c/n<3 -oioi^ f\\) To: County Council Ki ^ I was shocked when I read about three members of the counpil that called for ptan to desegregate students in FARM schools and even more shocked of the Columbia and other Howard county schools that have over 30% farms students. James Rouse would never let this happen. He wanted to make sure there was an equity of mixture of all income levels in housing units. In the early 1970s and 1980s when Columbia was fairly new, Phelps Luck, Swansfield, Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake, Hammond High, Running Brook were top schools. When discussing and planning the new city of Columbia in the 1960s, there were a group of planners that warned Rouse that if he had a large percentage of blacks, that would destroy Columbia. Cannot believe the concern is now a reality. It is obvious that County Officials failed to plan when demographics hit that number that would turn those schools into the percentage of Farm students that it has. Section 8 subsidized vouchers and greedy developers and apartment owners contribute into the apartments and rental units to cause the demographics to have large numbers of low income because moderate- and high-income families were not going to move onto rental units where they have to pay full amount and other people pay little or no rent due to money provided by the federal government. In the early 1970s and 1980s there was very little crime in Columbia and if it was it was from outsiders. Now the crime in Columbia is from people who live in Howard County and most are Black. This is that ghetto black urban behavior that is seen in sections of Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Prince Georges County and District. Now it has hit the schools. With all the resources provided to the Title 1 schools, there still is an achievement gap. That was nothing to do with the schools. It's the family. The Moynihan Report written 50 years ago laid the foundation but no one wanted to believe it because black leaders at the time called it racist. It wasn't racist, it was fact. Look at Urban areas today. 72% of black unwed women are raising children alone. What the County council is asking is not realistic. People moved to Columbia because of the socioeconomic and racial mixing. Now the Council is demanding the School, system, do something that should never have to occur in the first place if county officials followed Rouse vision. To force this will only alienate and cause a massive migration to other counties and private schools. And after all that disruption of moving students around in the schools, blacks will still score the lowest and have the highest discipline problems. It's not racism. It's reality. Look at Baltimore City. Years ago, Baltimore City Schools was number 1 school system in the state. Demographics , chapged after forced integration. Howard County will be next. -€:.. Nife^C^rr 8/14/201 ®^03^€S%£ -MB* 2-1S2 . ' \^\~[^^5^^ '^,w^ ^ ^5 ;^^S 2&^ PN-^-. ifcon EVSA.; -WA 21043-"-^~3^:'=!"=s ,/J,Jjj,pp{{h,JJi./ i."},Ji{i"i i'i"""}i'iijJJiJ""'fJiJ All m August 21, 2019 ..,...^' To: Howard County Council Fr: MCBF (We are black, white, asian, hispanic parents of middle class values) Re: Re News release on Howard County Integration Plan Are you serious? This is 2019 not 1959 Are you saying the socioeconomic andlow income students have to attend schools certain schools zoned to upper income income students to achieve? In other words, poor black/hispanic students have to attend schools that rich white/asians attend to achieve? What planet are you from? You think the gap will change? Maybe the younger children (Pre-K to 3) IF the parents provide the educational support needed. Middle and High School? Doubt it seriously. Equity is not having poor attend with the rich. Students can achieve without having to attend schools that the rich attend. It's the family and its culture that dictates whether a child learns or not. Alt I see you doing is having bad undisciplined children spreading to all the Howard County Schools and bringing discruption to those schools and believe me, those parents will not tolerate it. Rich parents will send their children to private school. Middle Class will move to other counties and all you will have left is a school system like Mongomery County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City that did the same thing but it didn't work. Columbia founded by James Rouse was to be different. The middle class was the role model but Section 8 vouchers for low income housing came into the area and spread like roaches. You think people were going to pay full rent when section 8 tenants were paying little or no rent thanks to federal sub vouchers. These people were urbanized with their urban ways. So the middle class moved to other areas in the county and took their middle class values with them. You think they want those children with their problems in their schools? You can move them there and the others will move out like the Columbia schools. Many of these Columbia schools are low income because the middle class moved out. Same with happen with the other Howard County Schools. All the council will do is DUMB DOWN all of Howard County Schools. Like Baltimore City, Montgomery County, the flight will continue and the next county ( Frederick or Carroll) will have the top notch school system. «((((,(.