Kathleen V. Hanks
From: rcc1979@aol. com Sent: Sunday, November 3, 2019 11:57 PM To: Hcpss Redistricting Subject: [External] Re-districting plan regarding llchester Elementary School
To whom it may concern: I am from the Montgomery Meadows neighborhood (polygons 84, 95. 1095 and 2095) and have 2 current children at llchester Elementary School (as well as one who will start Kindergarten next year). Both of my children have lEPs and have been at llchester sincethey were 3 (they are nowin 2nd and4th grades). I knowthis is unlikelyto get us any special consideration, but it partially explains my fear of changing our neighborhood to a new school. My children have had the same speech therapist and occupational therapist for 5 and 7 years, respectively, and they have had the same small group ofspecial educators, as well. Changing schools will potentially ruin everything we have worked so hard for in the past several years. In fact this year my 4th grader has finally made a small group of friends, a goal we have been working towards since she was 3. To that end, I with to vocalize my wish that polygons 84, 95, 1095, 2095 (the Montgomery Meadows neighborhood) remain at IES instead of the newly proposed move to Waterloo ES. N~ot only is the Montgomery Meadows neighborhood closer to IES, but the bus transportation is much safer due to the incredibly difficult left hand turn onto Route 104 (during rush hour) that would need to be made to transport to Waterloo. Currently the buses go straight onto llchester Rd directly out of Montgomery Meadows. Dr. Wu's current plan moves over 200 students from Rockbum to IESto Waterloo, while neither Rockbum or IES are over crowded, so_the movement is not necessary to fix capacity issues, in fact even if IES were to simply receive the 61 students from Rockbum (as proposed bythe plan) IESwould stabilizenear the high end ofthe Policy6010 target utilization range. The movement of 142 students out of IES would not be needed. fn addition. Ms. Mallo seems to have a circular movement ofover 225 students between Ilchester ES and Waterloo. 103 students are moved from Waterloo into Ilchester and 126 students are moved out ofllchester into Waterloo. This is a very confusing move with no explanation. llchester EScurrently hasa 100%feed into Bonnie Branch, the optimal goal ofthe Board as discussed in recentwork sessions. Theproposed plans would reduce this feed. Furthemore, the Montgomery Meadowsneighborhood has been at IlchesterElementary Schoolsince its opening and it ispart of the neighborhood community. I hopethe plans to moveour neighborhood to Waterloo are dropped, in favor ofa plan that makes more sense for all involved.
Respectfully, Rachael Caputo Dear Members of the Board,
Thankyou for the time andenergy you arededicating to the redistricting process, recognizeit is difficult but necessary. I am writing, however, in response to recent proposals from individual board members. The most recent plans by both Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu (dated either 10/30 or 10/31 on hiswebsite) put forward completely new proposals for my neighborhood, Wheatfield Waypolygons 100and 1100, atthe high-school level. Inboth Ms. Mallo's plan and Dr. Wu's latest plan on hiswebsite, the proposed changesat the high-school level for polygons 100 and 1100 violate the criteria for community stability set forth in Policy 6010 (Section IV. B. 2. Community Stability). Ms. Mallo's plan to separate polygons 100 and 1100 for high school would divide a close-knit neighborhoodin half. Polygons 100and 1100make up a clearly definedand cohesive neighborhood- theWheatfield neighborhood.The kids in the neighborhooddo notexperience any divide betweenthe two polygons. There is a clear sense of community that spans the entire neighborhood. (The section of 1100outside ofour neighborhoodis a commercial shoppingcenter. ) Thearea that appears to be a 'wooded" division between the two polygons is reallyjust a narrow drainage stream between houses (one of several streams in the neighborhood); it does not create any kind ofnatural barrier or divide. The children havefriends all over the neighborhood, and they walk down the sidewalk (right past the smallstream) to playwith each other. The Wheatfield community supports those connection's through officiallyorganized events, suchas well attended Halloween paradesand bubble runs, and unofficiaF events, such as block parties, which attract families from both polygons. Please help maintain this c!ose- knit neighborhood by keeping the polygons together. Dr. Wu's most recent plan (on hiswebsite) to move Wheatfield to Wild Lake High School would create a micro-feed andmake the Wheatfield neighborhood anisland inour largerRt. 'lOScommunity. The planwould createa micro-feedfrom Ellicott Mills MiddleSchool to Wilde Lake.Wheatfield's two polygonswould be the only polygons from EllicottMills to feed into Wild Lake. None of our proposed elementary schools (Waterloo, Phelps Luck, orVeterans) feed into Wild Lakeeither. As a result, 'children from polygons 100and 1100would enter highschool at Wilde Lakenot knowing anyone outside of'their small neighborhood micro-feed, and the kids would comprise a very small fraction ofWilde Lake's ov.era ,.^udent. b°dY'. wheatfleld w°uld als° bec°me an island.Wheatfield would attend a different high school than children in immediately adjacent neighborhoods, whose homes wecan easily walkto. Notably,Wheatfield, Stonecrest, and Brampton Hillswould all attend different high schools despite the factthat they're all within a one-mileradius of each other. The proposed plan would actively undermine the sense of community that Policy 6010 is intended to foster. Forthese reasons, I am reauestinethat the Boardkeep bothWheatfield oolveons 100and 1100 tofiether in one of Ellicott Mills' current feeder high schools and avoid creatine a micro-feed. At the elementary-schoollevel, while Veterans is clearly our closest neighborhood school, any of the proposed plans 100 and for^polygons 1100 (Waterloo, Phelps Luck, or Veterans) would help foster the 'sensel'of'the community that Policy6010 outlines. Dr. Martirano's treatment of polygons 100'and 1100at all levels of schoolingwould also create equity while still maintainingthis sense of community stabilityas well. The^factthat completely newproposals arebeing put forward atthis latedate is also creating c°nf"s'°" and inequitv inthe redistrirting process. As far as I am aware, these changes at theTi igh- school level for polygons 100and 1100 have not been proposed inearlier plansorfeasibNitystudTes. Yet detailsregarding these new plans and the data related to them have not been presented to the public in a transparent manner, and at this late date our neighborhood does not have recourse to ail the same response options that other communities had available to them. For these reasons, I'm very grateful for your consideration of this written testimony.
Sincerely,
Joanne Roby Polygon 100 Kathleen V. Hanks
From: Gillian Ross
DearMembers ofthe Board,
sarcMichael and ^IlTIle, Gowan, Gillian Ross- we have to young boys who attend Waterloo Elementary i," mewritlng to challengethe currently proposedredistricting plans which will affectour communit m the Wheatfieldneighborhood (polygons 1100 and 100). Weunderstand that developing a redistricting plan forHoward County is a difficult task. Inan effort to achieve ;. w-ry'TOy goalofeducational equityacross Howard County public schools, there are many details to c,on _dCT',ReSrettat'l. y' thecurrently proposed plans will imposea severenegative consequence onthe Wheatfieldcommunity. Pleaseconsider adjusting the plans with the following guidelines: 1. Do not separate polygons 1100 and 100. ..?:e.pl.mprop^edby, JenMall°splits thetwo Polygons ofwhich Wheatfield is composed. Thiswill spoilthe unl,ty^ft wheatfieldneighborhood. Organizationsthat meet regularly suchas the "Womenof Wheatfield" "Friday_NightNeighborhood Hangout" includes all ofWheatfTeld. Annual events suchas the HdToween s^the Bubble Run' Christmas Luminaires, andthe Neighborhood Cleanup also include alfof Wheatfield. (Seeattached photos "halloween_parade" and"Christmas JuminMres".) the is a small polygons stream that may look prominent on Google but it is not .." e.dlvisionbetween. two. Maps, evennoticeable fromthe road. (Seeattached photo "view_from_l 100_to_100".) Dmdmgth^commu"ity doesnot uphold BOE Policy 601b IV'B-2 builet-2> whichdefines school attendance regions as "[ajreas that aremade up ofcontiguous communities or neighborhoods." 2. Do not make Wheatfield a micro-feed. plan proposedby chao wu u establish a scenario where Ellicott Mills will feed four
. se wi. separate high school!'-on!y_students from &e wheatfield neighborhood will transition to~WildLaiTe;'there~'flieyl wilTmake a wry small percentage ofthe enrollment of 1300: This will separate many students-fromcTosefriends"the7had school and elementary school. *crcatm8thls_m";ro'. feed. situationdoes not "phold BOE POIicy 60W IV-B. 2,bullet 1,which promotes 'T: students from ^mrourage_ke. eping. toeether one sch001 to the next For sample, avoidYngrfeeds''o'flessJ than '/a at the receiving school."
3. Do not make Wheatfield an island. ZheJP^_p,roposedby chao wu wiu. sePmate wheatfield fromits neighbors onthe 103corridor (Stonecrest and tm>Hms)bysendingour high sch001 students to wildLake- Thesestudents will'be'required'to use"' i^their commute, when there are three other schools that are accessible without driving on a major, highway(centennia1' Howard'.. mdMt- Hebron). Thisisland will physicdTysepm-ateWheatfiefdUKh
. stadent^&omtheir nearest wild. Lakeclassmates, who will be across Route lOO'and beyond" : Park. ^ Meanwhile, our highschool students canwalk to adjacent neighborhoods on-the 103 T,but they will notbe attending the same school. Keepingthe Wheatfield, Stonecrest,'andBrampton i neighborhoods together and attending a northeast school wTll avoid these issues. Thank you for your attention. Pleasetake these requests into consideration andadjust theproposed redistrictini solutions.
Sincerely, Michael Gowan and Gillian Ross
Kathleen V. Hanks
From: Neda Hashmi
Dear Board of Education Members, M-te.r.m°"t,h.s-°f-,prop°,sals, a"drevis'ons' wewere surprised to findthat two newredistricting proposals were submitted lastweek I i and te. Jen_Mallothat now^impactour polygon. In both ofthese plans, Polygon 1r32"wo-uTd'bemoved'f7om Clemens' .to Bryant Woods Elementary. We have not been provided with sufficient data to'understa'nd'the'redistrictinc p^and, adTltlf°I°^LC h'ldre"\T, he t.'m'"g °fthese releases'sp^^^ tihe.pu.b'":ro.mmCTtLperiod 's°ve1'-with . [ess-than 3 weeks untfl the vote, I'am'wntingto'expiain the'reasons'Tbe'li'ewt'h'frw ould'be aging to the small feed neighborhood of Sebring and surrounding streets of Polygon 132.
w'th lessthan 30 ch'ldren. It is a p°tyig^i!. 3.2..'s. aJ'mall. f!edc-,ommu"'ty. small pocket surrounded on 2 sides by major roads Broken -par,kwaya"dHrck°^R.'d8eR°a.d-M°vl"Sth'ssmauPocketofch'ldrenw°"ld"olatethem-s^^ c°m'T'u."'tyand Seosraphrcaltyfrom the BryantWoods Community. Separatingour polygon-from'the''re'5t"of"the'fi:esta'bl'ishe^ the !, c°mm"mty-"el8 hb°rho°_dde<'troys very ""'munity stabi'lity that your constituents have-repeatediy~voiced"is~of utmost Lmp°rta';ce', l, ". past^', ed?rict'"g. f'roceed'"g'' Board of Education decisions have'commfttedYo keepi'ng'nelghborhoods'together'at" every school level. Pleaseuphold this decades-longprecedent. o"r, fam'l'esaresocrally. act"'e.with1"the clemens crossinS community. Manyof the children are members of the Clemens Crossine Lsw'm-..te?mmd-part'c'pate. '"a numbe-r°f other"e'ghborhood and school-based clubs aRd programs that makeup'thTcore i'-l local school Ke!.pin g.o.ur-ne'8!;borh°°d_t°gether'" °ur. neighborhood directly upholds the standards in Policy 6010 with regards to ^m^ y. stab.!'Lty. ma'nta'n'ng-.str°-r's feeds' mimm'zfn8 transportation costs, fiscal responsibiUty, and'mmimizing thrn u'mber :mwed;-cl.eme"scr°ss'ng, Elementary is "ot above capacity while the proposed'-BryantWoods''Elementa'ry'wiirb e~atore "pacu.y-''.ft.er^he-proposed. red'str":t'"8-. The approximately 30 elementary schoors tuderts piroposed~to"bemo'ved"i's'a"tir' p°pulatro", °Lthe rtudcnt bodyatboth cleme"scrossi"S or"B^a"t Woods and'wo'uld'notaffect^^^^^^^^ to justify the traumaof beingseparated from theircommunity and existing support networks'. ^spse^[^m^^. rcc°"s"ler'"cludin8 °"r smau feed- p°lys°" 132''"the red'stricting and keep our students at Clemens Thank you for taking the time to consider my input. Respectfully submitted, Neda Hashmi Polygon, »132 Dear Members of the Board, I am a resident ofWheatfeild neighborhood (Polygons 100 & 1100) with two elementary school age children. I appreciate the hard work the board is doing to ensure quality education in the county. I am writingto express my concern with the most recent proposed plans; . Mallo's plan to move polygon 100to Howard and Polygon 1100to Wild Lake splits the community into half. These two polygons are contiguous neighborhoods where our kids play and ride bikes in-between the two polygons. Mallo's plan goes against one of Policy 6010 IV. B.2 standards, Community Stability. Dr. Wu'splan keepsthe two polygons together but the plan moves Wheatfeildfrom Centennial to Wilde Lakewhich is very unreasonablefor the following reasons. > It creates a micro-feed of under 15%where the only students moving from Ellicott Mills MS to Wilde lake HS are from Wheatfield, which is not inline with Policy 6010 IV. B. 2 standards for redistricting. > It separates Wheatfield high schoolers from their contiguous neighboring communities (Stonecrest & Brampton Hills). > It creates a situation where Ellicott mills MS fees into four different high schools which does not promote sense of community you would want to foster. > It moves Wheatfield high schools outside of the Northeast corridor and across a major highway, even though there are three other nearby high schools (Centennial HS, Howard HS, and Mt. Hebron HS) that do not require crossing a major highway. Please consider the above concerns as you move forward and keep polygons 100 & 1100 together in one of Ellicott Mills 's current feeder high schools. Centennial or Howard. thank you for your consideration Sincerely, Hiwot Assefa Plygon 100 resident. Kathleen V. Hanks From: Susan Flaherty Dear BOE members, Myfamily urgesyou to keepthe abovepolygons (a small community) at RiverHill HighSchool, where we have beenfor some time, or to move us all to Glen Elg HighSchool. Both are closer geographicallyto us and we are a small feed. Please consider the following: 1. Woodmark's Rural Location: Woodmark is a rural, western, established community with no room for housing growth. To our east and south lies hundredsof acres of farmland alongFolly Quarter Road, which serves as a natural boundaryof the western partof the county. Both ofthe feasibility study plans, the Superintendent's plan and Dr.Wu's plan have usgoing to Glenetg or River Hill. 2. Woodmark's redistricting history: Woodmark has been redistricted atthe high school level several times over the course ofthe past 15 years. We have beensent from Glenelgto RiverHill, RiverHill to Marriotts Ridgeand then Marriotts Ridgeto RiverHill. Wehave been moved around like chess pieces for years and our neighborhood is asking for a permanent solution. Because of our rural, western location andtremendous growth forecasted inthe Columbia area inthe comingyears, we believethat solution' lies in the west. Whythese schools and not Columbia schools before? Because our central polygon is about equidistant from these schools (MRHS, GHS, RHHS), but we are nearly twice as far from Columbia schools. 3. Tiny feed: Thefeed that Ms. Mallo's planproposes 10 send to Wilde LakeHigh School ismade up of only 7 polygons.With the exception ofthe^Valnut Creek polygon of176, our polygons are comprised ofhouses on large lots ofland in spread out neighborhoods. These polygons donot yield enough students fora reasonable feed.According to HCPSSdata, only115 students would be projected to be in highschool from all seven ofthese polygons next year (all four grades combined). Thiswould be, at maximum, a 12%feed which violates HCPSSpolicy. Furthermore, these 2020/2021 projections are inaccurate, overstating projected students by as much as 30% in some polygons. We believe this feed to more in the high single digitsthan 12%. Eitherway, the feed is unacceptable, especially when that small feed would betaken out of the western part of Ellicott City and sent to downtown Columbia. We urge you to please create a permanent solution for our Woodmark neighborhood that keeps us in our rural western community and a robust feed from Folly Quarter Middle. Sincerely, Susan Flaherty Dear Members of the Board, Once again, I recognize the difficult job that you're undertaking to ensure that Howard County students continue to receive the best education possible. I'm grateful for your work but am contacting you today to express my deep concern with Chao Wu's most recent proposal (10/30/19). Among other'changes, this proposal has my Wheatfield neighborhood (polygons 100and 1100) moving from Centennial High Schoolto WildeLake High School. As you may know, we area small neighborhood made upof modest single family homes and townhomes. This is a brand new change. In nearly all previous proposals, Wheatfield was not moved at the high school^level. The only proposal which included a high school movement wasJen Mallo's plan which splits Wheatfield in half between Centennial and Howard. That being said, Chao's most recent plan to move Wheatfield from Centennial to Wilde Lake is concerning and unreasonable for the following reasons: 1) First and foremost, it creates a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake. Specifically, upon leaving middle school, students from Wheatfield's polygons 100 and 1100 would be sent to Wilde' Lakewhere they would comprise a tiny fraction of Wilde Lake's approximately 1300 students. With Chao's most recent plan, children in polygons 100 and 1100would be forced to enter high school at Wilde Lake knowing nobody outside of their small neighborhood micro-feed. 2) Second,this plan would create a situation where Ellicott Mills MiddleSchool students would be split between four different high schools (e. g.. Centennial, Mt. Hebron, Howard and Wilde Lake). Looking at the superintendent's proposal, no other middle school is slated to be split between more than 3 schools. This isa massive divisionof students at the middle/highschool transition andwould do nothing to promote a sense of community the Policy is intended to foster. 3) Third, Wheatfield becomes a complete island. Chao's most recent plan creates a situation where Wheatfieldalone attends a different highschool than children in immediately adjacent neighborhoods, whose homes wecan easily see and walk to. Specifically, Wheatfield,Stonecrest and Brampton Hills wouldall attend differenthigh schools - and be busedto varying areasof the county- despitethe fact thatthey're all withina one-mile radiusof each other. Notably, ofthose three neighborhoods, Wheatfield is the only one that would be forced to cross Route 100 (a natural boundary) to get to their new high school assignment. 4) Fourth, Chao's most recent plan moves Wheatfield from Waterloo to Phelps Luck for elementary school. Jen Mallo's plan, on the other hand, moved Wheatfieldfrom Waterloo to Veterans, whichis preferable considering that it's less than a half mile from the neighborhood and walkable with a crossing guard. 5) Finally, while Dr. Martirano's proposed plan may be disruptive in some respects, it does substantially decrease the FARMS percentage at Wilde Lakefrom 46% to 38%. Chao's most recent plan, on the other hand, would have onlyWheatfield moving into Wilde Lake with no other neighborhoods moving out. Our tiny community would have anywhere near the kind of downward impact on Wilde Lake FARMS percentages as Dr. Martirano's plan. For-thereasons discussed above, it's my belief that Chao's most recent plan violates Policy 6010 (Section IV. B. 2. Community Stability) which states that "reasonable, school attendance areas shouid promote a senseof community in boththe geographic place (e. g., neighborhood or.place in whicha student lives) and the promotion ofa student from each school level" by considering factors such as"keeping students together from one school to the next [by] avoiding feeds less than 15% at the receiving schooT"and areas that are made up of contiguous communities or neighborhoods. " The microfeed at Wilde Lake resulting from this change would be in clear violation of Policy 6010. It is not equitable for Wheatfield residents to be moved to Wilde Lake, across major highways without any of our Route 103 neighbors. Additionally, It is unreasonableto be moved from Ellicott M'ills Middle School - which is within walking distance and can be seen from our homes. For these reasons, I am requesting that the Board keep both Wheatfield polygons (100 and 1100) in one of Ellicott Mills' current feeder high schools (Centennial or Howard). Sincerely yours, Zerihun Diriba 8615 Golden Grain Court Ellicott City, MD 21043 To the Members of the School Board, We are residents ofthe Wheatfield neighborhoodofEllicott City and parents ofthree youngchildren, currently in the Howard County PublicSchool System. We appreciateyour effort in workingtoward ensuring all HCPSSstudents receive an outstanding education, and hope this letter helps you continue to do so for the students in our neighborhood. Wheatfield is a small neighborhood of town homes and smaller single family homes, comprising polygons 100 and 1100. While we are two polygons, the neighborhood itself is one continguous community in all practical and conceptual senses. We are writingto protest the recent proposed changesto the school redistricting plan for the county, and howit will negatively affect students in our neighborhood, while still not meeting the goals ofthe board for this redistricting. The more recent proposals by Jen Mallo and ChaoWu have suggested much more substantive and troubling alterations to our school outlook ,whichwe feel compelled to protest. A proposed move for Wheatfield (Polygon 100 and 1100) to Wilde Lake HS creates the following issues: Creation of a micro-feed and Wheatfield (Polygon 100 and 1100) becomes an island: This Wu proposal would create a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake HS, where the only students from EMMS who would subsequently attend Wilde Lake HS would be the ones from polygons 100 and 1100. Students in this neighborhoodwould entera highschool ofroughly 1, 300students havingnever attended schoolwith anyonethere exceptthe small handful who lived in their neighborhood, creating an isolating affect. The microfeed at Wilde Lake resulting from this change would be in clear violation of Policy 6010. Inequity/Loss of Community Stability: It is not equitable for Wheatfield residents to be moved to Wilde Lake, across major highways without any of our Route 103 neighbors.This proposed move to WildeLake would addsignificant travel time to/from schooldaily. Additionally, it is unreasonableto be moved from Ellicott Mills Middle School-whichis withinwalking distance and can be seen from our homes. We have the following specific, achievable, and reasonable requests for you in all future plans: 1. Keep both Wheatfield polygons -100 and 1100 - together at all levels. 2. Keep Wheatfield students on the Route 103 corridor by keeping them at Ellicott Mills Middle School, If at all possible, move Wheatfieldstudents to Veterans ElementarySchool for the same reasons. 