Reply to Cliff Notes summary of MCPS boundary study fight?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

It's not astonishing, given the recent changes the BOE made to policy FAA, which made diversity the most important factor in determining school assignment.

It just happened in Clarksburg and Germantown.  New boundaries have resulted in change of school assignment and longer bus rides for some students in order to better balance diversity.

On Sept. 24, 2018, Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) changed its Policy FAA, Educational Facilities
Planning to put student demographics (including racial/ethnic composition and FARMS rate) above all other factors
(including geographic proximity and facility utilization/overcrowding) in redistricting. Before, they were ranked
equally to balance the needs of families as well as the school system. (FARMS rate refers to the rate of students
receiving Free And Reduced-price Meals.)

On Nov. 26, 2019, BOE put this policy into practice and redrew school boundaries in Clarksburg and Germantown.
The option that 81.9% of the survey respondents in Clarksburg wanted sent Clarksburg students to
Clarksburg schools and Germantown students to Germantown schools. However, the Superintendent rejected this
and a similarly related option: “I am not able to support these options because they do not advance the
demographic characteristics of schools factor when evaluated from the FARMS population perspective.”
The option the Superintendent recommended and BOE adopted buses Clarksburg students to Germantown
and Germantown students to Clarksburg to balance out FARMS rates. Students will spend much longer time on the
bus than in the rejected plan above. Clearly, when redrawing school boundaries, FARMS rate trumps geography.[/quote]

No matter how much some people in Cabin Branch may yell about it, the facts are:

1. The upcounty boundary changes were based on ALL FOUR FACTORS, not just demographics.
2. Southern Clarksburg to northern Germantown just simply is not "busing across the county."
3. Zero walkers from the Clarksburg cluster got reassigned to be Seneca Valley cluster bus-riders.
4. Policy FAA does NOT say that demographics is the most important factor.[/quote]

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