(.(l(f(,((( (.((l..l,,l .(,((l.l.. ( l. IH.(l(l ( H,l &&=i.E£:t:—S;t:0 T 2 , ^^ ,y .ff^ L""^' U !/^ -f :L-—^--^-^li..^7.7 ,"777777 7r7~~~~i-f^-—~ I -Tj' ^y'^ VSA SS5-3 •s^ ^i!-^, (.77 (;PW-^' -^c- --7^-;-w—,,'^ W^^:' Cn";'n'"^,)U;jCj!. /^l ri;"v!::i! DCj August 21,2019 7;;!^ ',— ••.,, '^ Ip. -.-. To: Howard County Council and Executive Calvin Ball From: LaTisha Lincida Robinson Re: Press Release for Schools to desegregate Columbia, Maryland was a vision of James Rouse. To bring people together pf all races and creed and income levels to live in a new city to be named Columbia. Howard County had no apartments. He successfully build his new town and had two low income housing units and other moderate housing in Oakland Mills and Harper's Choice. Columbia Schools were the best schools in the county, state and nation. I won't go mto details about the history, vision and founding of Columbia and how the neighborhoods were established because it is well documented, and the New City Upon a Hill: A History of Columbia, Maryland By Joseph Rocco Mitchell, David L. Stebenne is one of the resources on Columbia. So, what happen? Columbia made a profit and housing market started to go up. County Council pushed for more subsidized housing. Federal Government Section 8 vouchers helped low income families. But many were dysfunctional families who didn't buy into Columbia's vision. Some had urbanized. (bad) behavior an.d brought their urbanized bad behavior families and friends with them. They settled in all those many apartments that were built in Columbia. Those apartments that once had a mixture of people with high, moderate income with very few low income ( section 8 vouchers). County did not monitor who were going into those apartments. Now with the influx of all these peoples in the apartments , the schools and villages in Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake ,Long Reach and Harper's Choice became urbanized. Grime crept into Columbia especially the villages and Oakland. Mills and Long Reach no longer exist like it used to. Wilde lake and Harper's Choice were saved by remodeling, turning some apartments to condos but it still didn't help because there still so many apartments with overflowing subsidized housing. They key is demographies and realizing that low income blacks with bad behavior from dysfunctional families are causing the problem. Stop wearing your emperor's new clothes and realize that there is a big problem and DO NOT BLAME the school system. Many whites are not going to opemng speak out about this because they feaj? they will be labeled racist. So, they will quietly send their children to private schools or move out of the county altogether which is why the apartments in. Columbia will continue with owners renting to families using vouchers and subsidized housing, What to know why they (FABMS) score low? Education is not the top list for a dysfunctional family. Are all farms dysfunctional? No but we are talking about a group here because if the test scores were high and no discipline problems at the school the n the Council wouldn't be calling for integration Urban Blacks still score the lowest even Africans are scoring higher than Blacks. Hispanics are scoring higher than Blacks and Asians are scoring higher than whites. So, it's a home environment issue. People came to Columbia by choice and forcing integration will not work. Racial and economic integration are two separate issues. Home en-vlronment and culture issues need to be addressed. There is a sub culture within the black community that is urbanized ghetto (example: recent family fight at Disneyland in July that went viral). Do you think we want to send our children with children of people like that? As I sit in my house that I paid close to million dollars because of a particular school and to think my child will be bused to a title one school. I felt cheated and deceived. I'm not staying, I'm movmg. Can't call me racist because I am black and I worked hard to be where I am. I understand how people who worked hard. like me and know that the county council just wants to put all these children who have no manners, no structure into schools where achievement and Parent conferences attendance are expected and not because of a turkey. GOOD LUCK! iH» ( jifj;h ?!i'jijf"?i«.jf'jiiH,f«!i i'{,iii.,i!;j'',! }-.:.