3. Avoid the creation ofa micro-feedfor students inWheatfield bykeeping polygons 100and 1100in oneof the existing Ellicott Mills MS feeds to either Centennial HS or Howard HS. 4. KeepWheatfield students withthose of the other Route 103corridor communities: Stonecrestand/or Brampton Hills neighborhoods (polygons 101, 1098, 98, and related). Thank you for all the work you do, and for your consideration. Brian &Kelly Chase Wheatfield (Polygon 1100) 4517 Cornflower Ct Ellicott City 20143 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Hui Guo Dear BOD members, Weare inpolygon 1 148. Ourfamily was shockedto hearMrs. Mallo's plan andDr. Wu'snew plan proposed the changes to polygons 148, 1 148, 2148, 302 and 276. Without reasonable feasibility study, these'two plans will move the kids to schools far beyond walking distance. The plans will pose tremendous traffic pressure and safety concerns on Rt. 108, Columbia Rd, and Columbia Mall area. I have witnessed numerous accidents near the cross area of 108 and Columbia Road. The plan very likely will increase the number of accidents to a high level, which is a big concern for our family and for the Dorsey Hall community. The newplans also unreasonably split the very well maintained Dorsey Hall community. We had been redis&icted last time from Thunder Hill Elementary before. We know the stress our kids have to go through. Consideringpossible newelementary school in thenorth ofNorthfield Elementary, DorseyHall community should be kept at NES and DMS. Thanks, Hui Kathleen V. Hanks From: AntoR Dmitriev Dear Board of Education members: wewntetoyou to express°ur STRONG OPPOSITION to the proposed plansto redistrictour Howard county schools.As parents of two young girls attending Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School (TRES) it makes absolutely nosense to uswhy moving our polygon andadjacent polygonsto BushyPark Elementary Schoolis r'ecessarv'we arelocated °"ly 3 mi"utes awayfrom TRES'either bycar or bv bw- Conversely, BushyPark is" app.roxlmately20 mi"utes drlv'"g bv car a"d'most likely'45 min"t6!sbYbus from a"v address'in our'polygon. So, from the stand geographical point this makes no sense. Considering school utilization numbers this also makes nosense. Currently TRESand Bushy Park are indeed underutilized at89% and 82%, 'res'p'ectively.' However,after this move of 129 children out ofTRES, and having it receive137 children fromManor Woods I West Friendship, theschool will remain at92% capacity. Conversely, BushyPark will grossly exceed' capac'tYat, 117%:, l Thank you, Anton Dmitriev November 3, 2019 Dear Members of the Board of Education, We are residents ofthe Wheatfield Community [polygons 100/1100] in the Northeast quagrant ofHoward County. Currently our community attends Waterloo Elementary, Ellicott Mills Middle School and Centennial High School. First, I would like to thankyou foryour dedicationto the students ofHoward Countyand for all your efforts to ensure we have the best school system possible. I was surprised to learn that there was a large redistricting effort going on when there are no new schools opening right now. Shortly, there will be a new high school, and I believe that adjustments to attendance areas should wait for the new high school, or when land is acquired to open a new elementary school. Putting the cart before the horse will make it very difficult to make good school attendance areas when the new schools do open I was always involved with the boundary line adjustment process while mythree children were attending the HCPSS. I understand it is a very difficult process. First, I would like to address the concept of splitting the Wheatfield community between two high schools as proposed in the Jen Mallo plan. From what I understand, theWheatfield community was divided into two polygons several years ago for accounting purposes only. There is no significant geographical separations in the community that would make it reasonable to divide the students into different schools. The location ofthe boundary line on the map has less than half a block between homes. Homes on either side ofthe small stream can see front, back and sideyards oftheir neighbors whowould be goingto another school. I urge the committee and board members to take a drive through Wheatfield. Please do not divide our community. This would be very disruptive and is not reasonable and would violate the county's policy for preserving communities. The elementary school change to Veterans ESin this plan does keep our community in the Montgomery Road community and actually has us in the school across the street, where we should be. Also, onthe map, it looks asifWheatfield is continguous with polygon 111,but there is a great geographical separation created by Route 100 and Meadowbrook Park.I encourage committee and board members to take a ride from Wheatfield and try to find polygon 111. It is a significant car ride on either Route 100, or through and around Meadowbrook Park into Columbia Hills. In the Wu plan, Wheatfield is sent to Wilde Lake High School as a less than 15% feeder from Ellicott Mills Middle and faraway from ourneighboring northeast communities. There isno continuity with this move. Wheatfield would be an island, very far from Wilde Lake High School and would not begoing with anyother Montgomery Roadneighbors. The students would have to travel far down Route 29 and deep into Columbia, and there would be no connection with this high school community. Ellicott Mills Middle School would be split between four high schools. This is a very difficult situation for students. It is hard enough with three different high school feeds at EMMS. I remember that each ofmy three childrenwent off to highschool without anyof the friends they had from middle school and elementary school. It wasvery difficult. The number of students in Wheatfield is projected to drop and such a small shift of students into Wild LakeHigh School can't make a significantchange in the FARMdata and will make the feed smaller over time. If FARM is the reason for this move at the high school level, is is not a good move. Wheatfleld is much closer to Howard High School, Centennial HighSchool and Mt. Hebron High School, the three schools that feedfrom Ellicott Mills Middle School. Seems like there are much better highschool options than Wilde Lake High School. Wheatfield is very solidly a part ofthe Mongtomery Road corridor and we are closest to Brampton Hills and Stonecrest Community; and,we are close to Worthington andused to attend Worthington Elementary. There is a walkingpath between Brampton Hills and Wheatfield. Onthe Westand South,we are bordered by major highways: Route 100 and Rte. 29. Directly across the street from Wheatfield is Ellicott Mills Middle School and Veterans Elementary, yet we attend Waterloo Elementary which requires a ride on a major highwayto get there. Veterans and EMMS are visible from many homes in our community. The inital Superintendent's Plan more or less kept our community in the vicinity with a change to Phelps Luck Elementary, and there are other students that feed from Phelps Luckinto Ellicott Mills Middle Schoolwhere we currently attend. Phelps Luck still requires travel on a major highway, but at least it's closer than the bus ride to Waterloo ES. Ofthe three plans, ifredistricting must be done, this plan keeps us as a closer part of the Montgomery Road student communities. There hasnt beena reasonto comment on the plan, until recently, whenthe two very drastic changes were made last minute byJen Mallo and Dr. ChaoWu with very significant negative impacts on our community. When considering plans, ifredistricting must be done: Keep Wheatfield Community together [polygons 100/1100] through all levels of K- 12. Keep our children in the Montgomery Road corridor and in the same schools with Stonecrest and Brampton Hills and evenWorthington. Donot create a small feedto elementary, middle school or highschool. Keep us as a feed with another Montgomery Rd. neighborhood. Do not addanother high school to the three that already divide Ellicott Mills High School. Donot create plans thatrequire longbus rides on major highwaysand far distances out of our northeast community. As mentioned above, andhaving beenvery involved in this redistricting process many times while my three children were in the Howard County schools, I do not think this current effort should be done without a new shool opening. High school boundary line adjustments will be starting for the opening of the new school, and with such drastic changes, this process will be very difficult. The Superindentent's plan creates islands, it disrupts communities, increases the cost oftransportation, and impacts so many families. Students are being bused past 1, and sometimes 2 schools to attend schools in completely different communities. Community is a very imporant part of school life, and the HCPSS guidelines for school attendance areas require the preservations of communities, policy 6010 Sec IV. B. 2. Many changes go againstthis policy created to protect the integrity ofcommunities in Howard County. Great communities is whythis county is one ofthe best in the USAto live and educate our children in. Do not compromise this important part of education, it can have the opposite effect on student achievement that you are seeking to improve. Thank you again for your hard work and dedication. I understand that this is a difficult process. But, consider not adjusting boundar lines at all right now and wait for the opening of the new high school, or when new land is acquired for a new elementary school. Patrick and Cristina Green Residents ofWheatfield Community for 26 years. Kathleen V. Hanks From: Lu Jiang Dear BOE board members, As a registered voter inDistrict 4, 1 thank you for your years serving onthe Board ofEducation. Youhave proven to be thoughtful, reasonable, and measured in your approach to difficult issues. Overthe course of this year's redistricting process, it isclear from the online surveys, community input sessions inJuly, and written and spoken testimony that an overwhelming majority of Howard County strongly values community stability, strong feeds from one school level to the next, and minimized transportation'costs when redistricting. Being in complete agreement with those values, I urge you to keep polygon 1028 at Clarksville Middle School. DividingPolygons 1028from the rest of their established, cohesivecommunity neighborhooddestroys every community stability thatyour constituents haverepeatedly voiced is ofutmost importance. Inall past redistricting proceedings, Boardof Education decisions have committed to keepingthese neighborhoods together at every school level. Pleaseuphold this decades-longprecedent. Keepingpolygon 1028 in their neighborhood schools directly upholds the standards in Policy 6010 with ^eg.ar sto, (:.om,munity stability'maintainmg strong feeds, minimizing transportation costs, fiscalresponsibility, demographiccharacteristics, minimizing the number of students moved, and optimizing facility utiiization. Alternatively, sendingstudents outsideof their communities withoutaddressing the root cause of the achievementgap places greater barriers to studentachievement. Moving any child away from their neighborhood school and community supports does more harm than good. Thank you, District 4 Voter: Lu Jiang, Polygon # 1028 Sent from my iPhone Kathleen V. Hanks From: Hui Guo Dear BOD members, Weare in polygon 1148. Ourfamily hasbeen shocked to hearMrs. Mallo's plan andDr. Wu'snew plan proposed the changes to polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 302 and 276. Without reasonable feasibility staidy thesetwo plans will move thekids to schools far beyond walking distance. The plans will pose tremendous traffic pressure and safety concerns on Rt. 108, Columbia Rd, and Columbia Mailarea. I havewitnessed numerous accidents near the cross area of 108 and Columbia Road. The plan very likely will increase thenumber ofaccidents to a highlevel, whichis a big concern for our family andfor the Dorsey Hall community. Thenew plans also unreasonably splitthe very well maintainedDorsey Hall community. Wehad been redistricted lasttime from Thunder Hill Elementary before. Weknow the stress our kidshave to go through. Considering possible new elementary school in the north ofNorthfield Elementary, Dorsey Hall communit should be kept at NES. Thanks for your time and consideration! Helen Kathleen V. Hanks From: Jen Good morning, Polygon 2176wants to thankyou foryour service and yourconsideration asyou work thru theoptions for redistricting in Howard County. Yourinput will shapethe future ofour county andthe livesof our children. It is a large burdento carry. As a memberof Polygon 2176 I urge you to carefully considerthe options andthink about the impactof your vote. Tearing communities apart will leave scars on our children and add unnecessary stress to their parents. I'knowyou care deeply about our children; please consider the repercussions of unnecessary moves to balance numbers. I believe the goals can be achieved with fewer and more thoughtful moves as attained in Dr.'Wu's plan. Aftei_reading the proposed plans forthe redistricting I would like to express Polygon 2176 supports Dr. Wu's plan. Dr. Wu has taken the time to carefully study the data, review community input, and created a plan to keep the ch ildren of Howard County in their community schools, reduces the commute time, and address the overcrowding issues. This is a plan the BOE can be proud of. ,F>olyg°"2176is NOT-in-favorof Ms- Matto's Pla"which goes againstthe BOEguidelines and moves a small group with a 10% feed from FQMS going into WLHS - moving children TOWARDS the overcrowded school and contributes to' the problem. This small feed rips children from theirclassmates and community and moves them to an overcrowded school. This plan makes no sense for Polygon2176. Polygon 2176has a small numberof children - changingthe High Schoolwill havea limited impacton achievingthe BOE'sgoals while having a devasting impacton the community, especiallythe children. Pleasecarefully consider the return on investment of moving such a small number of children for the sake of a small political gain. Thank you, Jennifer McCluskey Kathleen V. Hanks From: Lu Jiang Dear BOB board members, As a registered voter in District 4, 1 thank you for your years serving on the Board ofEducation. You have provento bethoughtful, reasonable, andmeasured in your approachto difficult issues. Overthe course ofthis year's redistricting process, it is clearfrom the online surveys, community inputsessions inJuly, andwritten andspoken testimony thatan overwhelming majority ofHoward County strongly values community stability, strong feeds from one school level to the next, and minimized transportation'costs when redistricting. Being in complete agreement with those values, I urge you to keep polygon 1028 at Clarksville Middle School. -i^id-"l^oly?o,"s1?28 from the rcst oftheir estabushed, cohesive community neighborhood destroys every community stability^that your constituents haverepeatedly voiced is ofutmost importance. In all past' redistricting proceedings Boardof Education decisions have committed to keepingthese neighborhoods together at every school level. Pleaseuphold this decades-long precedent. Keepingpolygon 1028in their neighborhood schools directly upholds thestandards in Policy6010 with rcgar . to, t;ommunity stability>. mainteimng strong feeds,minimizing transportation costs, fiscalresponsibility, demographic characteristics, minimizingthe number of students moved, andoptimizing facility utilization. Alternatively, sending students outside oftheir communities without addressing the root cause ofthe achievement gapplaces greater barriers to studentachievement. Movingany child awayfrom their neighborhood school and community supports does more harm than good. Thank you, District 4 Voter: Lu Jiang, Polygon # 1028 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Julie M. Whittaker The most recent plans from Chao Wu and JenMallo for polygons 148 276 1148 and 2148 buses almost one third ofthe NES district to another school despite many ofthese polygons (including walkers at2148) live c!oser.to NESthan most whoremain-It SPUtsour neighborhood. It removes the most affordable housing at NES. It creates another random small feed to WLHS. It pushes students with scarce means out ofRBESinto BWESand pushes BWESout into yet anotherColumbia school witha population with scarcemeans to follow these last fewweeks ofpoorly documented andvetted proposals. Thesemoves areterrible andrip apartthe communities it touches and accomplish so very little for our most vulnerable populations. Please do better. Kathleen V. Hanks From: gegeying Dear BOE, Firstof all, I truly appreciateall ofyou's effort to address HowardCounty redistricting strongly s"pp°rt Dr-wuls plan as his plan is best of a" to reduce as much as ,Here-l^ike totetl°ukn°w. that, l. possible students. Also DrWu's plan move less students than Superintendent as well as Ms. Malta's olansr'More" specifically, Or Wu's plan does address FARM issue. Eventhere is no perfect plan, Dr.Wu'splan sofar is bestsuitable for majority ofHoward. Thank you! Ying(#186) Kathleen V. Hanks From: YingZha Dear BOB, " ? , ^11. 'I tmly appreciate a11ofyou's effort to addressHoward County redistricting Here ly like to let you know that I strongly support Dr. Wu's plan ashis plan is best ofall to reduce asmuch as possible impact to ALL students. Also Dr Wu's plan move less students than Super intendent aswell as Ms. Mallo's plan. More specifically, Dr Wu's plan does address FARM issue. Even there is no perfect plan, Dr. Wu's plan so far is best suitable for majority ofHoward. Thank you! Ying(#186) November 3, 2019 Howard County Board Members, Thankyou for the opportunity to onceagain share myconcerns aboutthe proposed middle school boundaryfor polygon 2074. I appreciateall the time andeffort that all ofthe boardmembers are putting into makingthe best decision possible for our students. In responseto the Superintendent's plan, myselfand other members ofpolygon 2074expressed our concern to move the 16 students of polygon 2074 from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Bonnie Branch Middle School. Our main concern with this move is that it moves a very small number of students to a new school where none of their peers attend. The students ofpolygon 2074currently attend Waterloo Elementary School and Ellicott Mills Middle School (EMMS). Based on the existing boundaries, no other Waterloo students or other EMMSstudents were reassigned to Bonnie Branch Middle School. I understand that this process is difficult and tough choices will need to be made, but this particular move does little to reduce school overcrowding, diversify schools, or minimize undue stressors caused byschool reassignments. Moving a small number of students from one school to another (especially during their adolescentyears) will not benefitthe school district, butit will negatively impactthe students anddisrupt meaningful peer relationships. I want to thank Dr. Wu for recognizing this issue and recommending to keep polygon 2074 at EMMS. Forthe other boardmembers, I wantto strongly encourageyou to makethe change that Dr.Wu is proposing for polygon 2074. I understand that Policy G010 includes a lot of conditional language and for good reason. However, I believe this specific situation iswhy Policy 6010 supports "Feedsthat encourage keeping students together from one school to the next. For example, avoiding feeds of less than 15% at the receiving school." Wewant to keepcontinuity for our students andencourage a senseof community and feedsof small percentages are detrimental to both of these objectives. In addition, this move does little to achieve the other goals of Policy 6010 of reducing overcrowding and diversifying our schools. As none ofthe goals are achieved with this move, it should not be made. Polygon2074 is a wedgebetween Route 100and Route 104. Forthis reason,we are most closelyconnected to the polygons to the north (polygons 74, 98, and 2098). The is our community. The students in these four polygons goto elementary, middle, and highschool together. Physicallywe are especially closeto polygon 74as both polygons havean egress on the sameside of Route 104,and while we don't share a road, properties in polygon 74 are adjacent to properties in polygon 2074 with no natural barriers. The polygons to our south and southwest (numbers 1074and 277) areacross Route 100and haveno to few homeswithin those polygons. Whilewe maybe adjacent to those polygons there is nocommunity connection withthese polygons for us. Lastly, I want to emphasize that this move takes 16 students out oftheir community for middle school only and sendsthem to a schoolof over 700 students that havenot previously beendistricted together. Thatis 16 brand newstudents out ofover 700 students. With those numbers the students of polygon 2074 will not likely even see each other except on the bus and at lunch. After watching the first fewworking sessions, I knowthat this is notthe goalof the boardand not a scenariothat you would knowinglychoose. In my original letter I only addressed the proposal for the middle school because there was no change for high school and I did not object to the Superintendent's plan to change the elementary school from Waterloo Elementary to Phelps Luck Elementary. I did not oppose this move because the Superintendent's plan kept our community together and moved a large number of students and not an isolated group of 16 students. However, Dr. Wu's plan proposes sending polygon 2074 to Worthington Elementary, while all adjacent polygons will attend Waterloo Elementary or lllchester Elementary. Thismakes polygon 2074an island. Thisappears to bean oversight since it is highly unusual for one polygon to be completely surrounded by polygons for other schools. Im confident that this will be corrected in future versions, but wanted to formally oppose this plan. I recommend keeping the Superintendent's plan or Ms. Mallo's plan (which are the same in this situation) or suggest that if Dr. Wu's plan is used, then polygon 2074 be assigned to Waterloo Elementary. Either option would maintain the community for polygon 2074 and avoid moving a small group ofstudents. Overall, I believe that small groups ofstudents should not be reassigned to schools where they do not knowany oftheir peers and polygonsshould not be an island. Movesshould only involve largegroups of students in order to maintainthe community. Weare a small polygon soyou will not receivetons of letters likeother polygons, but our passion is equally strong. Thankyou for allowing me the opportunity to express myobjections to the proposed changefor polygon 2074. Please reach out to with any questions, and look forward to our continued collaboration. Sincerely, Christine Ward 8356 Sunset Drive Ellicott City, MD 21043 Polygon 2074 Dear Board of Education Members: Thank you for your continued efforts to address the overcrowding issues in Howard County Public Schools. It isan overwhelming processfor everyone. Wemoved to HowardCounty almost a yearago and knew redistricting would happen but had no idea how bigof a deal this would be to every student in the county. I am writing from polygon 181, which is part ofthe Woodmark community. It iscomprised of Polygons 180, 181, 1180, and part of3182. Woodmark is notjust a geographic boundary defined by Mark Wakefield when he developed this neighborhood in the 1970's; it is a close knit community. It is everything we were lookingfor when we selected a home to raiseour children in. We havea land a 3 year old, so we hope to be here for the next 17 years until our children graduate from Howard County public schools. We are currently districted to Tridelphia Ridge Elementary School (TRES), Folly Quarter Middle School (FQMS), and River Hill HighSchool (RHHS). ALLplans unanimously have KEPTour neighborhood atTRES and FQMS. It isthe high school that seems to be the point ofdebate. The feasibility studies split our neighborhood between Glenelg HighSchool (GHS) and RHHS.The Superintendant's proposal split our neighborhood between GHSand Wilde Lake High School (WLHS). More recently, Malta's plan split our neighborhoodsending some ofour neighborhood (polygon 3182)to Glenelg HighSchool, and the rest (1180, 180, and 181)to WildeLake High School (WLHS). Dr. Wu's plan sends polygons 3182, 1180, and 180 to GHS and 181 to RHHS. Unfortunately, the highschool ofWoodmark seems to always be upfor redistricting. In 2006 we were moved from Manor Woods ESto Triadelphia Ridge ES.At the middle school level, we were redistricted from MountView MS to FollyQuarter MS. At the highschool level, wewere moved from Glenelg HSto River Hill HSand then from River Hill HSto Marriotts Ridge HS. Then again we were redistricted from Marriotts RidgeHS back to River Hill HS.After all ofthis movement, we respectfully requestthat the Board only propose plans that satisfy a long-term high school assignment for our community. Totry to get some objective guidelines on what HighSchool would be the best fit for Woodmark, thought it made sense to look to Policy 6010, which is meant to "define the conditions and process by whichschool attendance areaadjustments will bedeveloped andadopted, " andapply its regulations to our neighborhood'sHigh School choice. You will find my points below: 1. Policy6010 IV.B. la- FacilityUtilization is defined as enrollment as either below90% or above 110%of capacity. Of RHHS, WLHS, and GHS (our current three highschool contenders), GHS hasthe LOWESTCAPACITY. In fact, it hasthe lowestcapacity of all highschools in Howard County throughout the entire Feasibility study projected period of2019- 2031. Moving our neighborhoodto WLHSexacerbates overcrowding at WLHSand it leaves GHSmore under capacity than what Policy 6010 recommends. In addition, RHHS many times has historically had lower capacity than WLHSand, although it hasa higher capacity from 2019 to 2021, it'is projected to havea LOWERcapacity than WLHSmoving forward according to the independently conducted Feasibility Study, (see below): 2017- School Total Enrollment % Capacity 2018 Capacity school profiles GHS 1420 1173 82% RHHS 1288 1157 78% WLHS i 1424 1276 89% 2019 2019- 2020- 2021- 2022 2023 2024- 2025 2026 2027 2028 i Feasibilit 2020 2021 2022 2025 _Stud^ 2023 2024 2026 2027 2028 2029 Capacitie GHS 84% 82% 83. 5% 82.9 84% 84.6 82.7 82% 82.5 83.5 % % % % % RHHS 94.2 98.3 100.1 91.7 94.4 91.3 89.6 88.2 88.4 89.5 % % % % % % % % % % ; WLHS 94.2 94.7 94. 2% 94.4 96.2 94.6 94.7 94.5 95.2 97.7 % % % % % % % % % Current Utilization Malta's Plan GHS 84% 102. 10% RHHS 94. 2% 109.90% WLHS 94. 2% 106.70% Policy6010. 1V. B. 1 and IV.B. 2- Facilityutilization and community stability are both compromised by sending us to WLHSas this is further awaythan other high school alternatives. There are three HighSchools (GHS, RHHS,and MRHS)that are closerto the Woodmark Community than WLHS as you can see below: Minutes High drive from Miles from Mt Traffic School Mt Albert Albert Rd. lights Rd. GHS 9 min. 4. 6 mi 0 RHHS llmin. 5.3 mi. MRHS 13 min. 6. 