Reply to Upcoming in-person boundary study & regional model "engagement session": how to engage?

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[quote=Anonymous]The kind of engagement that resulted from the Kennedy meeting, where direct answers from decision-makers were provided to individual questions, is exactly what the community needs from MCPS.  Taylor, himself, did this at some sessions in the past.

Now, some of those answers were incomplete, either because there wasn't yet a fully fledged plan or because there was too great a tendency to interpret the question as answerable by reference to the already provided FAQ, but there were [i]some[/i] for which the answers provided us with something new, clarifying or meaningful.

Many questions remained unasked, at least there at Kennedy -- we know there are so many asked that were avoided by MCPS in the online meetings simply by their having a curated Q & A with no open chat.  And many were asked at the tables with only a few able to hear answers and without publicly available record -- we don't know if those staffing the tables, not at the decision-making level of Jeannie or Essie, were able to answer what almost certainly were probing queries, meant to bring important nuance to light.

The messy part of the meeting lasted for maybe three minutes.  Kudos to McGuire and Franklin for pivoting to address the clear desire of those in attendance to have that town hall-style Q & A, and for managing it reasonably, if not perfectly, from that point.  It would be a terrible shame for MCPS to take from that experience that they should take measures to keep such engagement from happening in the future when the community need for reliable, detailed answers is so clear.  Having such on some kind of record should not unduly constrain MCPS -- reversals can be made if absolutely necessary by fully explaining that need -- while the relative certainty provided absolutely can net popular support -- many, many are unwilling to give MCPS the benefit of the doubt without it, and with the enormous ask, [i]MCPS needs as much support as it can get[/i].

In the future, they should have at least three separated areas for such meetings, as they had had two areas in some prior events.  One could be an explanation video for any who show up without having read the plan/FAQ or having seen the prior online presentations.  At 20 minutes, it could be rolled 3 times in an hour or 4 in an hour and a half.

Eating up time for Q & A with such repeat information is, sadly, far too typical.   A second area, then, should be the table-based, small Q & A, allowing the kind of interaction with those informed, but not necessarily decision-making, staff that some may need better to understand the plans.  These should not be recorded to allow individuals to speak most freely, though those staffing them may not have all the answers (or be authorized to provide them).

That, of course, won't result in the kind of interaction so very necessary, and typically unavailable, from MCPS to allow us to drive to important, but not well understood (if public at all) facts/considerations.  A third area should be that town hall, recorded for others who may not be able to make it in person and with the participation of those who are in decision-making roles with the power to answer questions independently:  Adnan Mamoon, Nikki Porter and Essie McGuire, delegates for them (e.g., Andrea Swiatocha and Jeannie Franklin) who are knowledgeable & empowered (and directed!) to provide those answers during the sessions, or Dr. Taylor, himself.

Again, it would be a terrible shame for MCPS to reverse the engagement pivot we saw at Kennedy.  I'd admonish those claiming some kind of MCPS-smashing victory, there, to reflect on the benefit that might be gained from [i]celebrating[/i] it rather than gloating over it.

Of course, if we see a pivot which again sends MCPS towards a circle-the-wagons, unresponsive-to-community-concerns engagement approach, all bets are off...[/quote]

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