^-.;t-7n ^n^i Sayers, Margery From: Prabir Chakrabarty Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 7:57 AM To: CouncilMail Subject: Current Redistricting Plan [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] Councilwoman Rigby, I am completely in support of integration and socioeconomic diversity. But the current plan does not accomplish this goal. This plan arbitrarily moves children across the county out of their current schools and achieves negligible results. It is not fair or equitable for my Freshman daughter at River Hill High School to move to a different much farther school next year. Moving children like chess pieces will not alleviate the socioeconomic disparities. Frankly, without sufficient support services it may exacerbate the current issues these children are facing. Sincerely, PrabirChakrabarty, Esq. Sent from my iPhone <^(i U3L- -^C->I Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 9:26 AM To: CouncilMail Subject: HCPSS Redistricting [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender,] Dear Board of Education Members, I am writing this letter to express my disappointment over the proposed school redistricting plan by the School Superintendent. This proposal, by focusing on FARM numbers, is taking away opportunity away from students, rather than moving towards the goal of an equitable education to all students within Howard County. By sending children from River Hill High School to Wilde Lake High School, the affected students are losing the very opportunities on which many families relied on when they moved to this area. In addition, it also increases the commute time for students and families, from under 5 minutes to River Hill, to over 25 minutes to Wilde Lake. This increased drive time will impact after-school learning opportunities for children and take time away from families. This applies not just for students being shifted to Wilde Lake, but also those who are shifted to River Hill. If this proposal moves forward, I will have one child going to Wilde Lake and another going in the opposite direction to Folly Quarter Middle School. Instead of the two schools being closer together, I will have to limit after school activities for my children due to increased distance and increased commute time between the schools. There have to be better alternatives than uprooting existing families in the River Hill and Wilde Lake School districts. Why not add resources to the other schools and have them come up to par with River Hill, rather than breaking down what is already working at River Hill? Also, from my understanding, River Hill is under capacity, so it does not seem to make sense to move students out of this school. Again, I do not support this drastic change that will be taking away opportunities from children in Howard County. Sincerely, Abhijit Bhatia, MD 12122 Hayland Farm Way Ellicott City, MD 20142 Sayers, Margery From: LisaTavelli Feinberg Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 7:43 AM To: CouncilMail Subject: One Size Does Not Fit All [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] Make FARM for ALL students. Address individual school inequity on a case by case community/school basis. I will volunteer my time to help make this happen. Lisa Feinberg Sent from my IPhone Sayers, Margery From: Khalid Zirvi Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 201 9 9:54 PM To: Walsh, Elizabeth Cc: Jones, Opel; Rigby, Christiana; Jung, Deb; katiefry.hester@senate.state.md.us; Yungmann, David; CouncilMail Subject: HCPSS redistricting opposition Attachments: HCPSS redistricting opposition - KMZ.docx [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] See attached Khalid Zirvi To whom it may concern: I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey which has many similarities to Howard County with regards to a diverse population and a strong public school system. Our family values education and striving for excellence. That is why when we moved to Maryland in 2005 after much research and deliberation, we chose to move to Howard County due to its reputation as a diverse community with strong public schools. We have 4 kids which include a rising 9th grader, rising 7th grader and two elementary school students; therefore, we have exposure to all levels of the education process and this ill-conceived redistricting plan. We have lived in various parts of Howard County throughout the years starting in Ellicott City and then the Atholton school district and were overall satisfied with our experience. A few years ago, after careful research and planning while taking into account our children's social network cultivated over the years and their desire to be with friends who shared their interests academically, we chose to move to the River Hill district. Having lived in both areas I can say that Atholton and River Hill school districts have unique qualities that are not easily interchangeable. This is why we are astounded and dumbfounded that the school board and superintendent with the misguided backing of a few Howard County Council members have chosen such an asymmetric and extreme approach that would decimate and implode the fabric and essence of the Atholton and River Hill communities. We are at a loss as to why the FARM metrics are even being used to justify any moves. This action implies that the school board and Council members views those famities/students as somehow inferior and a liability that needs to be spread out which is insulting. What exact problem is being solved by using that metric? If a school is underperforming with regards to test scores it is a lazy and a simplistic approach to simply move a higher scoring student to an underperforming district instead of improving local