7 mi. 0 WLHS 16min. 7 mi. 3. Policy 6010 IV. B. 2. a - Feeds that encourage keeping students together from one school to the next: a. Currently our neighborhood is districted for Folly Quarter Middle School with a feed of 33%from FQMSto River Hill High school. The remaining-70% of students from FQMS go to Glenelg HighSchool. The superintendent's proposal dividesour neighborhood and decreased our feed from MS to HS from 33% (from FQMS to RHHS) to 17% (from FQMSto WLHS).Under the plan that Ms. Mallo proposed on October 28, 2019, our polygon would be moved to Wilde Lake High School with an extremely small feed of 12% (from FQMSto WLHS).With our agingneighborhood and many in our community choosing to send students to private school, this number could easily dip below 10%. Policy 6010 defines a small feed as one that is less than 15%. Creating small feeds was one of the top priorities voted on in the AAC and isa top priority of voters in Howard County. Please do not create a small feed like this for our children. The children of our Woodmark community deserve better than this. 4. Policy 6010 IV. B. 2. b - Keeping contiguous communities or neighborhoods together: a. Mallo's plan sends polygon 3182which is comprised of homes from our neighborhood to GHS and sends the rest of our neighborhood (181, 180, and 1180) to WLHS. We do not want there to be a precedent that it is acceptable to divide our neighborhood. Please keep our neighborhoodtogether at GHS. b. Ourcommunity is part ofthe Triadelphja Road corridorand is deeplytied to the Western Howard County Community. It includes Polygon 3182 on Triadelphia Rd. c. Woodmarkis separatedfrom the WLHScommunity by University of Maryland Agricultural Center (925 acres) andthe Shrineof St. Anthony (320 acres) which creates a natural land barrier separating our communities. Sending Woodmark to WLHSwould make our community an island. One of our neighbors summarized some ofthese points with the below image. i0. Inevery single planthat hasbeen proposed for our neighborhood,at leastone polygon is sent to Hs'T is notsurprising given that it isclosest to us, hasthe lowestcapacity, would provide our childrenwith the largestfeed from FQMS.RHHS maintains a largefeed, isour second closest high school, and isalso projected to havea lowercapacity than WLHSmoving forward. Pleaseconsider sending our entire neighborhood to GHS or RHHS. Thank you for taking the time to read this and try to see where our community is coming from. I know you are getting an overwhelming number of proposals and feedback. I am sure you have polygon numbers dancingaround your headall ofthe time. We knowyou will makethe bestdecision for all of our students. Sincerely, Beth Kunkoski Polygon 181 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Denise Giuliano Dear Board of Education Members, We live in polygon 134; our children attended Clemens Crossing ES and currently attend Wilde Lake MS and WildeLake HS. Weare writing to express our specific concerns for one ofthe proposed moves in Dr. Wu's plan and offer an alternative. Dr. Wu's plan moves polygons 133, 1133, 2204, 4133, and 5133 out ofBryant Woods ES and into Clemens CrossingES, andthen moves 66, 130, 134, 1066, 1134, and2134 out ofClemens CrossingES and into Swansfield ES But the Bryant Woodsboundary directly touches the Swansfield boundary - there is no needto dominothrough Clemens Crossingat all! Clemens Crossingwas heavily impacted in thelast redistricting two years ago - we lost over 100 students to Pointers Run. Neither Bryant Woods nor Swansfield was impacted last time. Pleasedon't move us out ofour school imnecessarily! Furthermore, and more relevant to our child, polveons 66. 134. 1066. 1134. and 2134 just hadour middle schoolchaneed two years aeo! Wehad been a tiny feedfrom Clemens to Harper's Choice MS foryears, which was very recently fixed - we are finally (gratefully!) part of a 100% feed from Clemens Crossing to Wilde LaJs;eMS! MovinB our polvsons to Swansfield now would just recreate the small feed in theopBQsite direction, as 100% ofSwansfield feeds to Harper's Choice MS. No one in ourneighborhood wants to go back to being one of only about a dozen kids to leave their elementary school to start at a different middle school from everyone else. Please look mto moving polygons 133, 1133, 2204, 4133, and 5133 directly from Bryant Woods ESto SwansfieldES, without impacting Clemens Crossingagain, andwithout moving students from 66, 134, 1066, 1134, and 2134 again! Wejust started at our new middle school last year. Forwhat it's worth, Dr. Martirano's plan also hadour neighborhoodmoving to Swansfield;however, it also included other polygons from the west, along with ours, that would actually have made more significant improvements m FARMS rates at SES thanjust moving OUTpolygons, as Dr. Wu has proposed. " While we have never been thrilled about moving from CCES, we were willing to do it along with the pofygonsfrom the west, to achieve a more significant outcome. Moving our neighborhoods without those from Pointers Run does little to improve FARMS rates at SES- at the expense ofuprooting our children - AGAIN. Thank you for your careful consideration, Denise and Paul Giuliano 11/2/19 Re: Work Session 10/30/19 - POLYGON 1199 Dear BOE members: I have grave concerns aboutthe course ofevents in decidingon attendance areaadjustments andthe accelerated timeline towardsthe end ofthis process. It simply does not dojustice to families in Howard County. THE TIMELINE .... AND HOW IT IMPACTS US January 2019: the BOE directs Martirano to start the review of school attendance areas for adjustments. Hestates: "wewill conduct the process thisyear to ensure it remains equitable, civil and transparent. " To us, this was definitely not transparent. 6 months later.... June 13: Feasibility study (40oK cost) was released which addressed overcapacity and gave several options We believed thefeasibility study at its highprice tag and long development time accurately reflected the BOEpriorities for redistricting. Whatwould make usassume otherwise? July: 4 public input sessions take place, online surveys are submitted for public input Public nputfocused on options presented and BOEgathered data onpublic priorities by online surveys June-July: AAC reviewed feasibility study options and "recommended the priorities that the Superintendent should considerwhen developing his recommendation to the Board." AACtranscripts reveal that thefeasibility study didnot address other factors that were supposed to be included in a redistricting plan; this must be corrected in the superintendent's plan. Why are these redflags raised so late in the process? August 13: Press release introduces CR112 -this appears to setthe stage forthe equity priority for the plan August 22: Martirano presents hisplan which is clearly withthe assistance ofthe AAC priorities NOT those from the public input/surveys August-October: oral andwritten testimonies are given aboutMartirano's plan. Thefeasibility study appears to beset aside as irrelevant especially inthe setting of the approval ofCRii2 Oct 29-Nov: newplans are introduced thus spurring a mad scramble by publicto provide additional input. . Whyweren't all the factors including equity incorporated in the feasibility study up front? . Ifthe AAC was concerned in June, why did they not alert the Superintendent immediately and consider outreach to the public (or the BOE!) about their concerns and the need to develop plan(s) considering FARMs concentrations? . Ifthey knewthe feasibility study was a waste, why didn't they admit it and be fairto the public bypresenting at least3 possible options instead ofjust one? . Public input priorto August 22 appears to be irrelevant or discarded based on the new direction taken in Martirano's plan. . Because we ONLYhad Martirano's plan (not option i, 2 or 3 as presented in the feasibilitystudy), wewere limited andforced to take a position ofyes or no. Consequently-this put many plan opponents in an unpleasant position which spurred divisions among the community, with accusations of racism and elitism. Debating the flaws in the plan were conflated with objections to equity; this may have been avoided if public inputwas gathered on plansthat werethoughtfully devised and considered all factors up front. Compressing the time for public input into < 3 WEEKS(since newplans are presented) is unfair to the public. In general, we feel Ms. Mallo's plan istrying to accomplish too much and may backfire. Creating more equal utilization in all the schools doesn't necessarily mean the schools will all function better or educate all students better; instead more moves needto beweighed against the negative effects to kids. Remember, these percentage points are actual kids-we should not beover-shifting numbers withoutjustification. Newdevelopments that crop upwill cause the school system to shift again (prompting redistricting) and this unpredictable effect (which is not our fault!) will put the burden on families-again. Ms. Mallo's current plan does not apply factors evenly to all schools. For example, Centennial though being overcapacity, doesnot shiftto an undercapacity higherFARMs school suchas Wilde Lake(though they are geographically close). While River Hill (undercapacity) isforced to shiftto a farther school for some reason. Wedo not appreciate an inconsistent application of these "ground rules" which appearto favor certain schools over others. In fact, the highest overcapacity schools which obviously are triggering this redistricting - Centennial and Mount Hebron- are kept relatively intact while many other schools areflagrantly fractured. We urge you to strongly support Dr. Wu's plan to leave Polygon 1199 and neighboring polygons that are geographically closerto River Hill at River Hill. Dr Wu'splan to assign specific River Hill polygons that are geographically closer to Glenelg HS to Glenelg makes sense in orderto limit moving a large numberof kids out ofan undercapacityschool. Sincerely, KhalidZirvi Polygon 1199 (") Polygon 1199 '^-' C3 * '. 4693 Hallowed Stream Ellicott City, MD 21042 November 3, 2019 To Howard County Board of Education, I live in polygon 1148 in Dorsey Hall and have for 11 years. I have 2 children in Howard County public schools: a 4thgrader at Northfield Elementary (NES)and a 7thgrader at Dunloggin Middle School (DMS). I am saddened to have to defend our school assignment. I do NOT support the move of polygon 1148to Running Brook Elementary School (RBES) and Wilde Lake Middle School (WLMS) as suggested in Ms Malta's and DrWu's recent plans. 1) This proposed move divides Dorsey Hall right downthe middle, splitting neighborsapart. This is in direct opposition to the stated goals of Policy 6010 to keep contiguous neighborhoods together. In addition, it would split community organizations such as Columbia Neighborhood Swim League in the summer and Girl/Boy Scout troops which are based on school attendance. 2) Also in opposition to Policy 6010, the feed from DMS to WLHSwould decrease even further to less than 5%. 3) Additionally in opposition to Policy 6010, this proposed move whichreduce almost all economic diversity from NESas the identified polygons are most ofthe apartment/townhouse communities currently attending NES. At the same time, it would not bring anysignificant increase in economic diversity to RBES and WLMS. 4) The late addition of our polygons to the redistricting proposal denies us due process and the opportunity to provide oral testimony at public hearings. 5) These polygons have been redistricted in the past, separate from the rest of Dorsey Hall. It feels like we are targeted, which I can't help but think is due to our lower property values or socioeconomic status. We don't want to be the hot potato passed from school to school with every round ofredistricting. 6) On a personal note, I switched schools in the middle of high school which had a devastating effect on me socially and academically. I do not want my kids to experience that. Thank you for reading my comments and feel free to contact me with any questions. Rob Grader Kathleen V. Hanks From: Pamela Zeger Dear Members ofthe Board, I m a resident ofpolygon 2148with children in public school andI vehemently opposethe proposed redistricting. My sonis so looking forwardto ridinghis bike to school, especially sincewe just received a $500,000traffic circle at the top of our street (Kingscup). So many ofhis older neighborhood friends already walk and ride their bikesto school, whichallows themto participate in afterschool activities they otherwise wouldn'tbe ableto do if they attended a school 4. 4 miles away. NES is a quick . 7 mile walk and even quicker if cutting through neighborhoods. Columbia Rd is not a good divider. We live closer to plenty of walkers on the other side of Columbia Rd. We have an extremely tight knit community that we love being a part of. We have a shared village center, shared playgrounds and tot lots, a shared pool, library and more. As soon as we moved to the neighborhood three years ago, before my children were school aged, we were walking to NES on the weekends to play. Please don't break up our community, we've all worked so hard to make it a home for our children. Thank you, Pamela Zeger (Kingscup resident) Kathleen V. Hanks From: Dan Yaoping Dear sir or Madame, I really appreciate your time and efforts on this topic. I know you are reasonable and data driven. Here are a fewfactors that I would like youto consider before deciding moving polygons 148, 1 148, 2148, 276, and302: ' . Mit:,rofeeder'Rlght nowDMS SPlits mto 3 hiShschools (Wilde Lake, Centennial andMt Hebron). Only 11 % °.fDMSstudents feedinto WildeLake. Sothis is already a small feed. Ifthe Dorsey polygons areredistricted to WLMS,the feedfrom DMSto WildeLake (which is already small) shrinks substantially, ~probably to 4%. And- asyou canprobably imagine, a small feedcan be tough on students. It canbe isolating andcould create a situationwhere students fromDorsey will enter WLHSpretty disconnectedfrom their incoming class and knowing very few people. 2. Thismove splits a community. Splittingone side of Columbia Rd off fragments ourcommunity, andwould alsoleave a ridiculously small feedfrom DMS to WLHS.Here is a postfrom our neighbors "InJune, when the 8thgraders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing... the Dorsey neighborhood splitting from the Dunloggin neighborhood for High School is a tough split since the majority ofthe kids hasbeen together K-8thand then they have a super s'mall feedto WLHS. 'I was shockedat thesobbing, mostly from young men. Thatsaid, we KNEW it wascoming.. wehad years to prepare ..tryto lean towards a ftiendship withinthe "hood. " This change would make it somuch more devastating onthese' kids... they'll know zero people". 3^There is a crossingguard who allows kids to safelycross Gray Rock and CA paths that make it a quickand directroute to school.There are homes in this part of the neighborhood whose yards literally back to the schools' fieldsthrough a shortpath. HowardCounty Government spentnearly a halfmillion dollarsd oftax payers' money toinstall a roundabout on ColumbiaRoad so over 50kids from polygon 1148and 2148 could safely walk to NES and DMS andnow... NOW... you want to move them?!? It makes absolutely no senseto move kids from school within walking distance to schools that arenot walkable andadds extremely heavy^traffic pressure to the already crowded Rt 108and mall traffic during morning peak hour.In addition to the affected residents ofDorsey Search,hundreds of thousands of stakeholders livmgand working near downtown Columbia areaare also negatively affected by the increased traffic. 4. Polygons148, 1148, 2148, 276, 302provide much ofthe socio-economic diversity- atNorthfield. These familiesmay not have a highpercent that qualify for FARMs, but those polygons mostly consist of affordable housing(towiihomes, condominiums, andapartments). Ifyou remove them, thenNorthfield becomes less diverse and more affluent. Here are some suggestions that I would like you to consider: wi11 Lyc -current.proposal. move 96 Ms students (avg 5 year projection) from polygons(148, 1148, 2148, 302,276) to WLMS andmove 24 students from Polygons ill, llll fromDMS to OMMS while moving in 66 students (avg 5 year projection) from Polygons 153, 1153, 72 to DMS. 2. To reducethe over capacityat DMS, you canjust move 63 students frompolygons 106, 1106from DMSto PatapscoMS. Thosepolygons arecloser to PMSthan DMS. alsothis will getdie samenumber ofstudents reduction at DMS. This will eliminate the island (106, 1106) on map as well. It reduce the impact from 10 polygons to 2 polygons. NES projected utilization is 108% and does not need to be touched at all. Thanks. Pleasekeep Dorsey TOGETHER and keep us ALLat ourwalkable, neighborhood schools. we take effort to build a good community, but it will be split so easier. Thanks. Regards YAO Kathleen V. Hanks From: SangheeKim Dear BOE members: I live in polygon 189 and I support DrJA/i/s proposed plan as it: . Moves the least total number of county students . Ensures walkers remain walkers Reduces FARM percentages in schools . Keeps all schools 110% capacity or less Hehas wisely applied essentialguiding principles that asa whole, achievesuccess in specificmetrics andcause the leastdisruption ofcommunity andwalkers. Inaddition, heavoids overshifting polygons andmoving excessive students out of under capacity schools. Thank you for your hard work. Sincerely, Sanghee Kim Michael and Jamie Fessler Polygon 1100 Dear Members of the Board of Education, We reside in Polygon 1100 and have lived in Howard County for 7 years. We currently have one kindergartnerand two more childrenwho will be attendingHCPSS schools inthe comingyears. Please accept the following as our testimony in opposition to the the current redistricting proposals. While Polygons 1100 and 100 are two polygons, they represent the one small, contiguous community of Wheatfield. Wheatfield hasone HOAand does many events and gatherings that cross the polygon lines. Some ofthe alternate proposals beingfloated byJen Mallo and ChaoWu duringthe recent BOEworking sessions introduce the idea of splitting up Wheatfleld. This is concerning as appears to create microfeeds of Wheatfield students, which does not meet the intent of Policy 6010. While our neighborhood has not been as vocal as others have, we are very concerned about the proposals floated and want to suggestfour specific, achievable, and reasonable requests for your plans: 1. Keep both Wheatfield polygons -100 and 1100 - together at all levels. It is unreasonable to separate students from one small neighborhood. 2. Keep Wheatfleld students on the Route 103 corridor by keeping them at Ellicott Mills Middle School, which is directly across the street from our neighborhood and easily walkable. It is unreasonableto move students awayfrom a schoolvisible from their houses, andespecially to requirethem to cross major highwaysin doingso. If possible, move Wheatfieldstudents to Veterans Elementary School for the same reasons. 3. Avoid the creation of a micro-feed for students in Wheatfield by keeping polygons 100 and 1100 in one of the existing Ellicott Mills MS feeds to either Centennial HS or Howard HS. It is unreasonable to Isolate students in Wheatfield through a micro-feed. 4. KeepWheatfield students with those ofthe other Route 103 corridorcommunities: Stonecrest and Brampton Hills neighborhoods (polygons 101, 1098, 98, and related). Thank you for reviewing our concerns. Sincerely, Michael and Jamie Fessler Kathleen V. Hanks From: Jen Macomber I am writing in opposition to JenMallo's plan for redistricting elementary schools. Moving students from Polygons 20 and 1020 out ofBollman Bridge to Guilford ESjust to swap them with students from Guilford (polygons 26, 27, 1026, and 1027) is completely pointless. This swap simply moves kids in both directions across GmlfordRoad, uprooting kids andfamilies for no reason atall. It splits upthe Huntington neighborhood ^.^. ^it?ler sch001is °verCTOWded and neither will benefit from that change. While Mallo provides no FARMSdata it seemslike it wouldbe detrimental to Bollman Bridge,which is already a Title 1 school,by removing polygons with lower FARMS from the school. This would severely cripple the PTA and volunteer pooIatBollman Bridge, cutting outall 3 required officers fromour PTA Executive Board(President, Secretary, andTreasurer) and many many of our consistent volunteers. Wehave been working tirelessly this year to support our school, raisedmore money thanmost other boards, andhave bigplans for next year. The BBES PTAwould be back to square 1 Andfor no reason but to swapus with other people, whoI amsure are dready invested^in their school and don't want to swap either. Why would you intentionally harm a Title 1 School when it's not fixing any issue???? Whileour polygons appearto borderGuilford on the map, theydo not in reality because of 32 andwe would haveto drive PASTBollman to goto Guilford, whichmakes no sense. It fixesno needs and disrupts our existingfeed to Patuxent Valley and Hammond. Our children would be pulled from their peers only to be brought back this way for MS, while the same happens to current Guilford students. It is also detrimental to the studente in the polygons mentioned above from Guilford. They are immediately beside Mission Road where the newHS will be built Itdoes not make sense to move them now only to have them move back in a fewyears. As none ofour schools arecurrently overcrowded, it only makes senseto waituntil HS #13 opens, since it will undoubtedly affect students in this area. Bollman Bridgeneeds polygons 20and 1020 and we need to stay!!! Pleasedo not follow through with the awful,poorly thoughtout plan. My family has been apart oftheBBES community for sevenyears and I have spent comitless hours workingto help our school. Wewould be devastatedto be moved andour school would be as well. In addition to all ofthese concerns, Mallo's plan moves a multitude ofpolygons whowere nottouched before andgives these commimities minimal options to havetheir voices heard. People moved onthe superintendent's planhad time to planjirotests, sharetheir concerns, andspeak out at meetings, whilewe get only weeks and no public opportunities. Howis that equitable? Sincerely, Jennifer Macomber PTA President, Bolknan Bridge ES Polygon20 Sent from my iPhone Dear Members of the Board, We are Rahul and Sayanti Mazumdar, residents of the Wheatfield Way neighborhood of Ellicott City and proud parents of two children (7 year old son and 4 year old daughter). Our son attends Waterloo Elementary School and our daughterwill join kindergarten next year. We are writing to express our concerns about recent proposed changes to the school redistricting plan for the county and how it will negatively affect our children and students in our neighborhood while still not meeting the goals of the board for this redistricting. Yours is not an easy task and we appreciate your effort in working toward ensuring all HCPSS students receive an outstanding education, and hope this letter helps you continue to do so for the students in our neighborhood. Wheatfield is a small neighborhood of town homes and smaller single family homes, comprisinp polvaons 100 and 1100. While we are two polygons, the neighborhood itself is one attached community in all practical and conceptual senses. The dividing line between polygons is a geographic feature that is far more visible on maps than from the ground level of the neighborhood, where it is a small stream that runs under the sidewalks our children walk on to go play with their friends across the street. The initial superintendent proposal had our neighborhood moving at the elementary school level while remaining with the same schools at the middle and high school levels. This means that both of my kids will be forced to move out of a Blue Ribbon elementary school. Also based on this redistributing, Waterloo Elementary School will end up taking more students as compared to their current number of students. Thus we are unable to comprehend the rationale behind the redistribution and how this move solves overcrowding. However, after following the matter closely via the information provided in HCPSS's website we understood that it is a very complex process and we were satisfied with that change and so we did not contact the board about that proposal. The changes in more recent proposals by Mr. Chao Wu on 10/31/2019 have suggested much more substantive and troubling alterations to our school outlook which we feel compelled to protest. The most recent proposal by Mr. Chao Wu keeps both polygons together but the planned movement of high schools from Centennial HS to Wilde Lake High School would create a far more unreasonable status quo. The proposed move to Wilde Lake HS creates the following issues: 1 This proposal would create a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake HS, wherethe only students from EMMSwho would subsequently attend Wilde LakeHS would be the ones from polygons 100 and 1100. Furthermore, none of the possible elementary school assignments suggested for our community - Waterloo ES, Phelps Luck ES, and Veterans ES - feed to Wilde Lake HS. Students in this neighborhood would enter a high school of roughly 1, 300 students having never attended school with anyone there except the small handful who lived in their neighborhood, creating an isolating affect. 2. In addition to isolating Wheatfield students in school, this change would isolate students in the greater community. Students from polygon 100 and 1100 would attend a different high school from students across the street in several directions. The Wheatfield, Stonecrest, and Brampton Hills neighborhoods are within one mile of each other and children there would attend three different high schools in different areas of the county. While the Wheatfield polygons are adjacent to those of communities also attending Wilde Lake MS, they are not touching: polygon 111 abuts polygon 1100 on a map but in reality the two are separated by Route 100 and Meadowbrook Park. 3. From the county perspective, Ellicott Mills MS would feed into four different high schools: Centennial HS, Mt. Hebron HS, Howard HS, and Wilde Lake HS. Four feeds are more than any other county middle school and would exacerbate the difficulties of the transition from middle to high school to the detriment of the community at large. 