Reply to Boundary Review Meetings

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]They posted slides for some of the topics at the 12/4 board meeting.  One of them is on the transportation of kids "grandfathered" in as part of phasing, and it appears to recommend that transportation NOT be provided.  They estimated it'd cost $10.4m to do so.[/quote]

To be specific Reid's recommendation at the end of the deck is "Provide transportation based only on new boundary adjustments."

The phrasing is odd, but the intent is clear - save $10.4 million by only providing transportation to schools based on the revised boundaries.

And it doesn't matter what grade your kid is in.  If they are a rising senior at a high school, you're on your own to arrange their transportation.  Same if they are a rising 8th grader or a rising 6th grader.

To be clear, this is a departure from both (1) the county-wide boundary adjustments decades ago; and (2) the more recent one-off boundary changes.  When FCPS used to adjust boundaries county-wide, they started with the proposition that the need to grandfather with transportation would serve as a constraint on how many boundaries were changed.  With the more recent one-off boundary changes, there was generous phasing and transportation provided.

The recommendation is not surprising, because they never treated transportation costs as a potential constraint on what boundaries they might change.  But, by the same token, their boundary proposals are random and anything but comprehensive or courageous.  So it's just the subset of families that happen to get caught up in their desire to show they "did something" that will bear the brunt of this recommendation.  [/quote]

But they said 7th graders in secondary school could be phased in and stay at their current schools. So that would presumably also continue thru senior year? So presumably those kids would need to get driven to school for the next 5 years?[/quote]

They are trying to get students into the newly assigned schools. Opting to stay at a school is your choice. Move to the new school or find a way to get to your old school. [/quote]

Yes, of course, but it’s a regressive policy in that those with the fewest resources are least likely to be able to arrange for their kids’ transportation to their current schools.  For all their talk about equity this School Board consistently favors the loudest and most privileged.

And the $10.4 million they estimate transportation would cost if provided likely represents about 5% of the one-time costs of the new western high school - which is a nice addition but not an absolute necessity. [/quote]

+1.  Parents with resources will be able to figure a way to transport their kids, those without resources will not.  I agree that is a departure from previous boundary changes.  If you look back at the work session, Sandy has been putting her foot down on transporting kids who are being moved from their current schools since day one (without even looking at the costs).  [/quote]

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