site was available.

The (second) site selection included 25 sites, the bulk of which were eliminated in very early on (as they couldn't sustain a school and were included for show purposes).  The Jones Bridge site was the second choice.  Interestingly, people pointed out that its large size (almost 2.5 times the size of the current site) provided flexibility to MCPS and that the site was not utilized heavily.  There were concerns about obtaining the site from M-NCPPC without a blood-letting. Yes, it was not recommended to the Board of Idiots, but if those idiots actually rejected the current site, it would have been the only one left for consideration, as all other options were rejected (in part, because no neighborhood wanted to lose their parks).

As for Lynbrook, it also required a deal with M-NCPPC, which it was inclined to make, but if you don't understand the current site, how can you understand Lynbrook?  The streets are narrower, and the traffic would have been crazy.  The plus to it was its walkability.

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