4. Sending Wheatfield students to Wilde Lake HS would require crossing Route 100 and Route 29, two natural boundaries and major highways (especially the latter), even though there are three other nearby high schools - Centennial HS, Howard HS, and Mt. Hebron HS - that either do not require crossing one of these highways to reach (Centennial and Mt. Hebron) or do not require getting actually getting on the highway to reach in a reasonable manner (Howard). Our concern is maintaining equitable educational experiences for the Wheatfield neighborhood (polygons 100 and 1100) and maintaining a sense of community within this neighborhood and with surrounding neighborhoods, while also working toward the same goals at the county level. Creating a situation where Wheatfield would be an island, a micro-feed separated from other neighborhoods and without having any positive affect on the schools polygons 100 and 1100 are moved to, only creates problems for the involved students, neighborhoods, and schools. In researching these proposals and the goals of HCPSS and the Board of Education, we believe that the most recent proposal by Mr. Chao Wu contradicts Policy 6010 (Section IV. B.2 Community Stability) and specifically that "school attendance areas should promote a sense of community in both the geographic place (e. g. neighborhood or place in which a student lives) and the promotion of a student from each school level. " Two factors in particular not represented in the latest plan are "keeping students together from one school to the next [by] avoiding feeds less than 15% at the receiving school" and keeping them together from "areas that are made up of contiguous communities or neighborhoods. " As we have noted, both factors are not represented in the current plan and the micro feed from Ellicott Mills MS to Wilde Lake HS seems the clearest violation of the policy. Again, we realize that this task is an extremely difficult one and there are many local concerns, complaints, and quirks that are not always immediately evident from a county-level perspective. We also share your primary goal of enhancing educational equity for all HCPSS students and the entirety of Howard County. That is why we are reaching out to you and why, having laid out all of the above, we have four specific, achievable, and reasonable requests for you in all future plans: 1. Keep both Wheatfield polygons -100 and 1100 - together at all levels. It is unreasonable to separate students from one small neighborhood. 2. Keep Wheatfield students on the Route 103 corridor by keeping them at Ellicott Mills Middle School, which is directly across the street from our neighborhood and easily walkable. It is unreasonable to move students away from a school visibie from their houses, and especially to require them to cross major highways in doing so. If at all possible, move Wheatfield students to Veterans Elementary School for the same reasons. 3. Avoid the creation of a micro-feed for students in Wheatfield by keeping poiygons 100 and 1100 in one of the existing Ellicott Mills MS feeds to either Centennial HS or Howard his. It is unreasonable to isolate students in Wheatfield through a micro-feed. 4. Keep Wheatfield students with those of the other Route 103 corridor communities: Stonecrest and Brampton Hills neighborhoods (polygons 101, 1098, 98, and related). Thank you for all the work you do. We appreciate your consideration of these important concerns regarding our children and our community. Sincerely, Rahul and Sayanti Mazumdar 11/03/2019 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Xuming Lei Dear BOE members, am writing to provide my feedback on the 10/30/19 work session asfollows, i) I stronglysupport Dr. Wu'splan to leave Polygon1199 and neighboring polygons that aregeographically doserto RiverH:il HSat River Hill. Compared to Ms. Mallo's andthe superintendent's plans, Dr. Wu's p;an is more data driven and keeps the negative impact of redistricting at a minimum. He considers keeping walkers aswalkers, and tries to assign students to the geographically closest school, whichacts in the students' best interest, and reduces a lot oftransportat'on costs. 2) Both Ms. Mallo's and the superintendent's plans do a lot of harm to the community stability, especially for River Hil: and Atholton HS.The superintendent's plan hadalready received a lot ofnegative feedback from the HCPSScommunity dueto its huge negative impact on the students. Nevertheless, Ms. Mallo has come up with a more disruptive proposed plan that wi;[ result in moving even more students. Most of her proposed moves, in or out of River Hill HS, do not help solve any overcrowding problem. The most overcrowded highschools, such asCentennial HS,were almost not Included in Ms. Mallo's plan.We cannot help but wonder whatthe rationale behind Ms. Mallo's plan was. As an elected official, you are obligated to put the students' best interest before politics. 3) Ms. Taj only spoke about averaging FARM rate in every school without considering anyother factors, which wasvery disturbing.This goes to a totally differentdirection from hercampaign promise. As a parent, I havebeen teaching my childthat integrity should be one ofthe most important core values in our lives. Ifan elected BOE official does not keep his/her promise, how can I continue telling my child the importance of Integrity? 4) Beforethe superintendent presented hisproposed plan onAug. 22nd, HCPSShad spent a lot oftaxpayers' money onthe feasibility study. Overthe summer, wethe taxpayers, spent countless hours reviewing and providing feedback on the feasibility study. As a matteroffact, thefeasibility studywas based on manyexperts'opinions and mostof its options haveeffectively solved the overcrowding problem. It isa lot more effective andless disruptive thanthe superintendent's proposal. Therefore, in order not to totally waste ourtime and money, I urge Ms. Taj to askthe OSPstaff to compare the options from the feasibility study with other proposed plans, instead ofbringing outthe superintendent's planthat was objected to byso many concerned students and families. 5) Idealiy,no kidsshould be redlstricted becausemoving studentsto a differentschool will always do harmto thosestudents. While I understand the overcrowding problem hasto be addressed and fixed, I think there may be other waysto alleviate the probiem. For instance, we can have magnet or IB programs at less crowded high schoois, such as Glenelg and Oak'and Mills. The funding spent on redistricting can be instead used onthose programs. Asthe parent ofa high school student, I am very aware that HCPSSdoes not haveas strong STEMresources as our neighboring MCPSS, as reflected bythe biggap of achievements InSTEM competitions, such asthe math and physics competitions at the national and international levels. In summary, I urge you to make a decision based on Dr. Wu's plan to keep Polygon 1199 in River Hill, and make the whole redistrictingas less disruptive as possible. I alsourge you notto makeany unnecessary and harmful movesthat wi!l cause a lot of painto the students andthe parents. It wouidbe bestif the overcrowdingproblem canbe solved bythe magnetprograms or open enrollment. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Xuminc Le; Po;ygon 1199 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Sarah Day Dear Howard County Board of Education members, My name^is Sarah Day, I am a residentof polygon 1148and a lifelong Howard County Resident. I grewup attending Howard County Schools and am now proud to be gearing up to send my daughters to school in the same community, hn/anted to writeto express my opposition of movement of polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 out of Northfield ES because this will literally split the Dorsey Hall neighborhood In half. The proposals by Board of Education members Jen Mallo and Dr. ChaoWu would bedevastating to the community of Dorsey Hall and in my view are ill-considered without taking a number of important factors into consideration, particularly with respect to Howard County Public School System Policy 6010 on School Attendance Areas. . The Dorsey Hall community would be split apart, negatively impacting community stability. Many of the impacted polygons would divide Columbia Road along one side of the street would tear these community bonds apart. As example, if the proposals go through, the Dorsey Hall community pool would literally be redistricted out ofthe community. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b which promotes a sense of community by consideration of "areas that are made up of contiguous communities or neighborhoods." . The removal of polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 would negatively impact the socioeconomic and would eliminate the majority of the affordable housing options, including ail townhouses and condominiums, which currently attend Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle Schools. This would effectively leave the entirety of the Northfield^lementary & Dunloggin Middle Schools as singlefamily homeswhich clearly runs counterto Policy 6010, IV, B, 3 which promotes the creation of a diverse and inclusive student body. ' The l::urren^DU"loggin Middle School to Wilde Lake High School feed is already very small and the proposed redistricting Doreey Hall polygons of 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would result in a'micro-feed of about four percent for Dunloggin Middle School to Wilde Lake High School. This is highly unreasonable, discourages a sense of community and would be one of, if not, the smallest in the county. This clearly runs counter'to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, a and discourages keeping students togetherfrom oneschool to the nextwould result in a feed ofsignificantly less than 15% at the receiving school of Wilde Lake High School. \ grew up in the MacGills Common neighborhood, which was (at the time) a VERYsmall feed. I went to Altholton Elementary, Clarksville Middleand Hammond High. There was barely a busfull ofkids that followed this same path and I can saywith certainty it wasvery difficultas a kid to acceptthis. ' At the end of Elementary and end ofmiddle school, I was faced with the fact that pretty much all of my friends were sticking together at the "next school", even though I was going to be on my own again. There doesn't seem to be a benefit to having these "micro feeds"and I have yet to see an argument that supports their existence. . Much of the Dorsey Hall community in polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, and 276 have the option to walk or bike to school as many are less than 1 milefrom Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle- these preferred sustainable school commuting options would be completely eliminated. In particular, the recently built traffic circle at Kingscup Court and Columbia Road would be rendered meaningless, along with the significant amount of capital resources expended ln the. project to ensure safecrossing ofColumbia Road bywalkers, particularlyfrom polygon 2148and 1148 (like us). This option would be completely removed by the proposed changes and runs to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, d which encourages walking. . The proposed redistricting would require busing ofthese students to ensurethat students safelyarrive at school and effectively double the number of buses required to transport these students along both sides" of Columbia Road. also would compound traffic issues are require that virtually all buses will need to make left turns as they enter Columbia Road - the buses on the west side of Columbia Road currently do as they head towards Northfield/Dunloggin but the proposal would also require at a minimum school buses to exit Kingscup Court, Old Dragon l^atn and Hallowed Stream via left turns. All of whichwould need to occur prior to these same buses traveling through three heavily trafficked traffic light intersections along Columbia Road at Dorsey h-lall, Old Annapolis Road and Clarksville Pike. I would encourage any all Board of Education members to observe these intersections during the morning or afternoon bus commutes or consult the with Howard County Office of Transportation which is currently studying this entire section of Columbia Road (see https://w\\. v/.howardcountvmd. aQV/.. ./Columbia-Road-Traffic-Oper...) Based upon the number of accidents and delays that are regularly encountered at these intersections, I would not wantto send additional school buses through these region strictly from a safety standpoint, yet alonetraffic considerations. This clearly runs counterto Policy6010, IV, B, 1, c & d andwould significantlyincrease capital andoperating costs while increasingthe time and distance traveled by students while alsojeopardizing student's safety. . The proposed redistricting ofDorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276would allowunfair treatment bythe introduction these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and extended periods'for publictestimony have already passed. This lacks the same due process that other proposals and communities have been afforded. It was not until the October 28th Work Session that these proposals were even introduced and even following the redistricting developments closely, I only heard becausea neighborinformed uswhile trick ortreating (some trick). It is notablethat duringthe public hearingfor Wilde LakeHigh School on September24, not a single" person from polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 or 2148 testified - because why would we, this area was not then under consideration. The last-minute proposals are ill-considered and Board of Education members, let alone the impacted communities have not had an opportunity to adequately reviewthe new proposals, let alone participate. This is woefully inadequatefor a publicprocess and runs counterto the intent ofengaging the public and receiving Community Input per Policy 6010, IV, D. For the reasons articulated above, I strongly request the BOE NOT include polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in the final redistricting plan and that they remain at Northfield Elementary and'Dunloggin Middle Schools. Thank you fortaking the takingthe time to considerthese points priorto making yourdecision in regardsto these proposals. Sarah Day 4748 Hallowed Stream Kathleen V. Hanks From: Melissa Duncan Dear Board of EducationMembers, After months ofproposals andrevisions, we were surprised to find that two new redistricting proposals were submitted last week by Dr. Chao Wu andMs. JenMallo that now impact our polygon. In both ofthese plans, Polygon 132 would be moved from CIemens Crossing Elementary to Bryant Woods Elementary. We havenot beenprovided with sufficientdata to understandthe redistricting plan andadvocate for our children. The timing ofthese releases is problematic because we were denied a voice in the process as the public comment period is over. With less than 3 weeks until the vote, I am writing to explain the reasons I believe this would be damaging to the small feed neighborhood ofSebring and surrounding streets ofPolygon 132. Polygon 132 is a small feed community with less than 30 children. It is a small pocket surrounded on 2 sides by major roads Broken Land Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road. Moving this small pocket of children would isolate them socially from the Clemens Crossing community and geographically from the Bryant Woods Community. Separating our polygon from the rest oftheir established, cohesive community neighborhood destroys the very community stability that your constituents have repeatedly voiced is ofutmost importance. In pastredistricting proceedings Boardof Education decisions havecommitted to keepingneighborhoods together at every school level. Please uphold this decades-long precedent. Our families are socially active within the Clemens Crossing community. Many ofthe children are members of the Clemens Crossing Cyclones swim team andparticipate in a number ofother neighborhood and school-based clubs andprograms thatmake up the core ofthe close-knit Clemens Crossing community. Ourproximity to Clemens Crossing Elementary is ',2 mile and we are able to bike or walk safely on paths and sidewalks to meet friends or participate in activities. Bryant Woodsis 2. 5 miles from our neighborhood andrequires cartravel over the major roadways ofHickory Ridge Road, Broken Land Parkway, Little Patuxent Parkway and Twin Rivers Road. This distancewould threaten the children's ability to independently interact withtheir peers at Bryant Woods. Keeping our neighborhood together in our local neighborhood school directly upholds the standards in Policy 6010 with regards to community stability, maintaining strong feeds, minimizing transportation costs, fiscal responsibility, andminimizing the number ofstudents moved. Clemens CrossingElementary is not above capacity while the proposed Bryant Woods Elementary will be above capacity afterthe proposed redistricting. The approximately 30 elementary school students proposed to bemoved is a tiny population ofthe student body at both Clemens Crossing or Bryant Woods andwould not affect either school's facility utilization enoughto justify thetrauma ofbeing separated from their community andexisting support networks. Respectfully, pleasereconsider including our small feed,Polygon 132,in the redistricting andkeep our students at Clemens Crossing Elementary. Thankyou for takingthe time to considermy input. Respectfully submitted, -Melissa Duncan 6094 SebringDrive Columbia, MD 21044 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Brian D'Amico To whom it may concern, This e-mail should serve as both, feedback on the ongoing redistricting ofHS attendance areas in Howard County, as well as a formal request for documents under the Maryland Public Information Act. On Dr Chu's personal website, https://chaowu. ore, he indicated, in a September 2, 2019 blog entry, that he developed a computer model, using Python, to evaluate policy options for the High School Anendance Area redistricting (ParticipatinR in HCPSS 2020 Redistricting Processl. Seeing as this model is being used to inform Howard County policy decisions the public should have access to it and be able to provide feedbackon the model as well. As such, I am requestingthe list ofdocuments below are provided to me, as well as made available to the public. 1. Copies of the actual model and associated code Dr Chao references in his September 2 blog entry. 2. Copies of any Quality Assurance Plans associated with developing this model to ensure there were no errors in the code itself or the resulting policy options developed by the model. 3. Copies of Howard County policies or guidance on the use of modeled outcomes to develop policy options. 4. Copies of Howard County policies or guidance on Quality Assurance requirements when using modeled outcomes to develop policy options. 5. Any peer review studies orexternal review ofthe model, beyond Dr Chau himself, to ensure the program was coded properly and the outcomes were in line with any stated quality goals. 6. Any information on howDr Chauestiamted the relative value or social costs associatedwith the changes modeled including but not limited: FARM ratios, overcrowdingrates, test scores, etc. This may include: stated preference surveys, peer reviewed literature, published articles, etc. 7. The criteria that Dr Chauused when evaluating various policy options againsone another, incurring but not limited to: howto compare the effects ofmoving students vs relative changesin overcrowding, changes in overall test scores at schools, potential decreases in future earnings per capita due to decreased standardized testing scores. 8. The specific feedbackthat Dr Chaureceived after the County publishedhis 10/30/19option that resulted in the secretly revised 10/31/19redistricting option posted on his private website; includingthe specific feedback causing him to redistrict Polygons 1100 and 100 from Centennial HS to Wilde Lake HS. This should includes any andall feedbackthat was set to Dr. Chauthrough the private g-mail account he usedto solicit feedback on the redistricting through his private website. 9. Any and all documentation or e-mails associated with this model, including the names ofHoward County staffthat reviewed the model for precision and accuracy, the specific feedback they provided Dr. Chau, and how Dr. Chau revised his models to incorporate the feedback he received. I also request that the fees associated with this MPIA request be waived; because ensuring the public has access to the data our decision makers use when developing policy options for the purpose of providing informed feedback is always in the public's best interest. Finally, in the interest oftransparency and good governance, I am also formally requesting that no final decisions regarding redistricting be made on policy options formulated using this computer model, including redistricting students in polygons 100 and 1100 from Centennial HS to Wilde Lake HS, until such time as the public is able to review and understand the code and assumptions used in developing this model, as well as provide their feedback on the appropriateness and accuracy ofthe model. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Brian D'Amico PolygonllOO 8717SicklebarWay EllicottCity, MD20143 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Rebecca B. Martin To Whom it May Concern: I support the objective of achieving equity in our public schools, and I support the plan proposed by Superintendent Martirano. However, I am writing this letter to express my deep concern about the plans being proposed at the last minute by Board Members Mallo and Wu. Neither ofthese plans were created with input from the HCPSS Officeof School Planning, neither of these plans provide the extensive rationale and background supporting data that were available for several months for Superintendent Martirano's plan, and neither ofthese plans now allow for the extendedcomment period that was available for the Superintendent's plan. That being said, I do recognize that Ms. Mallo's plan is slightly preferable to Dr. Wu's plan in that it provides more opportunities for equity thanDr. Wu's plan. However, I am a resident in Polygon20, andMs. Mallo's plan for changes in our polygon is especially concerning to me. I oppose the chanees in her plan to send Polveons 20 and 1020 from Bollman Bridge ES to Guilford ES and then send Polyeons 26. 27. 