assistance and resources to improve test scores and grades for underperforming students which will improve likelihood of long term success for those students and not just appease administrators obsessed with the appearance of social justice. With regards to the primary issue of overcrowding in certain districts our suggestion is to take a more balanced approach and allow students from overcrowded school districts to be transported to less crowded districts either voluntary or assigned. This may increase commute times for some students though still would be less of a disruption than involuntary imposing this sledgehammer of a policy and redistricting on several thousand students. The school system's actions should be a bridge to the time when the new high school is completed which will unload a majority of the currently overcrowded high school districts. Another more balanced approach would be to require all school districts to contribute relatively equally to the redistribution process so that more families across the county can accept buying in. You are elected officials that are supposed to represent the entire community and not your own individual agendas. You were not given a mandate by the voters to wreak havoc on the school system in a county known for its stability. Howard County has a unique and very highly educated population and you should not pretend know what is better for all of us as if we do not understand the issues. We accept the role of government with legislative issues and changes as part of the norm including higher taxes and are more than willing to do our part. There are few issues that are more sensitive and important to individual families than making personal choices in the best interests of their children's happiness, well-being and education which you are disrupting on a mass scale. Should the school board, council members/executive and superintendent ignore this basic tenet and disrupt so many families who are perfectly satisfied with their school districts under a misguided notion/ideology of being a savior your legacy will be tarnished. Our children are not happy with these proposed changes as they will be adversely affected on many levels for years and they will not forget who was responsible. I voted for a majority of the current elected officials. You should not underestimate how much this will energize and motivate your constituents to oppose your reelection at the next cycle Sincerely, Khalid Zirvi Sayers, Margery From: Amanda Clifton Sent: Tuesday, August 27,2019 10:43 AM To: Ball, Calvin B; redistricting@hcpss.org; superintendent@hcpss.org; CouncilMail; katiefry.hester@senate.state.md.us Subject: Redistricting Proposal 2020-2021 School Year [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] Good Morning, No doubt you've received many e-mails echoing the communities concerns over the proposed redistricting. As a parent of children who currently and will be in the next year joining the Howard County Public School System, I'd like to express my opposition to this decision. After thoroughly reading the multiple studies I have grave concerns over the reality of implementation and what that means for our children. Many children are looking at hour plus bus rides, being separated from friendships they've cultivated over the years and the potential to be unable to participate in after school activities due to these bus rides. Shortly I'll be faced with two children on opposing sides of the county. As a working parent, it is near impossible for me to meet my work hour obligations and retrieve my children from school activities within the limited time after care provides. I will most certainly be frequently faced with paying Howard County Parks and Recreation fees for late pickups in order to accommodate my children or I will have to explain to my employer why I can no longer work the hours I was hired for, putting me in a true situation between being able to financially provide for my children and getting them to and from school. Beyond my own personal issues, how does HCPSS plan to plan for the additional bus drivers? From personal experience, CDL drivers are not in abundance. I myself used to have to search quite vigorously to staff drivers for my retirement community. Given all of this, I think this proposal seems haphazard and ill advised. A thousand percent I believe that this entire community believes all children should be provided a quality education but the truth is, this redistricting amounts to no more than shuffling kids to improve our statistics. In no way does it actually address the heart of the problem which is that Howard County has a poverty issue and schools who are underperforming for a multitude of reason. Redistricting is not going to fix this. Dr. Martirano cannot argue that we are shuffling for better education if in the next breath he is going to say all our schools are equal in level of education. That is absolutely incorrect or this wouldn't be an issue. It's contradictory and to me speaks to the fact that we are refusing to address that certain schools do need more help and do require additional resources. That's a big shame