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

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[quote=Anonymous]The MCPS plan is so bad from so many angles, it still makes me wonder: "What were they thinking?"

1.  Locating the Alternative Education Programs (AEPs) in the middle of a residential neighborhood - to English Manor, a school that is more than a decade older than the Ewing Center (formerly known as Mark Twain) and that from what I have seen is in worse shape than Ewing - makes absolutely no sense.

2.  Patricia O'Neill (president of the Montgomery County Board of Education) can feign shock at the residents' comments, but here is the language that they quoted, from Chapter 4 of Dr. Starr's Capital Improvements Program:
"The High School Program (grades 9–12) and the Middle School Program (grades 6–8) serves students who are not achieving at their potential for a wide variety of reasons. These reasons
include behavior and/or attendance problems, as well as students who have been involved in a serious disciplinary action that warrants a recommendation for expulsion and placement by the Office of the Chief Operating Officer in lieu of expulsion.
In addition to the middle and high school programs, the 45-day Interim Placement Program serves students in grades 6–12 receiving special education services. Students are placed in the program after a central office review and as a result of their involvement with controlled substances, serious bodily injury, and/or weapons."
In addition, MCPS School Safety Reports demonstrate a much higher level of fighting, insubordination, suspensions, and even police activity at the Ewing Center than at other MCPS schools.  The recent Washington Post article spells out some of those numbers.
Clearly, there is very good reason for the community to be very concerned.

3.  The Mark Twain Athletic park was built and maintained with nearly a million dollars from the City of Rockville as well as Maryland's Project Open Space.  MCPS might be prevented from demolishing that park because of the City and State's interests there, as well as restrictions placed on the property by Project Open Space funding.

4.  Does anyone think it is a good idea to demolish a school building that is worth tens of millions of dollars?  Especially now, at a time of overcrowding and budgetary shortfalls on both the county and state levels?  Or ever, for that matter?  If the school is in bad shape, then shame on MCPS for letting it get that way.  Shame on them for not spending the $16.6 million already planned for renovations.  And shame on the Board of Education for all their pearl-clutching when a community says "Hey, wait a second..."

5.  The current Shady Grove Depot is a flat site of more than 33 acres.  The Ewing site is only 22.5 acres, and is heavily sloped towards Rock Creek (it borders Rock Creek Park).  So it's not large enough.  In addition to the issue of the Mark Twain Athletic park, the City of Rockville has imposed a Forest Conservation easement on the site of about 8 acres.  So that only leaves about 15 acres, even if MCPS can demolish both the school and the athletic park.  That won't even work.

6.  The English Manor school is not owned by MCPS, and it is currently occupied by another school (The School for Tomorrow).  That is yet another kink in MCPS's plans, not to mention zoning hurdles, environmental impacts, a pending appeal to the State Board of Education, the need for County Council approval.... and MCPS hopes to have the Ewing Center move to English Manor completed by August of 2017?  Again, "What were they thinking?"

This is not simple NIMBYism.  Everyone in Montgomery County should be indignant about how MCPS is failing to do even basic planning, and is wasting millions of dollars in the process.
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