1026. and 1027 from Guilford to Bollman Bridee. Both ofthese schools are Title I schools andhave essentially the same FARMs rate (about 48% according to the HCPSS school profile pages). Ms. Mallow has not provided any FARMS data for elementary schools to support her plan, but it does in fact seem likely that moving Polygons 20 and 1020 from Bollman Bridge is removing lower FARMS polygons, which harms the equity at Bollman Bridge. The lack of any rationale from Ms. Mallo for this swapping between Bollman Bridge and Guilfoid is confusing and disappointing as a parent who DOES support equity. It's difficult to understand the process due to this lack oftransparency and information. As I stated earlier, I support the Superintendent's plan, and I urge you to please reconsider the sudden, last minute, and unnecessary polygon swaps in Ms. Mallo's plan. Regards, Dr. Rebecca Martin Polygon 20 Dear Board of Education Members, I am writingto offer my testimony regardingthe proposed redistricting plans. A few key points from my testimony: . Keep polygons 300 and 1300at Howard HighSchool . Allow for trailing siblings . Support for Dr. Martirano's plan . Do not rush the process I amthe mother of 3 children, a senior (Howard High), a junior (Howard High)and an 8thgrader (Elkridge Landing Middle School). I live in Elkridge, off of Old Washington Road (polygon 300). am in favor of Dr Martirano's redistricting plan. However, after watching the work session on October30, it seems as if Dr. Martjrano's plan is no longer beingconsidered. When Dr. Wu and Ms. Mallo announced their proposals during the Monday, October 28th work session, there was no mention of polygons 300 or 1300, which are adjacent to each other. I assumethey revisedtheir plans after receiving negativefeedback from residents in other parts of Howard County. Then suddenlyand very nonchalantly, polygons 1300and then 300 were now beingproposed to be redistricted to LongReach HighSchool from Howard H. S. Seemingly, our community is beingtorn apart to appeasethe previously impacted neighborhoods. It appears as if Dr. Wu and Ms. Mallo are not familiarwith oursection of historic Elkridge. The polygons offof Old Washington Roadarea part ofone community. OldWashington Road is a small 2 lane road that spansone anda halfmiles with singlefamily homesand neighborhoods on eitherside as well asour church. All of our children haveattended schoolstogether since kindergarten. To remove a few polygons from the rest and send those children to another high school is outrageous. I invite you and the other board members to take a drive to Elkridge and see for yourselves what this small community looks like. Our children deserve to stay with their friends and community members in the same schools. I askthat the Board keep polygons 300 and 1300 at Howard HighSchool. We are a very small neighborhood. Moving the approximately 10 students from Howard H. S. to Long Reach H. S. would havea hugedetrimental impact for a miniscule gain. Additionally, the polygons offof Hanover Road in Elkridge should also remain at Howard H. S.These new plans are proposing separatingthese polygons whichagain are a part ofthis small community in Elkridge.These polygons are one community andshould remain with the rest ofthe Elkridge polygons along Old Washington Road. When the next Board of Education determines the attendance areas for HighSchool #13, 1 believe thatthis areawill be affected. Pleasedo no impactour community twice. I am distressed the Board is rushing this new plan at the last minute. We have spent months attending community input meetings and watching community members testify regarding their November 3, 2019 polygons. Everyone in the county had time to formulate testimony, organize community members and voice their opinions regarding the Feasibility Study and Dr. Martiano's redistricting plan. Dr. Wu and Ms. Mallo presented plans a mere 3 weeks before the final Board vote. Shortening this lengthy process to a mere 3 weeks does not allow for the proper due process. I am extremely opposed to any plan that does not give the residents time to formulate proper testimony or give enough input. I beg the Board members not to forget that these are children they are talking about and not just polygonsor numbers on a chart. It is unclear to me why Ms. Mallo's and Dr. Wu's plans are superior to Dr Martirano's. Ms. Mallo s plan would move approximately the same number of students. The Superintendent's plan was well researched, allowed for plenty of community input, and factored in FARMS data and feeds from one level to the next. Also, Dr Martirano's plan took into consideration where the most likely boundaries for HS #13 would be. Since this Board has stated that they will not be responsible for deciding the attendance area for HS ffl3, why are they spending precious time discussing it and making decisions off of those discussions? Dr Martirano and his staff had time to research this topic and receive community input prior to determining where the boundaries for HS ffl3 will reside. While I appreciate the hard work Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu put into their plans, I question the plans' abilitiesto keep communities together. The overridingtheme of all of Howard County residents in terms of the redistricting process is to keep communities together. Without proper community input and enough time for such input, how can decisions be made on which polygons should go to which school? Simply by looking at a map of polygon numbers and road names, it is impossible to determine where a community starts or ends. Community input is essential during this process. My neighborhood and community should be afforded the same amount of time as others had after Dr. Martirano's plan was released since our polygons were not to be impacted in his plan. I do appreciate Ms. Delmont-Small's ideason utilizing a direct feed system. That system seems to make the most sense. At the very least, I implore the Board to allow for trailing siblingsto attend the same school as their older siblings. Having children in multiple high schools is a burden no family should have to endure. Dealing with different school times, schedules, sports and activities at multiple high schools would tax family resources beyond what is reasonable. It is imperative that the Board of Education allow for trailing siblings. I do thank you all for your hard work. I know this is a challenging process. Terri M. Twenty year resident of Elkridge (in Polygon 300 adjacent to polygon 1300) November 3, 2019 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Joyce Hu Dear Board of Education members, My name is Joyce. I go to Northfield Elementary School. Please don't make us children of Dorsey Hall go to Running Brook Elementary School and Wilde Lake Middle School. Over the past years, I have made many, many friends at Northfield Elementary School who don't live in the same polygon as me. I will probably never see them again if this redistricting occurs! It's terrible! I love love love NES band and our awesome band director Mr. Beall. We get to practice at least twice a week. We've had so much fun and it's my current favorite thing in school! I'm highly motivated to learn more from Mr. Beall. Please don't make me say goodbye to my favorite teacher! I have enjoyed various after school activities at NES, especially the Kidzart classes. Once I was able to make and decorate my own treasure box! I love all PTA events. I recently volunteered at NES5K run which was super fun. My favorite will always be NES international night when I could taste delicious food from all over the world. I'm so happy that I have friends with different background. We celebrate lots of holidays with each other. My family and I walk to NESoften. It's such a beautiful journey. We can play in the creek and pick wild raspberries in summer. In fall we can collect tons of acorns. Oh, we see a lot of deer too! Please let me stay at Northfield. I don't want to leave a school I love so much! Sincerely, Joyce Dear Members of the Board, We are Vicky Wang and James Yao, residents ofthe Wheatfield neighborhood ofEllicott City andparents oftwo children, one in Waterloo elementary school and one in Ellicott Mills middle school. Weare writing to express our concerns aboutrecent proposed changesto the school redistricting plan for the county and how it will negatively affect students in our neighborhood while still not meeting the goals of the board for this redistricting. Yours is not an easy task andwe appreciate your effort in working toward ensuring all HCPSS students receive an outstanding education, and hope this letter helps you continue to do so for the students in our neighborhood. Wheatfield is a small neighborhood oftown homes and smaller single family homes, comprising polygons 100 and 1 100. Whilewe are two polygons, the neighborhooditself is one continuous community in all practical and conceptual senses. The dividing line between polygonsis a geographic feature that is far more visible on maps than from the ground level of the neighborhood,where it is a small stream that runs underthe sidewalks our children walk on to go play with their friends across the street. The initial superintendent proposal hadour neighborhoodmoving atthe elementary school level while remaining with the same schools at the middle and high school levels, and we were satisfied with that change and so did not contact the board about that proposal. The changes in more recent proposals by Jen Mallo and Chao Wu have suggested much more substantive and troubling alterations to our school outlook which we feel compelled to protest. An earlier updated proposal, by Jen Mallo, split the Wheatfield neighborhood by keeping one polygon at Centennial High School while moving the other polygon to"Howard High School. For the reasons noted above about the continuity of our neighborhood, that change is unacceptable and unreasonable. The most recent proposal by Chao Wu keeps both polygons together butthe planned movement ofhigh schools from Centennial HSto WildeLake High School would create a far more unreasonable status quo. We understand that for equity reasons and geographic considerations it may not make sense for Wheatfield to remain at Centennial HS, but the proposed move to Wilde Lake HS creates the following issues: . This proposal would create a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake HS, where the only students from EMMS who would subsequently attend Wilde Lake HS would be the ones frompolygons 100and 1100.Furthermore, noneof the possible elementary school assignments suggested for our community - Waterloo ES, Phelps Luck ES, and Veterans ES - feedto Wilde Lake HS. Students in this neighborhood would enter a high school ofroughly 1, 300 students having never attended school with anyone there except the small handfufwho lived in their neighborhood, creating an isolating affect. . In addition to isolating Wheatfield students in school, this change would isolate students in the greater community. Students from polygon 100 and 1100 would attend a different high school from students across the street in several directions. The Wheatfield, Stonecrest, andBrampton Hills neighborhoods are within one mile of each other and children there would attend three different high schools in different areas ofthe county. While the Wheatfield polygons are adjacent to those ofcommunities also attending Wilde Lake HS, they are not contiguous: polygon 111 abuts polygon 1100 on a map but in reality the two are separated by Route 100 and Meadowbrook Park. . From the county perspective, Ellicott Mills MS would feed into four different high schools: Centennial HS, Mt. Hebron HS, Howard HS, and Wilde Lake HS. Four feeds is more than any other county middle school and would exacerbate the difficulties of the transition from middle to high school to the detriment ofthe community at large. . Sending Wheatfield stadents to Wilde Lake HS would require crossing Route 100 and Route 29, two natural boundaries and major highways (especially the latter), even though there are three other nearby high schools - Centennial HS, HowardHS, and Mt. Hebron H~S- that eitherdo not require crossing one of these highways to reach (Centennial and Mt. Hebron) or do not require getting actually getting on the highway to reach in a reasonable manner (Howard). Additionally, there are several other results from these proposed changes which we find less troubling but still do not reflect ourpreferences or which we are not sure are supported by the data: . Veterans Elementary School and Ellicott Mills Middle School are directly across the street from our neighborhoodand some residents on the street across ours can see both schools from their backyards. Students in our neighborhood do not currently attend Veterans ES - they go to Waterloo ES, 3 miles away and on the other side of Route 100. Chao Wu's plan would move our students to Phelps Luck ES, which is closer but still on the other side of Route 100, whereas Jen Mallo's plan would move us to Veterans ES. While we have heard great things about both Waterloo and Phelps Luck ES and would be happy with our child attending either, our preference is that schoolwithin walking distance and where students from someneighboring communities also attend. . While the initial superintendent's plan reduced the FARMS percentage at Wilde Lake HS from 46% to 38%, the changes in population for that school are much more limited in Chao Wu's plan in which the only change to Wilde Lake's population is the addition ofour students, and it seems unrealistic that addition would have anywhere near a similar affect in reduction of FARMS. . On a related note, HCPSS projects a decrease in the number ofschool-age children in polygons 100 and 1100 in the coming years, andthus any benefit to FARMS or other issues of equity realizedby moving only these two polygons will become less notable over time. Our concern is maintaining equitable educational experiences for the Wheatfield neighborhood (polygons 100 and 1100) and maintaining a sense ofcommunity within this neighborhood and with surrounding neighborhoods, while also working toward the same goals at the county level. Creating a situation where Wheatfield would be an island, a micro-feed separated from other neighborhoods and without having any positive affect on the schools polygons 100and 1100are moved to, only createsproblems for the involved students, neighborhoods, and schools. In researchingthese proposals andthe goals ofHCPSSand the Board ofEducation, we believe that the most recent proposal by Chao Wu runs afoul ofPolicy 6010 (Section IV.B.2 Community Stability) and specifically that "school attendance areas should promote a sense of community m boththe geoeraPhic Piace (e-S- neighborhood orplace in whicha student lives) a"l eprom°tionofa student fr°m e'>ch school level. " Twofactors in particuiar not represented I". l_atesLplan are. "kee. Pm8students together from one school to the next [by] avoiding feeds L-^. 15°^°at the receiving school" and keeping them together from "areas that are made up ius communities or neighborhoods. " As we have noted, both factors are not represented in the current plan andthe microfeed from Ellicott Mills MS to Wilde Lake HS seems the clearest violation ofthe policy. Again,we realize that this task is an extremely difficultone and there are many local ^o"cem. s!c°^?lai, nts' .and q"irks that are ""Always immediately evident from a county-level perspective. ^ Wealso share^yourprimaty goal ofenhancing educational equity for all HCPSS ?^^!nt?^dtl?e ?,"tlre,tyofHoward. cou"ty-That is why we are reaching'out'to'you'andwhy, havinglaid out all ofthe above, we have four specific, achievable, andreasonable reaiiests for you in all future plans: 1. Keep both Wheatfield polygons -100 and 1100 - together at all levels. It is unreasonable to separate students from one small neighborhood. 2. Keep Wheatfield students onthe Route 103 corridor bykeeping them atEllicott Mills Middle School, whichis directly acrossthe street from ourneighborhood andeasily walkabfe. It nrcas°"able tomove stude"ts from a school ls u. away visible from their houses, and especially to require themto cross major highwaysin doingso. Ifat all possible, move Wheatfieldstudents to Veterans Elementary School for the same reasons. 3 Avoidthe creation ofamicro-feed for studentsin Wheatfield by keeping polygons 100 and 1100 in one of the existing Ellicott Mills MS feeds to either CentenniafH S-o'r°Howari"HS. Tt is unreasonableto isolate students in Wheatfieldthrough a micro-feed. 4. Keep_Wheatfield students with those ofthe other Route 103 corridor communities: Stonecrest andBrampton Hills neighborhoods (polygons 101, 1098, 98, andrelated). -T?ankyo". forall. thework yo" do-we are glad to sharefllrther information ifnecessary, appreciateyour consideration ofthese important concernsregarding our community. Sincerely, Vicky Wang and James Yao Boardof Education Members Nov 3. 2019 10910 Clarksville Pike Ellicott City, MD 21042 Dear BOE member. I am writing to strongly request that you keep our neighborhood of Walnut Creek (Polygon 176) at River Hill H/S.This neighborhood hasa very strong connection to thisschool not onlydue to its proximity (1.7 miles) but due to the heavy involvement of its parents in the River Hill PTSA and boosters. Moving us to Wild Lake will make participation in the PTSA togistically difficult if not impossible. As an education professional, I'm sure you are aware of how critical parent participation is to the success of our student(s). Furthermore, my son is a county and state level competitor in cross country and track. He does not drive nor could we afford another car for him to drive to and from his school based meets and practices. No matter what happens, we are going to do our best for him but I fear that we won't be able to maintain his level of competitiveness in both academics and athletics participation due to the additional drive time which is not insignificant. I fear the same with my young daughter who will soon be entering High School. I cannot stress how important proximity to River Hill has been for our family. It is the only reason we chose this neighborhood. The bus exits our neighborhood from the single access road (Hayland Farm Way) and turns right onto Sheppard Lane. A short 5 to 8 minute drive up 1. 5 miles is the intersection of 108 where the bus makes a left turn and immediately runs into River Hill High. In fact the distance is so short that my son and his team mates routinely run from River Hill to his neighborhood during practice sessions. My wife and kids love to drive up to the school in the evenings and make use of the tennis and basketball courts which is only possible due to the proximity. We meet our friends on the fields of the River Hill Stadium for sporting events and other school gatherings which would not be possible if not for the proximity. I along with nearly all my neighbors in green and yellow shirts from polygon 176 and 3176 have presented testimony, attended every hearing and have been present at all work sessions in order to voice our opinions as regards this redistricting plan and process. I am sure by now all of you well understand the basis of my and that of my neighbor's opposition to the plan proposed by Dr Martirano. I also understand and appreciate the daunting task in front of you. I ask that without specific information as regards HS 13, all you can do is to make a best guess and make changes based on this. Is it reasonable to make large magnitude changes that could have profound unintended consequences basedon an assumption? Instead, I askthat you consider makinga more measured change until HS13 is established andthen makethe necessaryadjustments thereafter. Basedon whathas been presented to date, I endorse DrWu's proposal. I also ask each of you to get to know my neighborhood of Walnut Creek (polygon 176). A small portion of this polygon is accessible only via the entrance to our sister neighborhood Walnut Gave (polygon 3176) and the remainder via Hayland Farm way. Both neighborhoods were developed by the same developer and have very close bonds. Please keep polygon 176 at River Hill H/S. I thank you and look forward to your consideration of my request. Sincerely Zahid Khan Kathleen V. Hanks From: Rachel Dear Howard County Board of Education members, I am strongly opposedto movement ofpolygons 148, 276, 302, 1148and 2148 out ofNorthfield ESbecause this will literally split the Dorsey Hall neighborhood in half. We reside in polygon 1148 and our daughter is in Kinderganen at Northfield Elementary School - this move would be incredibly unsettling and heartbreaking to her and our community. We recently moved into this community past summer after carefully considering the distances between home and schools. We want out children to attend schools that are close, not more than 1. 5 miles away. We chose Dorsey Hall community because the commute is short and safe and socioeconomic diversity at Northfield Elementai-y was well balanced. My daughter is in ESOL class and had an incidentof being bullied becauseshe was so quiet. The schoolresolved the issue immediately and herpsychological distress was relieved. It took her 2 months to adjust to the school. If she changes to a new school, she would go through the same or possibly worse process since her ride on the bus time is longer and she is mentally fragile especially to a new environment. The proposals by Board of Education members Jen Mallo and Dr. Chao Wu would be devasting to the community ofDorsey Hall mid in my view are ill-consideredwithout taking several important factors into consideration,particularly withrespect to Howard County Public School System Policy 6010 on School Attendance Areas. . The Dorsey Hall community would be split apart, negatively impacting community stability. Many of the impacted polygons would divideColumbia Road along one sideof the streetwould tearthese community bondsapart. As example, ifthe proposals go dirough, the Dorsey Hall community pool would literally be redistricted out of the community. This clearly runs counter to Policy6010, IV, B, 2, b whichpromotes a senseof community by considerationof "areas that aremade up ofcontiguous communities or neighborhoods." . The removal ofpolygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 would negatively impact the socioeconomic and would eliminate the majority of the affordable housing options, including all townhouses and condominiums, which currently attend Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle Schools. This would effectively leave the entirety ofthe Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle Schools as single family homes which clearly mns counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 3 which promotes the creation of a diverse and inclusive stiident body. . The currentDunloggin Middle Schoolto Wilde LakeHigh Schoolfeed is alreadyvery small andthe proposedredistricting DorseyHall polygons of 1 148, 2148, 148, 302, 276would result in a micro-feedof about four percent for DunlogginMiddle Schoolto WildeLake High School. This is highlyunreasonable, discourages a senseof community and would be one of, if not, the smallest in the county. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, a and discourages keeping stadents together from one school to the next would result in a feed ofsignificantly less than 15% at the receiving school of Wilde Lake High School. . Muchof the DorseyHall community in polygons 1148,2148, 148,302, and276 havethe optionto walkor bike to school as many are less than 1 mile from Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle - these preferred sustainable school commuting options would be completely eliminated. In particular, the recently buildtrafBc circle atKingscup Court andColumbia Road would be rendered meaningless, along with the significant ainount of capital resources expended in the project to ensure safe crossing of Columbia Road by walkers, particularly from polygon 2148 and 1148 (like us). This option would be completely removed by the proposed changes and mns to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, d which encourages walking. . Theproposed redistricting would require busing of these students to ensurethat students safely arrive at school andeffectively double the number ofbuses required to transpon these students along both sides ofColumbia Road. It also would compound traffic issuesare require that virtually all buseswill needto make left turns asthey enterColumbia Road - the buseson the west side ofColumbia Road currently do as they head towards Northfield/Dunloggin but the proposal would also require at a minimum school buses to exit Kingscup Court, Old Dragon Path and Hallowed Stream via left turns. All of which would need to occurprior to these samebuses traveling through three heavily trafficked traffic light intersections along ColumbiaRoad at DorseyHall, OldAimapolis Road and Clarksville Pike. I would encourageany all Boardof Education members to obsei-ve theseintersections duringthe morning or afternoon buscommutes or consultthe with HowardCounty Office of Transportation whichis currently studyingthis entire sectionof Columbia Road (see https://www.hovvardcountymd. gov/... /Columbia-Road- Traffic-Oper... ) Based upon the number of accidents and delays that are regularly encountered at these intersections, I would not waiit to send additional school buses through these region strictly from a safety standpoint, yet alone traffic considerations. