Reply to Sign Petition Asking for Boundaries Now, Programs Later

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Reply to "Sign Petition Asking for Boundaries Now, Programs Later"

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[quote=Anonymous]Hi all - I am the OP of this DCUM thread/conversation and one of the primary authors of the "One Step at at Time: Fair Boundaries Now, Regional Programs Later petition" found at: https://form.jotform.com/onestepatatime/fairboundaries.

First, thank you all for engaging with this topic. I hear loud and clear the concern that the petition appears to focus on the DCC and families who value choice, and that it may seem to sideline the goal of improving all schools in the county. I want to clarify a few things about my perspective and the petition’s purpose:

1. My role and perspective
I am a B-CC parent, and authored this with feedback from both B-CC and DCC parents. We are unfamiliar with the Crown Boundary Study, and priorities of that community, so the focus is on the impact of the Woodward Boundary Study. However, we fully support the idea that every kid in our county deserves a strong, well-resourced school. This petition is not about preserving choice just for one group, it’s about ensuring a process that allows equitable, well-planned change that benefits all students.

2. What the petition is and is not
The core requests are to separate the boundary studies from the academic regional programs model rollout, and to take time to develop boundaries and assignments that truly reflect the goals of crowding relief, equitable access, and stable transitions. These asks are in direct alignment with the 90% of MCCPTA delegates, representing more than 50 MCPS PTAs, requesting the same delay.

We hope to avoid prematurely locking in regional program boundaries that restrict meaningful boundary adjustments, to ensure the process is transparent, data-driven, and inclusive of historically underserved communities.

The brief mention of the DCC in the section on “concerns” reflects that, in this study area, the proposed changes hit DCC schools disproportionately, but the petition isn’t advocating to “keep DCC as is.” It is advocating delay on the regional program model so the boundary portion can fully serve its original purpose.

3. Why this matters for all schools
When the boundaries are constrained by a regional programs model that hasn’t been fully developed, the risk is that some schools and communities continue to benefit from choice while others continue to bear the brunt of overcrowding, high-needs populations, and articulation disruptions.

Change is hard. None of us signed up to be part of a boundary study. We worry about our kids, their teachers, their classmates, our buses, our homes. The petition acknowledges that discomfort. It’s not saying “no change ever”, it’s saying: let’s change thoughtfully.

If you feel the petition needs to better reflect the priorities of other clusters, or if certain language feels misaligned with your own feedback, you are welcome to copy any parts of it to share with MCPS and the BOE separately.

My hope is we can turn this into something constructive that honors both the urgency of the issues (crowding, equity, transitions) and the complexity of doing this well. 
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