HCPSS for not wanting to actually fix things. It's easier to bury the problem in a spreadsheet and count us heros for making it look like we've actually done something to improve the poverty issue. I will not stand for a proposal that impacts thousands of students lives and not for the better. I won't allow anyone on this e-mail to make a reckless decision that hurts communities and students futures because you do want to put in the hard work to actually help those kids struggling. Nope for you it's simply easier to spread the peas out on the plate to look like you've actually made an impact and that is unacceptable. Howard County has to acknowledge the need to pour resources into helping the students in the schools that need it the most. You need to redistrict because we continued to allow community after community after community to crop up without proper planning? Then redistrict in a manner that makes geographical sense rather than forcing our children up in the wee hours of the morning only to return late and forego things that allow children to grow themselves such as sports, music programs, dance lesson. They are only children for so long before they will be thrust into the real adult world where they are faced with debt, work obligations and adult struggles of their own. Please don't rob them of hours to be children because of an ill devised redistricting plan which takes a minimum of 2 hours if not more from their days on bus rides. Remember that at present you are now talking to adults who currently can and high school seniors who will be able to vote in the next election. This will show them where their leaders stand on promises and values in community. Beyond that, many of our children will be able to remember this well into the point they can vote. With the fact another High School will be added in 2023, I think it is more advisable to take a geographical and logical approach to current needs to relieve overcrowding in schools while thinking future forward on how Howard County can alleviate overcrowding without adversely impacting student and parent lives. I sincerely hope you will consider the vast opposition to this plan and truly instead invest in making a better choice for communities and students with your final proposal. Sincerely, Amanda Clifton Sayers, Margery From: Vivica Williams Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 8:26 AM To: superintendent@hcpss.org; vicky_cutroneo@hcpss.org; Walsh, Elizabeth; Jones, Opel; Rigby, Christiana; Jung, Deb; Yungmann, David; CouncilMail; katiefry.hester@senate.state.md.us Subject: Fwd: Polygon 1200 [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] Dear Howard County Council Members, Senators, and Government Officials, I am quite upset with the redistricting proposal. Please if you could take the time to read my letter below to understand our situation. Thank you, Vivica Williams 13080 Greenberry Lane Clarksville, MD 21029 (443)710-5700 > Dear BOE, > I am very upset about the proposed redistricting plan. I live on Greenberry Lane in Clarksville. We have been redistricted to Wild Lake HS. Wild Lake! Do you realize how difficult it is to drive there from where we live???? There are three ways to get there. 1) 32 to 108 to Harpers Farm to Twin Rivers (passes in front of River Hill), 2) 32 to Cedar Lane to Little Patuxent Pwy to Harpers Farm to Twin Rivers (passes in front of Atholton), or 3) 32 to 29 to Broken Land Parkway, pass the Mali to Twin Rivers. Any of these routes are complicated, full of traffic lights, full of traffic, and take at least 30 min in the morning g rush hour. From where we live and our access points, this proposal is incredibly dangerous and disruptive to students, parents, and our community. > > Also, I am not sure if you realize this but we live in a close knit enclave, isolated to the North of Rt 32 at Linden Church Rd. This neighborhood consists of Broadwater (Districted to Glenelg), Linden Church Rd, 12 Hills, and Greenberry Lane. We alway have been together. I would know, I have lived on Greenberry Lane for 44 years. This proposal would absolutely tear apart our community and is geographically bizarre. > > Please put the best interests of our kids first. Displacing us to a school, frankly, horrifically difficult to get to, is not the answer. > >Thank you, > >Vivica Williams > (443)710-5700 > > Sent from my iPhone A Rejection of the Redistricting Proposal "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold" W.B. Yeats Dear Council Members: By reframing the need for redistricting as a need to achieve "equity" we diminish the importance of genuine improvements and present merely a facade of positive changes in our school system. Please support our schools; do not give it the onerous task of being a primary mechanism to exert societal change. It is a complex issue that involves factors such as county development, planning and affordability which are beyond the scope of what a school system can tackle. True change with lasting positive effects cannot happen overnight and without a united front. The redistricting plan will fragment communities and weaken identities. While we understand