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c& d and would significantly increase capital and operating costs while increasing the time and distance traveled by students while also jeopardizing student's safety. . The proposed redistricting ofDorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would allow unfair treatment by the introduction these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and extended periods for public testimony have already passed. This lacks the same due process that other proposals and communities have been afforded. It was not until the October 28fh Work Session that these proposals were even introduced and even following the redistricting developments closely, I only heard because a neighbor infomied us while trick or treating (some trick). It is notable that during the public hearing for Wilde Lake High School on September 24, not a single person from polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 or 2148 testified -this area was not then under consideration. The last-minute proposals are ill-considered and Board of Education members, let alone the impacted communities have not had an opportunity to adequately review the new proposals, let alone participate. This is woefully inadequate for a public process and runs counter to the intent of engaging the public and receiving Community Input per Policy 6010, IV, D. For the reasons articulated above, I strongly request the BOB NOT include polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in the final redistricting plan and that they remain at Northfleld Elementary aiid Dunloggin Middle Schools. Sincerely, Hyejin Park Rachel Hyejin Park, PharmD Department of Health, State ofMaryland Kathleen V. Hanks From: shien hu Dear Board Members, I am writing this emaii to express my vigorous opinions against recent proposal from Jen Malta and Dr. Chao Wu for redistricting Polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276 in Dorsey Hall Communitv. I am Shien Hu, a resident of Dorsey Hall area. Last week, we had a wonderful Halloween with all kids and families living close by trick'r treating and touring our community. However, at the same time, I was shocked to learn that the latest proposals from BOE members about school redistricting is going split the Dorsey Hall neighborhood in half. Children living in Polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276 will switch elementary and middle schools for Dorsey Hall from Northfield and Dunloggin to Running Brook and Wilde Lake. This change comes from nowhere without any previous published information. cannot find any data mentioning DorseyHall area in the Feasibility Report for this redistricting. I am wondering if there is any solid research results to support this proposal. I doubt this change is necessary or well planned. Changing the school could be very drastic and traumatic for the children who have to leave their current beloved teachers, classmates/frjends, music bands and sports teams. I can totally feel my kids'anxiety when they hear about the redistricting plans. Going to Running Brook and Wilde Lake will double the distance for commute daily and have to pass by the crossroad of Rt 108 and Columbia road (seeGoogle Map and Street View pictures below), both of which are busy streets bearing heavy traffic to Rt 29 and to Columbia mall. This change will cost tons of precious time for the kids sitting in school bus stuck in heavy traffic every day. \. My daughter and son enjoy walking to their current school (Northfield) together with their grandparents. They run, skip and jump when counting the steps on their fitbit. They introduce the neighbors to the grandparents when passing by their friends' houses on the route. By looking at the pictures above, I don't believe walking to school is feasible any more after redistricting. Overall, please reconsider the necessity of redistricting Dorsey Hall (Polygon 148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276). As the deadline approaches, why don't we focus on High School Redistricting to solve the major problems of overcrowded High Schools. Best, Shien Hu Kathleen V. Hanks From: Weidemann,James A Hello Members of the Board, Thanksfor all your long and hard work this past summer and fall in regardsto redistricting. wantedto write to you to provide my thoughts and information foryour consideration. I currently have two children in the HCPSSand the both attend EllicottMills Middle School, one in 6th grade and one in 8'h grade. I willtry to keepit shortas I knowthat you have hundreds, if not thousands of letter and emails to go through. During the latest meetings, it was proposed byJen Mallo and Dr. Chao Wu to split the polygons of 100and 1100 or to sendthe aforementioned polygonsto WildeLake High School respectively. I alongwith my'neighbors inthe Wheatfield community are not in agreementwith either plan. I listed items belowfor your consideration: Theproposal to split the neighborhoodto push Polygon 100to Centennial HSand Polygon 1100to HowardHS breaksup a close knitcommunity that is underthe samecommunity name, HOAmanagement, aswell as friends and neighbors. I would implore the boardto keep Polygons 100and 1100together atthe same highschool in orderto keepthe community together in regards to grade schools, friendships, and continuity ofthe neighborhood. Notto forget that this would also go against the spirit of Policy 6010. . Asfor the proposal for both Polygons 100and 1100to move to Wilde LakeHS, unfortunately that would cause a very small feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake High School. Bigger feeds forour community and EMMSwould ofcourse beCentennial HS, Mt. Hebron HS,or Howard HighSchool. And usingthese biggerfeeds would also protect the spirit of Policy 6010. . Finally theselast minute changes unfortunately providevery little time for due process and feedback. hope that all feedback is taken into consideration. All in all, I would like to see: . Polygons 100and 1100 move together at all levels andto keepthe neighborhoodtogether when it comesto students. . Keep Wheatfield students along the Route 103 corridor by keeping them at Ellicott Mills Middle School and if at all possible, moving the elementary school aged kids to Veterans based on proximity. . Avoid a small^feed to WildeLake HS by keeping the students ofWheatfield atCentennial HSor by moving them to Howard HSin orderto keep large feeds. Hoping for a resolution that will make the majority happy moving forward. Thank you in advance. James Weidemann WheatfieldCommunity 8539 Autumn Harvest Kathleen V. Hanks From: Wang Alex Dear Members of the Board, I am an Ellicott City resident at polygon 100, Wheatfield community. Thanks all for your hard work to ensure that Howard county students continue to get the best education possible, I am writing to express my deep concern with Chao Wu's most recent proposal. Comparing to other two proposals. His plan didn't bring down the FARM of Wilde lake and Oakland mill HS at all The base number of OMHS45% changed to 44% and WLHSchanged from 46% to 41%. And his blog wasvery misleading. The information on his blog was posted selectively. Also his plan has more overcrowd High schools' number than other two plans in 2022-23. Actually , his plan is worse than doing nothing now. For the base plan, there will be 6 out of 12 overcrowd school in 2022-2023, but his plan will be 8 out of 12 overcrowd school in 2022-2023. In addition, his proposal has my Wheatfield neighborhood (polygons 100 and 1100) moving from Centennial High School to Wilde Lake High School. This is a disgusting plan . This is a brand new change. Most of our neighbers don't know that we are very shocked. In nearly all previous proposals, Wheatfield was not moved at the highschool level. The only proposal whichincluded a highschool movement wasJen Mallo's plan which splits Wheatfield in half between Centennial and Howard. That being said, Chao's most recent plan to move Wheatfield from Centennial to Wilde Lake is unreasonable and violates policy 1610 for the following reasons: 1) First and foremost, it creates a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake. 2) Second,this planwould create a situation whereEllicott Mills Middle School students wouldbe split between four different high schools 3) Third, Wheatfield becomes a complete island. Chao's most recent plan creates a situation where Wheatfield alone attends a different high school than children in immediately adjacent neighborhoods, whose homes we can easily see and walk to. 4) Fourth, Chao's most recent plan moves Wheatfield from Waterloo to Phelps Luck for elementary school. Jen Mallo's plan on the other hand, moved Wheatfield from Waterloo to Veterans, which is preferable considering that it's less than a halfmile from the neighborhood and walkable with a crossing guard. Jen's plan is better on this specific issue because it would allow Wheatfield residents to stay in schools on the Route 103 corridor and remain aligned with its neighboring development (Stonecrest). However, we appreciate that under Cao's plan Phelps luck does provide a decent size feed to Ellicott Mills. For the reasons discussed above, it's my beliefthat Chao's most recent plan violates Policy 6010 (Section IV.B. 2. Community Stability) which states that "reasonable, school attendance areas should promote a sense of community in boththe geographicplace (e. g., neighborhoodor place in whicha student lives) andthe promotion ofa student from each school level" by considering factors such as "keeping students together from one schoolto thenext [by] avoiding feedsless than 15%at thereceiving school" and"areas that are madeup of contiguous communities or neighborhoods. " The microfeed at Wilde Lake resulting from this change would be in clear violation of Policy 6010. It is not equitable for Wheatfieldresidents to be movedto Wilde Lake, acrossmajor highwayswithout anyof our Route 103 neighbors. Additionally, it is umeasonable to be moved from Ellicott Mills Middle School - whichis withinwalking distance andcan be seen from ourhomes. Forthese reasons, I am requesting thatthe Boardkeep both Wheatfieldpolygons (100 and 1100)in one ofEllicott Mills' current feederhigh schools (e. g., Centennial of Howard) and avoid creation or a micro feed into Wilde Lake. LeimingWang Resident ofWheatfield Kathleen V. Hanks From: Belinda Arnone Dear Board Members I am writing this in hopes that you will reconsider the redistricting plans of our area ofwoodwork. 1. Woodmark's Rural Location: Woodmark is a rural, western, established community with no room for housing growth. To our east and south lies hundreds ofacres offarmland alongFolly QuarterRoad, whichserves asa natural boundaryof the western part ofthe county. Both ofthe feasibilitystudy plans, the Superintendent's plan andDr. Wu'splan haveus goingto Glenelg or River Hill. 2. Woodmark's redistricting history: Woodmarkhas been redistricted atthe highschool level several times overthe course ofthe past 15 years. We have been sent from Glenelg to River Hill, River Hill to Marriotts Ridge andthen Marriotts Ridge to River Hill. We have been moved around like chess pieces for years and our neighborhood is asking for a permanent solution. Because of our rural, western location and tremendous growth forecasted in the Columbia area in the coming years, we believe that solution lies in the west. 3. Tiny feed: The feed that Ms. Mallo's plan proposes to send to Wilde Lake High School is made up of only 7 polygons. With the exception ofthe Walnut Creek polygon of 176, our polygons are comprised ofhouses on large lots of landin spread out neighborhoods. Thesepolygons do not yield enough students for a reasonablefeed. Accordingto HCPSS data, only 115 students wouldbe projected to bein highschool from all seven ofthese polygons next year (all four grades combined). This would be, at maximum, a 12% feed which violates HCPSS policy. Furthermore, these 2020/2021 projections are inaccurate, overstating projected students by as much as 30% in some polygons. We believe this feed to more in the high single digits than 12%. Either way, the feed is unacceptable, especially when that small feed would be taken out ofthe western part ofElIicott City and sent to downtown Columbia. We urge you to please create a permanent solution for our Woodmark neighborhood that keeps us in our rural western community and a robust feed from Folly Quarter Middle. Kind Regards Belinda & Miteh Amone Kathleen V. Hanks From: Chris Brewster Dear Board of EducationMembers, My name is Chris Brewster andI live inthe Woodmark Community inEllicott City. I amwriting in response to Ms. Mallo's proposed high school redistricting for Woodmark (polygons 180, 181, 1180). We are deeply concerned about Ms. Malta's proposal for the following reasons: 1. Woodmark's Rural Location: Woodmarkis a rural, western, establishedcommunity with no room for housing growth. To our eastand south lies hundreds ofacres offarmland along Folly QuarterRoad, which serves asa natural boundaryof the western part ofthe county. Both ofthe feasibility study plans, the Superintendent's plan and Dr. Wu's plan have us going to Glenelg or River Hill. 2. Woodmark's redistricting history: Woodmarkhas been redistricted atthe high school level several times overthe course ofthe past 15 years. We havebeen sent from Glenelgto River Hill, River Hill to Marriotts Ridgeand then Marriotts Ridgeto'River Hill. We have been moved around like chess pieces for years and our neighborhood is asking for a permanent solution. Because ofour rural, westernlocation andtremendous growthforecasted in the Columbia areain the coming years, we believe that solution lies in the west. 3. Tiny feed: The feed that Ms. Mallo' s plan proposes to send to Wilde Lake High School is made up ofonly 7 polygons. With the exception ofthe Walnut Creek polygon of 176, our polygons are comprised ofhouses on large lots of land in spread out neighborhoods. These polygons do not yield enough students for a reasonable feed. According to HCPSS data, only 115 students would be projected to be in high school from all seven ofthese polygons next year (all four grades combined). This would be, at maximum, a 12% feed which violates HCPSS policy. Furthermore, these 2020/2021 projections are inaccurate, overstating projected students by asmuch as 30%in somepolygons. Webelieve this feedto more in thehigh single digitsthan 12%. Eitherway, the feedis unacceptable, especially whenthat small feedwould be taken out ofthe westernpart ofEllicott City andsent to downtown Columbia. Weurge youto please create a permanent solution for our Woodmarkneighborhood that keeps us in ourrural western community and a robust feed from Folly Quarter Middle. Sincerely, Chris Brewster 12315 Fawn River Way EUicottCity, MD21042 Polygonll80 Dear Members of the Board, I would first like to thankyou for the tremendous amount ofwork you have done and will do with respectto the redistrictingof the HowardCounty schools. I am contactingyou today to expressmy concern with some of the recent proposals that have been presented to the board, most notably Mr. Wu'sproposal on 10/30/19.While I agreewith manyof my neighborsin the Wheatfieldcommunity regarding this move ofWheatfield from Centennial to Wilde Lake is unreasonable and a violation of policy 1610, I'm more concerned and disturbed with howthis entire process has unfolded. First and foremost, I'd like to make sure the board is awarethat polygons 1100and 100are one neighborhood. The small creek that divides the polygons does by no means separate the Wheatfield community. We are a tight night community of modest single-family homes and some town houses. Secondly, I'd like to point out that while we were not initially affected bythe superintendent's plan that was issued earlier this year, subsequent plans have changed our elementary school from Waterloo, to Veterans or Phelps Luck. Our neighborhood understands that these moves are sometimes necessary, even though we may have several elementary schools that are geographically closer. However, the plan to move from Centennial to Wilde Lake and not Howard or Hebron does not seem to take into account our actualgeographic location and whatwould be reasonable. There are 5 high schoolsthat are closer to our neighborhood than Wilde Lake, you would not only be creating an island for our students, you would be creating an island for our community which is nowhere near the high school and would not have the ease or locality to be included in neighboring events. I can't help butfeel that our neighborhood is beingtargeted becausewe are small. Otherlarger neighborhoods that were affected bythe initial redistricting plan in the summer had months to respond. Some retained counsel, public relations firms, and statisticians to fight the plan. They were afforded several monthsto come upwith plansof their own. Ourneighborhood issmaller and mightnot have the same resources asthe larger neighborhoods. Therefore, we may be looked at as easier to adjust, especiallywhen for several monthsthere were no proposed plansthat affected our neighborhood,then 22days beforethe final decisionthe board proposes a plan the greatlyaffects our neighborhood. Other neighborhoods had months to prepare and knewthey were subject to change; we get 22 days. The Wheatfieldcommunity wastreated asan afterthought and not provided the same respectand due process that were provided to the other communities that faced moves. I sincerely hope, that moving forward, the board not only considers the legality (not violating policy 1610) and logic behind the adjustments, but also fair and equitable treatments ofthe neighborhoods, despite their demographics_laskthe board to consider the unreasonableness of movine the Wheatfield neiRhborhood (directly across the Rt 103from Veterans and Ellicott Mills Middle) to anything other than the current feeder hieh schools of Centennial or Howard and avoid creatine an island and micro feed. Thank you Scott Windish (polygon 100) November 3, 2019 Dear Howard County School Board, My name is Talia Murphy, I am 10 year's old, I go to St. Johns Lane Elementary School, and I live in polygon 1034. If the redistricting plan get's approved I wouldn't get moved, but all of my friends would. My best friend lives on the same street as me, but according to the redistricting plan, she would go to Manor Woods Elementary School. Since we are in forth grade, she would only have a year to get settled and make new friends, and then immediately turn around and go to a new school again (middle school). Most of my friends live down the street or around the block, and I can walk or ride my bike to their houses. Other friends live across busy streets and it is not safe to walk or ride on my bike to their houses. Right now, the amount of friends that I have is really scarce, and I am going to have to start over all over again if you set the redistricting plan into action. It is hard to make new friends especially when you start from scratch and have nobody to go to when things didn't till your way at school. I would have to go through this, along with hundreds of others. I will remind you that it is a very hard thing to go through and it is far from anything fun. Also, neighborhoods should be able to go to the closest school to them. I will take the chance to remind you that the redistricting plan requires a lot more students bused to school when most of them could be walking to their nearest school. Besides, a lot of the students aren't even going to the second nearest school, they are going to the forth or fifth nearest school, even though there is a school even closer to Vnem. Today, I could walk with my best friend to school, while if the redistricting plan was happening, she would be bused to a school in a different neighborhood. I really want you to keep neighborhoods together and don't bus kids like my best friend Alana Alvarez to school's that are in different neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are not polygons, they are more of a giant family depending on each other, and helping each other through hard times. I hope you consider this letter. Please keep polygons 159 and 1159 attending St. Johns Lane Elementary School, Patapsco Middle School, and Mt. Hebron High School. Sincerely, Talia Murphy Kathleen V. Hanks From: Rachel Thompson Dear Board of Educationmembers, I m writing to voice my strong opposition to proposals made this week by JenMallo and Dr. Chao Wuto move Dorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 301, and 272 to Running Brook Elementary and Wilde Lake Middle Schools. My family resides in polygon 1148, andwe have a 1st graderat Northfield Elementary, a preschooler who will be starting kindergarten in 2021, and another baby on the way. Please note that my husband and I are both alumni ofRunning Brookand Wilde LakeMiddle andHigh Schools. Weboth had wonderful experiences at these schools andhave no problems withthe schoolsthemselves; however, we wishto voice our strong oppositionto theseproposals for the reasons outlined below: 1) Lack of due process - my understanding is that these proposals werejust submitted just a few days ago, and I just happened to learn about the proposals yesterday during a conversation with another parent. The Board of Education has not widely disseminated these proposals to the people of Howard County, and the opportunity to make public testimonies has now ended. This represents unfair treatment of our polygons, as parents arejust now becoming aware ofthe proposals by word of mouth and have less than three weeks to voice their opinions to fhe Board before the final vote is conducted. 2) Negative impact on community stability - Dorsey Hall is a wonderful placeto live, in largepart due to the strong community that has been built over the years. Sending polygons on one side of Columbia Rd to a separate school would fundamentally disturb this community cohesion, in violation of policy 6010. 3) Disruption to socioeconomic diversity - The polygons that are proposed to be redistricted would move ALL of the townhomes and condominiums currently districted to Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle to Running Brook and Wilde Lake Middle, instead. This would severely limit the socioeconomic diversity of both Northfield andDunloggin, andseems to go againstthe diversity principles that Columbiawas founded upon. 4) Lack ofwalkability - although not designated as walkers, many ofthe children in these polygons live less than a mile away from Northfield and Dunloggin, and are able to walk and/or bike to these schools (particularly since the county spent a significant amount ofmoney to create a safertraffic situation with a roundabout at the intersection ofHemlock Cone Way and Kingscup Ct). Walking and hiking across route 108 to get to school is an impractical and dangerous solution - consequently, these proposals would have the effect ofeliminating sustainable school commuting options. Consequently, I strongly request that the Board of Education NOT include the above polygons in the final redistricting plan, andthat they remain atNorthfield Elementary andDunloggin Middle for the reasons outlined above. Sincerely, Rachel Thompson To the Board, We live in the Wheatfield Community (Polygon # 100) and have child in middle school. We ask the following of the Board in alignment with Policy 6010: (1) Keepour whole neighborhoodtogether (polygons 100and 1100)as a continuous community (2) Keepthe WheatfieldCommunity aligned with other neighborhoodsalong the 103 corridor (Brampton Hlls and Stonecrest) and in so doing, support feedsthat encourage keepingstudents together from one school to the next. (3) Make every attempt to develop a solution that prevents anotherchange in lessthan five years. With kind regards, Alisa Brandes Kathleen V. Hanks From: Felix Hu DearBOE, My name is Felix. I'm a third grader at Northfield Elementary School. I think the kids of Dorsey Hall shall stay at NES. We love our school, our teachers and our friends. The roadrunner is our friend. The song of Northfield is our favorite. It will be so so so sad to leave our school. Please don't move us and make us go to RBE5. From'. Felix Kathleen V. Hanks From: David Lee To: Whom it May Concern, My name is David Lee, and I'm a resident in polygon 1148. we recently moved into this neighborhoodthis summer. One of our reason for choosingthis neighborhoodis becausethis community has a much similar age group as our daughters to have them relate to each other and become very close friends, we have two daughters, our oldest daughter currently attendsNorthfield Elementary School as a kindergarten. It was difficult for her to adjust to the new environment in the beginning, but she has coped well and adjusted very well to her current school. Shehas many close friends in school andneighbors that make her happy to live here. I m expressing my deep concern with a new proposal for school redistricting which could impact our daughter to move to a new, farther school with major safety concerns surrounding traffic and distance. Northfield Elementary School is very convenient for our daughter to attend, distance-wise, it is little over a mile and we feel secure and it is our priority to have our kid in a safer situation especially when attending the school. This proposal also can split the well-established Dorsey hall community where our kids and community neighbors are closely bonded. It is devastating for our kids and communities to be apart from each other by attending different schools. This decision will not only break up the community bonds but also will hurt our kid's mental health. Therefore, we appreciate it if you could reconsiderthe proposal to redistrict our kids to different schools at this point. Thank you Please feel free to reach me at this email anytime. Sincerely, David Lee Kathfeen V. Hanks From: Mark Weaver Hello Howard County Board of Education, Please keep the '56 (56, 1056, 2056 and 3056) polygons (Allview neighborhood) in OMHS. I am single parent. I have two children, and next year they will be a sophomore and a senior. If sophomore's are moved to another school, it will create an undue burden on me and my family. I am a single parent. I have been one since my wife died of cancer in 2014. Having both of my children at the same schools (AES -> OMMS -> OMHS), while challenging has been doable. My support system has been wonderful, but ifAllview is split between multiple schools, my challenges will beincreased dramatically, and my support system will be impacted as well. I only have one vehicle, and am not able to buy my oldest a vehicle before his senioryear, so therewill not be any relieffor me until he goes to college. Mychildren are involved in many activites at OMHS from soccer to baseball to the annual play and musical, and they attend many of the sporting events at the school watchingtheir friends. If I end up having my children at two differentschools, for my son's last year I will be spending my time driving between two schools and not having much time to enjoy their events when there is overlap. Thankyou for all of your hardwork on the intractable issue of redistrlcting. No plan is perfect, and everyone in HowardCounty has an opinion one wayor the otheron redistricting. I understandthat. All schools in Howard County are good, and anothertime or another place, I may have a different opinion. However, I need to have my children at the same school. Not just for my son's senior year, but for my daughter's last three years. It would also mean a lot to me and my children ifthey could graduatefrom theirmother's alma mater. Shegraduated from OMHSin 1986. I askthat the Board of Educationallow rising sophomores the same exemption of risingjuniors and seniors and thatthey be allowed to stay at the school where they began their freshman year. Thank you, Dear Members of the Board of Education, Please consider my testimony regarding high school redistricting. Primary Testimony: I understand it is not this Board's decision where the boundary for High School #13 (HS13) will reside. However, during the Monday, October 28 and Wednesday, October 30 work sessions, there were assumptions by this Board that the attendance area for HS13 will only reside to the south of Route 100. This Board's assumption that polygons north of Route 100 will not attend HS13 will impact Elkridge negatively in 2020 and again in 2023. Elkridge is the community that is most in need of relief at the high school level, as evidenced by the extreme overcrowdingat Howard and Long Reach High Schools. I strongly disagreewith this Board that HS13will not serve the Elkridgecommunity, north of Route 100, where the need for relief is among the greatest. I appreciate Dr. Martirano's plan, which avoids redistricting polygons in Elkridge that the Office of School Planning (OSP) assumes would attend HS13. Dr. Martirano stated a preference to avoid "double moves" that would result when HS13 is built. Dr. Martirano's plan avoided redistricting in Elkridge because OSP assumes HS13 would serve the Elkridge community. I agree with Dr. Martirano and the OSP that the attendance area for HS13 would include polygons north of Route 100. I agree with Dr. Martirano's plan to avoid potential double moves. This Board made broad assumptions during Monday and Wednesday'swork sessions regarding the boundaries for HS13 that will impact my polygon and other polygons, north of Route 100 and east of Route 95 (Elkridge and Hanover communities). The "cascading" plan proposed by Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu does not provide the relief that Elkridge needs. The short term impact of this "cascading" plan is to divide a few polygons from the other polygons in Elkridge. These few polygons will be dramatically impacted by Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu's plan and again in 2023 when the future Board realizes that the attendance area for HS13 must include polygons north of Route 100 and east of Route 95. . In summary, please do not redistrict for highschool any polygons north of Route 100 and east of Route 95 in 2020. Waiting to redistrict these polygons to HS13 in 2023: o Will help provide sustainable relief from overcrowding that is desperately needed in Elkridge in the foreseeable future. o Prevents double moves that are likely when the boundaries are set for HS13 in 2023. o Will likely help reduce the FARMS for HS13. o Will create a stronger feed versus Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu's plan. Novembers, 2019 Subsequent Testimony: I reside in polygon 300, adjacent to polygon 1300. 