MCPS boundary analysis meeting leaves parents concerned

Montgomery County Public Schools held its first boundary analysis meeting at Gaithersburg High School Wednesday evening to inform families of the county’s objectives of the review.

WXY Architecture + Urban Design, the independent vendor charged by MCPS to conduct the analysis, carried out the meeting with hundreds of people in attendance. The analysis is meant to determine how MCPS can better utilize its schools to combat school overcrowding.

Overcrowding is not a new issue for MCPS, having made 131 boundary changes since 1984. Superintendent Jack Smith has insisted WXY will not make direct recommendations for boundary changes but provide data to the county’s Board of Education, who will ultimately make recommendations to the school system.

With the possibility of another boundary change looming, parents are concerned their children will have to leave the school they currently attend and move to one further from their home.

“If you prioritize school utilization over transportation or proximity, then you run into the issue of kids having less sleep, and this is more apparent in high school,” parent Jay Guan said. “It will impact the students’ academic achievement and their overall well-being.”

Guan serves as a volunteer for Chinese American Parents Association of Montgomery County, a parent volunteer organization that helps Chinese immigrant families assimilate to the county. Along with possible extended commute times, Guan fears tight-knit immigrant communities will be broken up as well.

“One of the things about immigrant families is that they like to cluster,” Guan said. “They build a cultural support system. This is a common theme within immigrant communities.”

Fudong Wang, who has two children enrolled in elementary school, acknowledges the school overcrowding issue but is concerned his family will have to leave behind a community they feel at home with in order to accommodate his children’s education.

“Probably in the future we have to consider [moving homes] but right now, not yet,” Wang said. “Moving homes is one problem but also because we usually stick with community. You have your family and friends around but if you have to go to a school far away from your home, that’s a problem for the kids.”

Wednesday’s meeting ended with an exit poll, asking families about their view on the boundary analysis. Two-thirds of respondents said they were skeptical of the process and wonder whether the review needs to be done at this time.

The final report on the analysis will be provided to the Montgomery County Board of Education in June 2020.

Before the board receives the report, more meetings are scheduled to allow residents throughout the county to be informed of what the analysis entails and to provide their feedback. The remaining schedule is as follows:

• Dec. 11, 7-9 p.m., Julius West Middle School (Rockville)
• Dec. 14, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., White Oak Middle School (Silver Spring)
• Jan. 7, 2020, 7-9 p.m., Walter Johnson High School (Bethesda)
• Jan. 11, 2020, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Blair High School (Silver Spring)
• Jan. 14, 2020, 7-9 p.m., Northwest High School (Germantown)