the importance ofredistricting to remedy capacity issues and ensure adequate resources, the latest recommendation is a sledgehammer: it causes irreparable harm on multiple fronts to achieve a level of data uniformity that appallingly masks weak performances and detracts from the need for substantive changes to improve all schools [especially those that are underperforming). The negative effects of such seismic changes cannot be underestimated. Harms Disruption of community fabric: each school and district is enriched by the bonds of the students and families who share activities and interests. My son is not gregarious and has a few close friends. High school is a vulnerable time-especially for children who are not particularly skilled in making new friends. The loss of his relationships which have been cultivated over time will undermine his high school experience and likely academic performance. • Blatant disregard for the deliberate choices that were made by families: In many cases, these sweeping changes will have an intensely negative impact on a segment of the population that will carry the burden of change that is *not* shared by the rest. It is incumbent to demonstrate concrete proof that an overall positive outcome has been achieved in order to justify this drastic reorganization. • Injustice to the student's desires: If my child is passionate about being in a particular district in order to challenge his intellect, it is his/her right to have that choice honored. We readily reward excellence in all fields with awards and titles at every turn-why would we hypo critically discourage this innate desire? This striving is the core to success. • Detrimental effects on students and parents: High school is a period of transition fraught with anxiety, high stress and sleep deprivation. As a primary care physician, I can attest to the deleterious effects of these changes [longer commutes, weakened social supports)and the correlation with increased depression and anxiety. • Neelectine root causes of underperformine schools /students • Environmental Dollution: This will worsen with increased commute times and longer bus routes. An incremental approach would allow a judicious assessment of the consequences of each change and lead to modifications that would be more readily accepted over time. Incorporating flexibility in planning would also bring more parents and students to buy-in to this decision. As a primary care physician, I feel strongly that every individual has the right to access high quality care. Our practice accepts all patients regardless of socioeconomic status, type of insurance or even lack thereof. I treat each individual based on his/her values and I avoid lumping patients into categories or making general assumptions in order to improve their overall health. Although I may not always agree, I respect the decisions each patient makes because autonomy is a central tenet in my practice. I do not feel I have the right to impose my personal beliefs; instead I focus on providing the best care I can to each individual. My family and I have abided by this philosophy which is being trampled upon by the proposed redistricting plan. The school system has been entrusted with the education and welfare of every child and should employ fairness in all of its actions. The Howard County school system and by association the City Council must be held accountable for the proposed changes and the potential aftermath which directly affect our quality of life in Howard County. For education, as in other fields that offer a valuable service [hospitals, health care, government programs), there should be clearly defined metrics besides just socioeconomic status and test scores that evaluate its performance in the delivery of our children's education. Only this level of transparency and nuanced assessment can truly bolster our commitment to quality. Let's support all of our students and not assume that they will "be fine" with these changes. Many progressive school systems nationwide recognize the importance of students' well-being (physical, psychological, and social) and have implemented changes accordingly: modifying school start and end times to minimize sleep deprivation, allowing mental health days, etc. In stark contrast, this proposed plan directly assails these priorities. I urge you to deter the Howard County School Board from proceeding with the proposed plan. Ultimately, we entrust you as elected members of the Council and our elected members of the School Board to protect our most precious commodity... our children [and our future). Humbly, Kendra Kay 410-948-2888 Sayers, Margery From: krupa patel Sent: Monday, August 26, 201 9 9:20 PM To: Jones, Opel; Walsh, Elizabeth; Rigby, Christiana; Jung, Deb; Yungmann, David; CouncilMail Subject: Howard county redistricting 2020-2021 [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] Dear Council members, This email is write all of you and make you aware that the plan for the redistricting school the way it is proposed doesn't make sense. Please STOP this insanity and inhumanity. How do you think this will help the children in our county. We live less than 2 miles from Riverhill High School and the school bus comes at 6:50 in the morning. To travel to Wild Lake school, the bus will be here at least 6:30 or earlier. My daughter will have no sleep. How do you think sleep deprived kid's future will be improved by this great plan??? How about picking children up from extra curricular activities when my one daughter is all the way in east direction and other would be in west? Route 108 is already crowded..! am not sure any Traffic Studies have been conducted while implementing this plan. Any thoughts on that? You will need extra buses, which means more school budget. Rather that money should be invested in better school resources. Additionally, Goal of achieving reduced FARM rate can be achieved by bringing some needy families to our School, River Hill school. WHY MOVE OUR KIDS?? Capacity??? Riverhill school is already under capacity. Then what is the need to move children out from here? You don't need space..you are moving our kids out, from west to east and moving kids from east to West???Moving out about 485 kids and moving in about 700???how does this makes sense. This seems like some polygons are being injected forcefully to the current boundary for the Riverhill and to make space for these new polygons, some of current polygons are being carved out. when the new school opens in 2 years, which is in Jessup again ,east. Is County going to move kids again west to east? What is the plan? Why temporary fix? Are the kids puzzle pieces?? When the new development goes on, county have rigorous requirements prior to Site Plan approval and they take enough impact fees from the developers to make sure the neighborhood's feeder school has enough capacity. This process is also overseen by the Howard county officials. Our neighborhood, Walnut Creek community, off of Shepherd lane, is not even 5 years old. so how come there became a need to redistrict kids out from our neighborhood school??? I, we, all of us need an answer.... Sincerely, Krupa Patel Sayers, Margery From: David Clifton Sent: Monday, August 26, 2019 10:17 PM To: Yungmann, David Cc: CouncilMail; sao Subject: Due Process Concerns - HoCo BoE [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] David Yungmann etal, I hope my email finds you well. I am writing today with regard to significant concerns I have with the lack of due process being shown by the Howard County School Board in how it is considering the current redistricting proposal, a process of which I am sure you are aware. Last week the superintendent submitted a proposal to the board of education which, in his own words, "My proposal is significantly different than the recommendations in the Feasibility Study." is very clearly not in line with the studies and proposals as they have been brought to the community to this date. As I am sure you know, the open community comment period for this proposal ended last month. The process going forward only welcomes discussion in open forum by individuals who live within specific affected areas. This process may have made sense if the assumption was that the proposal would follow along the lines of the original Feasibility Study and be adopted to include reasonable public comments. Instead, as the superintendent himself has indicated, the new plan looks nothing like the original plan. A review of the plan will make it immediately evident to any reasonable person that the implementation of it could have material impacts on the school budget requirements that the BoE brings to the county for future years, adds significant additional traffic to the roads, increases pollution in our communities and - by forcing them to move to further away schools - disadvantages poorer members of our community by discriminating against them based on FARM utilization. I understand this process is being driven by the BoE, but these impacts and the blatant disregard of the superintendent and board for providing reasonable comment periods to those of us in the community DEMAND that the county take action to maintain the interests of your constituents. I hope that you will review this situation in detail and take necessary action to ensure the process incorporates proper community feedback and that these lower officials are not disenfranchising your community without regress. Thanks, David M. Clifton Resident and Active Voter Mother of rising 9th grader next year! Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone Sayers, Margery From: Howard County Public School System Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2019 7:07 PM To: CouncilMail Subject: [BULK] Superintendent Presents Boundary Review Recommendations [Note: This email originated from outside of the organization. Please only click on links or attachments if you know the sender.] Unsubscribe It appears that you have subscribed to commercial messages from this sender. To stop receiving such messages from this sender, please unsubscnbe News Release Contact: Brian Bassett brian_bassett@hcpss.org 410-313-1505 August 22,2019 Superintendent Presents Boundary Review Recommendations Ellicott City, Maryland — Howard County Public School System Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano presented his recommendations to balance school capacity utilization, provide relief to schools most impacted by crowding, and address inequities in the distribution of students affected by poverty, during the Howard County Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, August 20, 2019. The Board initiated by unanimous vote on January 24, 2019, a systemwide boundary review process, prompted by significant imbalances in school capacity utilization. Currently, 32 schools (43%) are outside of the target capacity utilization defined in HCPSS Policy 6010, meaning that enrollment at these schools is either below 90% or over 110% of their capacity, while the distribution of students participating in the Free and Reduced-price Meals program (FARMs) ranges from below 5% at some schools to up to 68% at others. "This recommendation marks a turning point in how we look at attendance area adjustments. While previous boundary review processes focused more narrowly on capacity utilization, my proposal is in alignment with our Strategic Call to Action, leading with equity as our driver to provide all students with full access and opportunity to receive the best educational services and supports," Martirano said. The Superintendent's proposal, which relates to school boundaries for the 2020-2021 school year (SY 20-21), moves beyond the recommendations presented in the 2019 Feasibility Study, and takes into account the priorities expressed by his Attendance Area Committee (AAC), the 800 participants in four community input sessions, and 2,176 surveys and 276 alternative scenarios submitted by community members and other stakeholders. Also considered during planning were transportation times and costs, the effective use of existing school resources, and other Policy 6010 standards. These priorities also included keeping school boundaries contiguous while maintaining neighborhood schools and walkable distances for as many students as possible. The Superintendent's proposal would provide for reassignment of approximately 7,396 students, including 3,194 elementary, 1,351 middle, and 2,851 high school students. Through the proposal, 53 schools are projected to be within the 90-110% target capacity utilization defined in policy, compared with 42 without boundary adjustments, and many of the most highly-impacted schools would see significant relief. The proposal also advances socio-economic equity by addressing the proportion among schools of students receiving FARM program services. Through the Superintendent's proposal, all elementary schools would have a FARM rate at or below 54%, and the number of elementary schools above 50% would be reduced by half, from 12 to 6. The 10 elementary schools with highest FARM rates would be reduced by a combined 82%, and 21 schools would move closer to the county average. FARM levels for all middle schools would be at or below 45% through Martirano's proposal, which reduces levels for the five middle schools with highest rates by a combined 38%, while 11 schools would move closer to the county average. For high schools, FARM rates would be at or below 42% for all schools, and the four with highest rates currently would be reduced by a combined 18%. Nine high schools would move closer to the county average. Martirano's proposal also plans ahead for new High School #13, which is scheduled to open fall 2023, by minimizing the impact for high schools and families that are most likely to be affected by boundary adjustments for the new school. In delivering his recommendation, the Superintendent emphasized the system's great strength and the excellence of every Howard County public school. "Regardless of the outcome of this process, every child in our county will continue to have access to an excellent education. We are not a system of individual schools; we are a cohesive school system with consistent curriculum, excellent teachers, small class sizes, and comparable learning and enrichment opportunities at every school," Martirano said. More information, including the Superintendent's presentation and full report given to the Board of Education and a one-page document that details the proposal are available on the HCPSS website. The Board will hold three public hearings and seven work sessions, and is scheduled to make a final decision on any boundary line adjustments with action on Thursday, November 21 . A full schedule and complete information about the boundary review process is provided online. For the latest HCPSS news and information, visit www hcpssorg. 10910 Clarksville Pike, EllicottCity, Maryland 21042 Howard County Public Schools would like to continue connecting with you via email. If you prefer to be removed from our list, please contact Howard County Public Schools directly. To stop receiving all email messages distributed through our SchoolMessenger service, follow this link and confirm: Unsubscribe SchoolMessenger is a notification service used by the nation's leading school systems to connect with parents, students and staff through voice, SMS text, email, and social media.