1 cannot begin to explain the negative impact you create to send my rising 9 grader to Long Reach High School, while my rising 12 grader would attend Howard High School. . Please do not redistrict polygons 300 and 1300 * If my primary testimony is not accepted, please allow trailing siblings to attend the same high school as their older sibling. Additional Observations: As a 20 year resident of Elkridge, am very frustrated that Elkridge continues to be the most impacted by school overcrowdingwithout a viable solution to relieve overcrowding. Moving a few select polygons in Elkridge does not offer sustainable relief and only disenfranchises these polygons from their community. I reside in one of those polygons that will be disenfranchised from my community from Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu's plan. The prior board decided not to build HS13 in Elkridge, however, it was widely assumed that HS13 would serve the Elkridge community. I wish the current Board would realize that relief is desperately needed in Elkridge. Even if this Board does not agree, I am confident the next Board will realize that relief is needed in Elkridge and will include polygons north of Route 100 and east of Route 95 in the attendance area for HS13. Redistricting a few select polygons in Elkridge does not offer the sustainable relief that is needed in Elkridge. Duringthe October 30 work session, it was mentioned that relieffrom overcrowding in Elkridge would be provided from "High School 14". It is unrealistic to expect the Elkridge community to wait 7 or 10 years or likely longer for sustainable relief from high school overcrowdingfrom a high school in Elkridge. Sustainable relief to high school overcrowding in Elkridge is best attained by including polygons north of Route 100 in the HS13 attendance area in 2023. Very little testimony was provided by residents of Elkridge during the community input sessions dueto the minimal impact in Elkridgethat would result from Dr. Martirano's plan. Now, the Elkridge community is very impacted by Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu's plan. It is very concerningthat the Elkridge community is not provided ample time for due process with only 3 weeks remaining before the Board's decision on November 21 . When will we have time for public hearings? Thank you for your consideration, Brian M. Resident of Polygon 300for 20 years. Resident of Howard County for 46 years and alumni of Howard County Public Schools. November 3, 2019 November 3, 2019 Dear Howard County Board of Education members, I am extremely opposed to the movement of polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 out of Northfield Elementary Schooland DunlogginMiddle School. This will split the DorseyHall neighborhoodin halfand negativelyimpact students,their families, and other residents. Mywife and I just recently boughtour housein DorseyHall this past August, and one ofthe main reasons we chose our house, over others, was because ofthe strong community feel we immediately saw when we first toured our home and the Dorsey Hall Community. We reside in polygon 276 and this move would be incredibly disruptive and heartbreaking to the community as a whole. The proposals by Board of Education members Jen Mallo and Dr. ChaoWu would be devastating to the community of Dorsey Mali and fail to take a number of Important factors into consideration, particularly with respect to Howard County Public School System Policy 6010 on School Attendance Areas. . The Dorsey Hall community would be split apart, negatively impacting community stability. Many of the impacted polygons would divide Columbia Road along one side of the street which would tear these community bonds apart. As an example, if the proposals go through, the Dorsey Hall community pool would be redistricted out of the community. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b which promotes a sense of community by consideration of "areas that are made up of contiguous communities or neighborhoods." . The removal of polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 would negatively impact the socloeconomic diversity and would eliminate the majority of the affordable housingoptions, including all townhouses and condominiums, which currently attend Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle Schools. This would effectively leave the entirety of the Northfield Elementary & Dunloggln Middle Schools as single family homes which clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 3 which promotes the creation of a diverse and inclusive student body. . Thecurrent DunlogginMiddle School to WildeLake High School feed is already very small andthe proposed redistrictingDorsey Hall polygonsof 1148, 2148, 148,302, 276would result in a micro-feedof about four percent for Dunloggin Middle School to Wilde Lake High School. This is hlghiy unreasonable, discourages a sense of community and would be one of, if not, the smallest in the county. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, anddiscourages keeping students together from oneschool to the nextwould result in a feed ofsignificantly less than 15% at the receiving school of Wilde Lake High School. ^ Much of the Dorsey Hall community In polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, and 276 have the option to walk or bike to school as many are lessthan 1 mile from Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle- these preferred sustainable schoolcommuting options would becompletely eliminated. In particular,the recently buildtraffic circle at KlngscupCourt and Columbia Road would be rendered meaningless,along with the significant amount of capital resourcesexpended in the projectto ensuresafe crossing of Columbia Road by walkers. Additionally, these Dorsey Hall polygonshave either 0 orjust 1 trafficlight to getto school,further demonstrating community connection and proper community proximity to attend Northfield and Dunloggin. This option would be completely removed by the proposed changes and runs to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, d which encourages walking. ° The proposed redistricting would require busing ofthese students to ensure that students safely arrive at school andeffectively double the numberof buses required to transportthese students along both sidesof Columbia Road.It alsowould compound traffic virtually all buseswill needto makeleft turns as they enter Columbia Road - the buses on the west side of Columbia Road currently do asthey headtowards Northfield/DunloggIn but the proposal would also require at a minimum school buses to exit Kingscup Court, Old Dragon Path and Hallowed ?-am'"a lefttum5'A11 °f whichwould needto occurprior to thesesame buses traveling through three heavily traffickedtraffic light intersectionsalong Columbia Road at DorseyHall, OldAnnapolis Road and Clarksville Pike. ! would encourage any all Board of Education members to observe these intersections during the morning or afternoon buscommutes or consult the with HowardCounty Office of Transportation which 's currentlystudying this entire section ofColumbia Road (see https://www, hor'ardcountymd. gov/... /Columbia-Ro3d-Traf?ic-Oper...) Based upon the number of accidents and delays that are regularly encountered at these intersections. I would not wantto send additional school busesthrough these region strictly from a safety standpoint, yet alone, traffic considerations.This clearly runscounter to Policy6010, IV, B, 1, c&d andwould significantly increase capital and operatingcosts while Increasing the time anddistance traveled bystudents while also jeopardizing student's safety. . Theproposed redistrlcting of Dorsey Hall polygons 1148,2148, 148,302, 276 would allow unfair treatment by the introduction these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and extended periods for public testimony have already passed. This lacksthe same due process that other proposals and communities have been afforded. It was not until the October 28th work session that these proposals were even introduced and even following the redistrictlng developments closely, I only heard about these proposals after they happened to show up on a social media group I follow. It is notable that during the public hearing for Wilde Lake High School on September 24, not a single person from polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 or 2148 testified - becausewhy would we, this area was not then underconsideration. This is woefully inadequate for a public process and runs counter to the intent of engagingthe public and receiving Community Input per Policy 6010, IV, D. Forthe reasons articulated above, I strongly request the BOENOT Include polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in the final redistrictlng plan and that they remain at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle Schools. I will be representingmy communityat the upcomingWork Sessions and will beactively working my communityto keep One Dorsey Hall. Regards, Casey Ring Polygon 276 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Beth Webb Dear BOE members, In determining the placement of polygon 127, 1 have two requests: 1) Please consider that this polygon was re-districted last year at the ES and MS levels in order to strengthen the feed so I request that you please do not redistrict again at these levels so soon and certainly do not do so in such a way that would once again make us a small feed. 2) Please ensure that any changes made at the high school level keep our polygon as part of a robust feed. Both of the two proposals - either remaining at AHS or moving along with a large chunk of AHW to RHS - retain us as part of a strong feed and appreciate that. Thank you, Beth Webb Polygon 127 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Kathryn Patterson Good evening, It was recently brought to my attention that the proposed plan for redistricting the Howard County Public Schoolsnow includes a proposal to relocated students from Polygon 132from Clemens CrossingElementary School to Bryant Woods Elementary. Thisproposed redista-ictingwas added after the opportunity for anyone in our community to voice our opinionat the July public forums. Our community was not given an opportunity to have a voice as others were. This is one of several reasons our family is contacting you now. We would like at the very least to have the chance as others did, to share our thoughts with the Board and the Howard County community at large. The other reasons are below but I wanted to share a story that illustrates one point, that our proximity with the school is very close whichis precisely why we wantto stay districted to Clemens. A few weeks ago, my daughter had a dentist appointment. As we pulled into our driveway, the muffler to my car fell off. It happened to be right before family fun night at the school. My husband was working late and my car was our only mode of transportation. My daughter was vey excited to go and had we lived farther away from school I would have had to breakthe badnews that we could not attend the event at the school. Fortunately for us, we were able to walk to school and attend the PTA sponsored family fun night where she interacted with her classmates and I engaged with other parents. Had we been districted to a school farther away, that would not have happened. My daughter also loves going to the Clemens Crossing pool which gives her an opportunity to see her classmates over the summer, not to mention other areas around Clemens, such as the Hickory Ridge Village Center andthe Hawthorne Center where she sees and interacts with her classmates who live in the same commumty. As a small community, Polygon 132 only has 30 elementary aged children. A small number that would not make a huge impact onthe redistricting effort. It would be more cost effective to keepthe current busroute to Clemens. We live only a halfa mile from Clemens Crossing and would be considered walkers if not for a halfa block of missing sidewalkon OwenBrown road. Relocating us wouldmean having to navigate several miles away which is difficult as a working mother who relays on before and after care for her child. We would also have to coordinate with the before and after care for Bryant Woods as we are unfamiliar with them. This would causeus to lose our priority slot at CA for Clemens and would interfere with our work schedules and put our family in a difficult position. Our daughter is currently involved in Girl Scouts at Clemens and, as a second grader, has established many friendships aswell as a love for herschool. Startingat a newschool halfwaythrough her elementary years wouldmean starting over, learninga newschool environment, andhaving to makenew friends. These are ourmain concerns. I appreciate youtaking the time to readthis. Truly we love the Clemens Crossing school community and wish to remain districted to that school. Regards, Kathryn and Thomas Patterson Kathleen V. Hanks From: Ethan Andreas Hello, I am writing to voice my concern about the redistricting process in general. I am a resident ofpolygon 189. I knowthe school boardmembers aretrying theirbest, but havingwatched this process in depthfor the last two times, the board needs to seriously consider making changes to how redistricting is done, and how to move forward this time around; The fact that polygons that were not part of the superintendent's plan, now could be moved because they are being included in board member's plan, disadvantages them because they are not given the same opportunity for public feedbackthat the polygons that wereincluded in the superintendent's plan. These work sessions should occur at the same time the superintendent's plan is issued, and then public feedback scheduled after a concerte plan is on the table. I think it was a waste of money to pay for the feasibility study, and to issue a plan from the superintendent and get a bunch ofpeople worked up, when neither ofthose documents are really factors whenthe board starts discussingpossible moves. Thereason the redistricting process is so painful is that it is drawn out and out-of-order. Also, Dr. Wu'splan haspolygon 189and 1189moving to Clarksville, ES. Thesetwo polygons arejust over a mile away from Pointers Run ES and would be isolated from the rest ofthe Clarksville ES neighborhoods. It might not look like it on the polygon map, but if youjust bring up Google maps, you have route 32 and a bunch ofcommercial development that divides it from the rest ofthe contingent. There are no sidewalks that connect the areas and tons ofbuys roads, so you can forget about riding bikes with your friends. Bad decisions have lasting consequences. Pointer's would not have the capacity issues it does, if the Board made better decisions last time around and allowed themselves to be influenced when the River's Edge neighborhood got moved from demons Crossing ES to Pointers instead of going to another school that is closer. Now demons is underutilized andmy daughteris at risk ofbeing moved out ofa school she isjust over a mile awayfrom, and that neighborhood is over 5 miles away and can't be moved because they were moved last time. I thinkthe boardknows that the approachthis time is rushed, disjointed andneed process improvements. I know nobody wants to push this offbecause ofthe real issues facing the schools, but a better process that gets it right would be better than more bad decisions, like moving the River's Edge neighborhood to Pointers. Thanks, Ethan Andreas To: HCPSS Board of Education; redistrictinK@ihcoss. ore From: David Bower Resident of Polygon 302 would like to put forth my objections to the Howard County Public School System zone/polygon redistricting, specifically of Polygons 148/276/302/1148/2148 from Northfield ESand Dunloggin MS to Running Brook ESand Wilde Lake MS. We have found out that these polygons are now being considered formoving in newplans proposed byBoard Members, whenthey were not includedin any of the prior proposals. The residents affected by the publicized proposals had adequate time to evaluate the plansand express their opinions both in person and inwriting, howeverwe are not being given that opportunity sincethese new proposals are beingmade afterthose opportunities haveclosed. These new plans have not hadthe time for evaluation and for explanation ofthe proposed moves. For these specific polygons, the suggested moves do not make sense for a variety of reasons. 1) Dorsey Hall is a community that is proposed to be separated into two groups with some attending Northfield ESand Dunloggin MS, and others attending Running Brook ESand Wilde LakeES. These kidsall live in the same neighborhood, sharethe same playgrounds and community pool, and are on the same neighborhood sports teams. They have been attending the same schools and havethrived as a community. Breaking these kids up will harm the neighborhood community. Columbia Road might seem like a big street but there are multiple cross walksand we regularly walkthe neighborhood paths. Withthese new plans, as we walk down Columbia Road towards the community pool houses on the left of the street will beat different schools than the condos and townhouses on the other side. 2) Additionally, splitting this neighborhood which is all districted to the same Wilde Lake HSwill create an incrediblysmall feed of children that will attend Northfield ES,Dunloggin MS, and Wilde LakeHS. Thissmall numberof children would be movingto a highschool with very few people that they have created relationships with growing up, putting them at a social disadvantage in HS. 3) Some of these polygons are within walking distance (less than 1 mile) from Northfield ESand Dunloggin MS, though they are bussed because of Columbia Road. Not all polygons are able to walk, butthe ESand MSare literally atthe endof Columbia Road. Thereare no major roadsto crossand the transportation distanceis much shorterwhich is betterfor these young children. Please seriously reconsider the moving of Polygons 148/276/302/1148/2148. Please do not split the Dorsey Hall community, which is a very tight knit and active community. Kathleen V. Hanks From: Brian D'Amico To Whom It May Concern, , ollowg "pto my earliCTe:mai1' smce bemgmade awareof the quietly modified districting ofPolygons 100and 1100I haveattempted to find out more details about the specifics of this plan. I amvery displeased at the back room dealingsand inconsistently enforcedpolicies on soliciting feedback surrounding these poorly advertised proposals. I foundDr. Chu^sprivate website (httos://chaowu. ors/2019/10/31/updated-mv-redistrictine-plan) whichincludes modified redistricting options that have not made available to the general public through the officialHCPSS website (http^//hcpssty. new. swagit. comA'ideos/36510). Additionally, ina September6, 2019 blogpost, onChu's private website, he actively solicits feedback onthe redistricting efforts through hisprivate e-mail (:chaowu2016@gmail. com) eventhough HCPSS policy clearly staters that written testimony shouldnot be sent to individual board members ('httDS://www. hcDss. ori;/school-plannine/boundarv-review/DubIic-hearines/#written- testimony) -°^e,^ai?, m',lst,reglstermy displeasure at the backroom negotiation pertaining to the redistricting ofPolygons 100 and 1100.The lackof transparency limits the opportunity for receiving comments from thepublic atlarge, while Dr. Chuback channels feedback through private e-mail addresses. These actions have actively limited the public's awarenessof the proposed changes to schooldistricts, thereby limiting negative feedback, to what many may considera controversial modificationto theexisting school districts. Given the inability ofthe public to provide feedback atthe previously held listening session, combined with the extremely, mited a.m°unt oft.ime.left inthe redistricting process, I request thatany modifications to Polygons 1 00 and^l100 be limited to those that have been made available to the public through the proper channels and with sufficient time that the affected population hashad the opportunity to provide their feedback. I sincerely hope you will consider my comments andthank you for your time onthis matter. -Brian D'Amico PolygonllOO 8717 Sicklebar Way E!licottCity, MD21043 OnNov 2, 2019, at 1:54 PM, Brian D'Amico To whom it may concern, I am unclear what exactly is being proposed by school board members for consideration regarding theredistricting ofthe High School Attendance Areas inHoward County. Basedon all the materials shownon the HCPSS redistrictingwebpage (httDS://www. hcpss. ore/school-plaimuigi'boundarv-Teview) it would appear that Polygons 100 and 1100 are expected to stay in the Centennial High School attendance area for each of the redistricting options in consideration; however looking at Chao Wu's (personal?) facebook page there is infomiation that he altered his FY20-21 High School attendance proposal during the October 30, 2019 planning meeting. The only reason I know aboutthis change, having never been a member ofFacebook, is through my neighbors. I have closely followed the updates provided on the HCPSS website as a means to gaugethe need for providingfeedback on the proposed options. To date, I have been very satisfied with the options that you have publicly presented in these pages, however I am very disappointed that substantive changes are being considered without due process. Though the regular updates to the website and e-mails to the community the School Board has created a reasonable expectation that any substantive changes 01 proposals will be made available for public reaction on the HCPSS website. Only providing this very substantive changeto Chao Wu's proposal on his Facebookpage and not updatingthe available dataon the official channels, such as county e-mails or the HCPSS redistricting website it seems like the county is overtly attempting to hidethis controversial proposal while still retaining the bare minimum process of "makingit publicly available." This level of information sharingis unacceptable, in the event of a school closure or even a late school bus, HCPSS does not only post on theii board member's Facebook page, they use the official means of communication available to ensure the public is made aware of important issues as they occur, including e-mailing parents and posting to the HCPSS website. Even as I type this letter, on November2, 2015, the HCPSS website still hosts Wu'spropsal where Polygons 100 and 1100 remain untouched, but no alternate maps are provided for the public to react to. How is the public expectedto provide feedbackto the School Board on their proposals if they are kept secret. Giventhe fact we are now 16 days awayfrom a preliminary decision, basedon the timelines presented on HCPSS'swebsites, it is unreasonableto expectthe public would have had adequate time to evaluate these proposed changes even if they were made public. In the event polygons 100 and 1100 are ultimately redistricted to Wilde Lake HS, my first action will be to contact my attorney to discuss options for a civil suit to recoup the loss ofproperty value resulting from these school district modificationthat were conductedwhile intentionally limiting the information made available to the public pertaining to the districting options under evaluation. As per your instructions on the website I am also attached these comments to this e-mail in a PDF. Thankyou for taking the time to consider my comments. -Brian D'Amico Polygon 1100 8717 SicklebarWay Ellicott City, MD 20143 Dear Howard County School Board: I write in support of Superintendent Martirano's school redistrictingplan, withthe caveatthat rising high schooljuniors and seniors remain at their current schools. I also write in partial opposition to board member Jennifer Malta's "test plan" offered during last week's working sessions, andin full oppositionto boardmember ChaoWu's most recentplan put forth atthe October 31 working session. I support Dr. Martirano's plan - with the risingjuniors and seniors exemption - because it is the best one offered to date that: resolves school overcrowding, balances FARM, and provides the socioeconomic diversity that is so vital to equippingour childrento function as responsible and productive citizens in the diverse communities and workplaces they will live in after they graduate. My partial opposition to board member Mallo's plan is that it separates Polygons 100 and 1100 for high school. These two polygons fomi the entire Wheatfield community, which is diverse, inclusive and active in supporting Howard Coimty schools. Separating these polygons does not make an appreciable difference in achieving redistricting's goals and separates a quite small number of students who will have attended Elementary and Middle School together. For future redistricting actions, Polygons 100 and 1100 should be merged into one. Ideally, in any plan these polygons will remain at Centennial High School because they have and will continue to contribute to this school's socioeconomic diversity. My fall opposition to board member Wu's October 31 plan is that it isolates two high schools - Glenelg and River Hill - from the goal of achieving improved socioeconomic diversity across all county schools. Such isolation will deprive students at these schools ofthe benefits improved socioeconomic diversity brings. Moreover, it will result in an imbalanced redisti-icting outcome where the two high schools in the wealthiest part ofHoward County remain socioeconomically homogeneous, while the other 10 highschools becomemore socioeconomically diverse. Suchimbalance sendsthe wrong message to county students, parents and community members. It also sends the wrong message to other school systems in Maryland and the entire nation who are looking to us for an example ofhow to correct imbalances in schools in a civil, equal and long-term way. I urgethe schoolboard to hold fastto the core goals ofthe Superintendent's Redistricting Plan. If changes are needed, I urge that the board make them in ways that balance benefits and sacrifices across the entire county, not exempting specific schools or regions from these for any reason. Thankyou for letting me sharemy opinionand thoughts. Sincerely, StephenJ. Walker PolygonllOO Kathleen V. Hanks From: Steve Shainline Dear Board of Education Members, After months of proposals and revisions, wewere surprised to find thattwo new redistricting proposals were submitted last week by Dr. ChaoWu and Ms. Jen Malta that now impact our polygon. h both of these plans, Polygon 132 would be moved from demons Crossing Elementary to Bryant Woods Elementary. We have not been provided with sufficient data to understand'the redistricting plan. The timing of these releases is problematic because we were denied a voice in the process as the public comment period is over. With less than 3 weeks until the vote, I am writing to explain the reasons I believe this would be damaging to the small feed neighborhood ofSebring and surrounding streets ofPolygon 132. Polygon 132 is a small feed community with less than 30 children. It is a small pocket surrounded on 2 sides by major roads Broken Land Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road. Moving this small pocket of children would isolate them socially from the Clemens Crossing community and geographically from the Bryant Woods Community. As someone whose son wentthrough Clemens Crossing, Wild Lake Middle and graduated from Atholton High I believe separating our polygon from the rest of their established, cohesive community neighborhood would destroy the very community stability that your constituents have repeatedly voiced is of utmost importance. In past redistricting proceedings Board_of Education decisions have committed to keeping neighborhoods together at every school level. Please uphold this decades-long precedent. Families are socially active within the Clemens Crossing community. Many of the children are members of the Clemens Crossing Cyclones swim team and participate in a number of other neighborhood and school-based clubs and programs that make up the core of the close-knit Clemens Crossing community. Proximity to Clemens Crossing Elementary is % mite and adult and children to bike or walk safely on paths and sidewalks to meet friends or participate in activities. Bryant Woods is 2. 5 milesfrom ourneighborhood and requires cartravel overthe majorroadways of HickoryRidge Road, Broken Land Parkway, Little Patuxent Parkway and Twin Rivers Road. This distance wouFd threaten the children's abilityto independently interact with their peers at BryantWoods. Keeping our neighborhood together in our local neighborhood school directly upholds the standards in Policy6010 with regards to community stability, maintainingstrong feeds, minimizing transportation costs, fiscal responsibility, and minimizing the number of students moved. Clemens Crossing Elementary is notabove capacitywhile the proposed BryantWoods Elementary willbe above capacity after the proposed redistricting. The approximately 30 elementary school students proposed to be moved is a tiny population ofthe student body at both Clemens Crossing or Bryant _oods. ar?d,wou. l.d not affecte. ithe1'schoors facility utilization enough tojustify the trauma ofbeing separated from their community and existing support networks. ?esP.ec?ful!y' pte^se reconsider including oursmall feed, Polygon 132, in the redistricting and keep our students at Clemens Crossing Elementary. Thank you for taking the time to consider my input. Respectfully submitted, Steve Shainline Polygon#132 Kathleen V. Hanks From: WenWang Dear BOE members, Asa residentofPolygon 1148, 1 amdeeply concerned by recent proposals to moveour neighborhood out of Northfieid Elementary School and Dunloggin Middle School. I strongly oppose anyproposal to move 148 ,276/302/ 1148 ,2148 out ofNorthfield Elementary School and Dunloggin Middle School(DMS). Several ofmain reasons are listed below. 1.Being transferred from oneschool to anotherwill negatively impactthe students involved emotionally and academically. 2. NESis not overcrowded at all, andDMS is only slightly overcrowded. 3^NES is theclosest ES andDMS isthe closest MSto ourneighborhood. They areare within the walking distance. Thanks, WenWang ofPolygon#1148 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Jim Berkson My family VIGOROUSLY OPPOSES proposals made last week by Jen Mallo & Dr. Chao Wu that will move the Dorsey Hall poiygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276. 1. You just wasted millions of tax payers' dollars on the consultants for the feasibility study. If this is how you plan to procasa - moving polygons on youi" own - yoa- coulfc have used aii that mo-iey or; sci'ioo! expa.-issons, renovations, and I'igi'i school #13. 2. Undoubtedly, this will negatively impact community stability. Moving one siae of the street would tear these community bonds apart. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b). These polygons provide much of the socioeconomic diversity at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle. Redistricting of these polygons would eliminate the majority of the affordable housing options, including all townhouses and condominiums, which currently attend Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 3) This goes in the face of the plan for this radical redistricting. 3. The Dunloggin Middle to Wilde Lake High feed is already very small. These proposals redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would result in a micro- feed of ~4°/o for DMS to WLHS, which is highly unreasonable and would be one of the smallest in the county. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, a) 4. All though not designated walkers, much of the Dorsey Hall community in polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, and 276 have the option to walk or bike to school, many are 1 mile or less from Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle - these preferred sustainable school commuting options would be completely eliminated. Increases in the already traffic stricken locations of Running Brook Elementary and Wilde Lake Middle would increase commutes exponentially. These Dorsey Hall polygons have either 0 or just 1 traffic light to get to school, further demonstrating community connection and proper community proximity to attend Northfield and Dunloggin. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c & d) 5. Redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would allow unfair treatment by introducing these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and periods for public testimony have already passed. This lacks the same due process over these past months as other proposals, including public testimonies. We strongly request the BOE ' include polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in the final redistricting plan and that they remain at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle for the clear reasons stated above. Please take our concerns seriously. Listen to us. We do not like feeling that we are completely at the mercy of this Board! Several remarks that are being made by the Board, how the Board is handling this, makes all off us feel as if you have forgotten that CHILDREN, PAMIUSS, NE23KBOR.-30C3S are being ripped apart. ^enriember who elected yot: Er;d W^£^ VG: ara supposec; ';o bs '?igh£irig Sincerely, Jim Berkson Polygon #1148 Kathleen V. Hanks From: yuexin Dear BOE meabers, I noticed you plan to redistricting a couples of school polygons. Unfortunately, our polygon 302 is in one of these polygons. I strongly disagree your plans. Below are my arguments. First of all, putting more money and resources on improving the current school (e. g. enroll more teachers, increase the classrooms etc. ) to meet the current school capacity is more important and meaningful than just only trying to resiove some of the current students out of school. The equity not only means all the indices such like the gender ratio, the FARM rate, the student vs. teacher rate. etc. on each school should be similar (that is not enough in my opinion), but also means every current student in the school should be treated equally, and they should not have to leave just because of redistricting reason itself. Each kid spends almost half of his/her studying time (about 6 years) in the elementary school, which undoubtedly has big influence on his/her growing and learning. It is not easy for little one to frequently change his/her study environment every couple of years. Therefore, it is not wise to redistricting on the elementary schools without urgent needs. On the contrary, if the school cannot meet the need of current students, it should improve the school capacity by way of increasing more teachers, classrooms, etc. Second, in the long run, the Running Brook Elementary School where our kids may go finally will also outgrow the capacity due to the growth of nearby residential, commercial development, so there is chance that the students Running Brook Elementary School also need to aove. My kid may be moved again. These changes have negative impacts on my kids. They are not able to have long term friendship with their classmates and the teachers. They need to keep themselves to fit the new schools' everything, and continuously spend large amount of time on adapting the new schools. Third, our polygon 302 is located on the other side of the road trunk 108 which is a busy and a high- speed-limit road. My kids have to walk across the road 108 to the Running Book Elesientary School. The walkability is dramatically reduced than before due to the high volume of traffic on the road 1C8 and nearby roads (N 29, S 29). It is very dangerous for walking and hiking for people, not to mention for the kids. Fourth, after the northern part of Northfield get well developed, the needs of more classrooms and teachers still exist, it is not a wise way to keep removing students out of school. Besides, the Northfield Eleieatary School currently is not in the status of outgrowing, moving us is not a good way and the only way to achieve your goal. All in all, as the resident ia polygon 302, I strongly hope that the BOE meffibers can reconsider the two redistricting school plans. Thank you. Kathleen V. Hanks From: Kathryn van der Lippe Dear Board of Education Members, After months of proposals and revisions, we were surprised to find that two new redistricting proposals were submitted last week by Dr. Chao Wu and Ms. Jen Mallo that now impact our polygon. In both of these plans, Polygon 132 would be moved from Clemens Crossing Elementary to Bryant Woods Elementary. We have not been provided with sufficient data to understand the redistricting plan and advocate for our children. The timing of these releases is problematic because we were denied a voice in the process as the public comment period is over. With less than 3 weeks until the vote, I am writing to explain the reasons I believe this would be damaging to the small feed neighborhood ofSebringand surrounding streets of Polygon 132. Polygon 132 is a small feed community with less than 30 children. It is a small pocket surrounded on 2 sides by major roads Broken Land Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road. Moving this small pocketof children would isolate them socially from the Clemens Crossing community and geographically from the Bryant Woods Community. Separating our polygon from the rest of their established, cohesive community neighborhood destroys the very community stability that your constituents have repeatedly voiced is of utmost importance. In past redistricting proceedings Board of Education decisions have committed to keeping neighborhoodstogether at every school level. Please uphold this decades-long precedent. Our families are socially active within the Clemens Crossing community. Many of the children are members of the Clemens Crossing Cyclones swim team and participate in a number of other neighborhood and school- based clubs and programs that make up the core of the close-knit Clemens Crossing community. Our proximity to Clemens Crossing Elementary is % mile and we are able to bike or walk safely on paths and sidewalksto meet friends or participate in activities. Bryant Woods is 2. 5 miles from our neighborhood and requires car travel over the major roadways ofHickory Ridge Road, Broken Land Parkway, Little Patuxent Parkway and Twin Rivers Road. This distance would threaten the children's ability to independently interact with their peers at Bryant Woods. Keepingour neighborhoodtogether in our local neighborhood school directly upholds the standards in Policy 6010 with regards to community stability, maintaining strong feeds, minimizing transportation costs, fiscal responsibility, and minimizingthe number of students moved. Clemens Crossing Elementary is not above capacity while the proposed Bryant Woods Elementary will be above capacity after the proposed redistricting. The approximately 30 elementary school students proposed to be moved is a tiny population of the student body at both Clemens Crossing or Bryant Woods and would not affect either school's facility utilization enough to justify the trauma of being separated from their community and existing support networks. Respectfully, please reconsider including our small feed, Polygon 132, in the redistricting and keep our students at Clemens Crossing Elementary. Thank you for takingthe time to consider my input. Respectfully submitted, Kathryn van der Lippe Polygon #132 Kathleen V. Hanks From: H Lupold Hello I am the parent of an 8th and an 11th grader and have been ta-acking the recent redistricting activities. I am frustrated and disappointed that the Mt. Hebron and Valley Mede communities continue to be under redistricting pressure. These are long-standing communities of home built 25-60 years ago, yet every redistricting proposal seems to include these communities. - A few years ago, polygon 2161 moved a large number ofkids from SJLESto Waveriy elementary. Ms. Mallo's plan has those same kids and families now coming back. - Both Dr. Martirano and Ms. Mallo's plans have Valley Mede polygons 1159 and 159 going from SJLESto Manor Woods. These same polygons are also moving to different middle (Burleigh Manor) and high (Man-iotts Ridge) schools under these plans. These polygons are part of the Valley Mede community and there is no break line (natural or man made) between these polygons and the rest of Valley Mede. Sincerely Heather Lupold Mt. Hebron Sent from my iPhone Kathleen V. Hanks From: Lori Long Dear BOE members, After watching your work session on Oct. 30*, I would like to urge you to strongly support Dr. Wu's plan to leave Polygon1199 and neighboringpolygons that are geographicallycloser to River Hill at River Hill. As part of HCPSS families, we have spent many hours providingwritten and oral testimonies, and I hopethose testimonies have been read andtaken into consideration by every BOEmember. Comparison between Dr. Wu's, Ms Mallo'sand the superintendent's plan clearly shows Dr. Wu's plan moves much less students and has kept the community as intact as possible. Dr. Wu'splan to only assign RiverHill polygonsthat are geographicallycloser to Glenelg HStoGlenelg makes sense in that it minimizes transportation costs and time, and does much less harm to students in a school that is undercapacity. Thank you Dr. Wu for listening to us! On the other hand, we continue to strongly oppose Ms. Mallo's and the superintendent's proposals. Not only are both plansvery disruptiveto the communities by moving over7, 000students withoutbetter solvingthe overcrowding problem than Dr. Wu'splan, butthey alsofailed to provide a better solution to averagethe FARMSrate in eachschool. Moreover, both plans specifically target Atholton and River Hill HS by proposing costly and irrational moves that will end up with significant disruption of these two schools. Ms. Mallo stated that she wanted to fix the overcrowding problem and presented a cascade of moving. However, this cascade did not even include the overcrowded Centennial or Mt. Hebron. Whatwas her logic behindthis? Ms. Mallo, you spoke a lot at the worksession, but never mentioned in one sentence that you read and cared about our feedback; please, explain to us, why was the public input so insignificantto you?You saidyou wantedto do things rightfor all the kids, butwhy do you wantto ignorethe opinions from the majority ofthe students and parents? Please,sympathize and empathizewith us. Nostudents want to be forced out oftheir beloved schools. Ifyou wantto dothe rightthing for the kids,you should move asfew students as possible. You shouldfocus on alleviatingthe overcrowding problem in those overcapacityschools, such asCentennial, insteadof proposing unnecessaryand harmful movesfrom undercapacityschools that will not help addressthe overcrowding issue. I was also deeply troubled by Ms. Taj's comments at the work session and her lack of knowledge about HCPSS schools. I strongly disagree with Ms. Taj's opinion about "segregation" in Howard County. As Chinese immigrants, my family and I chose to live in HowardCounty because of its diversity, equity and inclusion. I am very happyto see people with all sorts of ethnic and cultural backgrounds in my neighborhood. I think it is very insulting to use "segregation" to describe Howard County. Not knowing what polygon she herself resided in, Ms. Taj only spoke about averaging FARMS percentage in eachschool everytime shespoke. Foreverything else, shedid not seemto care at all. Shedid not even bother to explain why she only cared about FARMS percentages. Ms. Taj, can you please keep your campaign promise to considersolving the overcrowding problem asthe primarydrive of redistricting? I would also like to urge you to consider the options in the feasibility study. The feasibility study was based on experts' opinions and has provided different options for you to consider. It cost a lot of us taxpayers'money and should have been used by the superintendent as an important reference to create his plan. Many of us have reviewed the options in the feasibility study and provided our feedback during the summer. It was one ofthe least disruptive plans and most of the options have achievedthe goal affixingthe overcrowding problem. At the worksession, manyof you talked about the time limitations you had to review the newly proposed plans. In this case, why can't you just put out the options in the feasibility study as a comparison with other plans? The word "equity"has been mentioned manytimes at the publichearings and yourwork sessions. As an immigrant and Chinese American, I have always valued equity the most. However, I think both Ms. Mallo's and the superintendent's plans haveviolated the criteriaof equity. At the "dictionary.com"website, equity is definedas "the quality of beingfair or impartial; fairness; impartiaiity", or "something that is fair and just". Both plans unfairly targeted Western Howard County Schools, with Atholton and River Hill at the High School level. I think all of the board members should have the responsibility to fairly and equally treat each HCPSS student; this is real equity. Last but not least, a big "thank-you" goes to Ms. Kathleen Hanks, who has spent hours and hours every day organizing and scanning our testimonies. I sincerely hope each of the board members will carefully read all of our testimonies and make a fairdecision. Please, keep Polygon1199 and our neighboringpolygons in RiverHill HighSchool. Please, do !ess harm to the students by moving as few students as possible. Sincerely, Lori Long Polygon 1199 To Whom It May Concern: I am writingto express my frustration in the progress that has been made on the redistricting. I do appreciate all the effort the board has put in to this process and I understand that this is a VERY complicated problem. I am concerned with the fact that 2 new plans have been introduced and there is still a lot of work to be done to figure out how the final plan should look. I am not sure how you can solve the problems with the short time remaining. I beg of you to addressthe over-crowdingthat is debilitatingsome schools now and try to carefully and methodically handle the rest. Rushing in this situation will do more harm than good. Also, I think it is important for you to look at the budget when deciding this. If I was going to do any project, I first try to look at what I can afford to spend. We are in deep financial trouble. What is it goingto cost and what programs are you goingto need to cut from ALLstudents to move over 7000 children? Also, it seems like almost every family is happy in their current school. Is it all possible to use the money for construction? I will selfishly say that the change to our community was made worse by eliminating some of the polygons that will go to HCMS. I am in polygon 1028. Ms. Mallo removed polygon 28 from the feed that will go to HCMS, which will make our feed goingto HCMS even smaller. Polygons 28, 1028 and 2028 should remain together. Thank you again for the time and effort that you are putting into trying to solve this. The burden of over development has somehow been put on you. Annika Luke Polygon 1028 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Susan Bayer Dear Howard County Board of Educationmembers, I am vigorously opposed to movement ofpolygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 214SJ out ot'Northtield ES because this will literally split the Dorsey Hall neighborhood in half. We reside in polygon 1152 and our children currently attend both Northfield Elementary School and DunlogginMiddle School. Although our polygon is not on the table for change currently, this move would be detrimental to the entire Dorsey Hall neighborhood. The proposals by Board of Education members Jen Mallo and Dr. Chao Wu would be devasting to the community of Dorsey Hall and in my view are ill-considered without taking a number of important factors into consideration, particularly with respect to Howard County Public School System Policy 6010 on School Attendance Areas. The Dorsey Hall community would be split apart, negatively impacting community stability. Many ofthe impacted polygons would divide Columbia Road along one side of the street would tear these community bonds apart. As example, if the proposals go through, the Dorsey Hall community pool would literally be redistricted out ofthe community. Swim team would be greatly affected whichis a shame since it is a major community bonding activity for both parent andkids. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b whichpromotes a sense of community by consideration of "areas that are made up of contiguous communities or neighborhoods." . The removal ofpolygons 148, 276, 3U2, 114)j and 2148 would negatively impact the socioeconomic and would eliminate the majority ofthe affordablehousing options, including all townhouses and condominiums, whichcurrently attendNorthfield Elementary & DunlogginMiddle Schools. This would effectively leave the entirety of the Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle Schools as single family homes which clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 3 whichpromotes the creation of a diverse and inclusive student body. . The cim-ent DunlogginMiddle School to Wilde LakeHigh School feed is already very small and the proposed redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons of 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would result in a micro-feed of about four percent for DunlogginMiddle School to Wilde Lake High School. This is highlyunreasonable, discourages a sense of community and would be one of, if not, the smallest in the county. This clearly nms counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, a and discourages keeping students together from one school to the next would result in a feed of significantly less than 15% at the receiving school of Wilde Lake High School. . