Reply to BOE to pave over $790,000 in Athletic Fields

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

sad, I know

I have a good friend in that area and another friend who sent her child to the private school.

I can't see how this move would benefit any of the stakeholders.  Alternative Programs educates some challenging kids who need space and quite a few resources to assist them academically and emotionally.  The building itself isn't set up to house potentially hundreds of kids (currently there are about 120 enrolled) in middle and high school.

Furthermore, while we don't like using NIMBY, this move will indeed affect property values.  I certainly wouldn't want to live in an area near an alternative setting.  These are students with severe emotional issues who either were asked to leave their traditional setting or who were PLACED there by the system itself.  They arrive from all over the county.  So imagine the number of buses pulling in and out each day. It's not as though those streets are wide enough to accommodate the buses.

I find it odd that the system spent hundreds of thousands renovating the Ewing building during Alt Program's redesign [b]only to send the kids off to another setting that doesn't have the capacity to house the students and faculty.  Something isn't quite right.[/b]

I hope the neighborhood can fight it.

If MCPS had "space" in Bethesda or Potomac, it certainly wouldn't be used to house Alternative Programs!

much luck to the community in fighting such a disastrous move

[/quote]

Your facts aren't right, in this case. The Washington Post article says that school officials said that the English Manor building would be renovated and expanded with $16.6 million in previously approved funding.

Also, this is school-owned property, currently being used as a school, which would continue to be used as a school. People might not want to live next to the alternative-education school, but you really shouldn't tell the school district that they can't use their own property for a school because you might get less money when you sell your house.

MCPS will obviously have to figure out a plan for getting the buses in and out, and if I were MCPS, I would certainly ask for neighborhood input on that.

(No, I don't live in Bethesda or Potomac. However, for what it's worth, MCPS was recently proposing to put a bus depot on MCPS property on Brickyard in Potomac. The Brickyard neighbors fought off the proposed soccer fields, which were the result of a shady process, but I don't have much sympathy for their idea that they get to tell MCPS what to do with MCPS property.)[/quote]

MCPS' budget is frozen right now.  New projects are not likely to be approved.  Furthermore, the $16.6 million has to be approved by the County Council, and the CC isn't exactly friendly toward MCPS.

If you knew the history of Alt Programs, you'd know that for the past year, the EWING building was the facility in the budget that was up for redesign.  Search through the memos. You'll find a 3-year phase in that addresses the academic and SEL needs of the students and identifies how the physical building would be remodeled to meet the needs of students.  They painted, ordered new furniture, and added more technology - in addition to hiring new staff members through recruiting (as teachers were asked to reapply for their jobs).  All of that cost not only money but time.

I hardly see how - after putting in that much effort - it's much more appropriate to ask for more MONEY to completely redesign an ELEMENTARY school building to fit the needs of challenging kids in grades 6-12.

Yes, we can tell MCPS what to do with its budget b/c we pay taxes.  Why didn't they examine English Manor before they started the redesign?

This would be the SECOND redesign for Alt Programs.  And that's not a waste of taxpayers' money???

http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/9QXKBY502481/$file/2.6%20Amend%20FY2015-2020%20CIP%20Ewing%20Ctr.pdf

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP16BoardBook112114.pdf

[quote]$136,534, combined with $300,000 in realigned funds, to redesign Alternative Programs. These funds help provide more individualized instruction and support to students who have not been successful in traditional school settings; [/quote][quote]
http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/staff-bulletin/budget-story/[/quote]

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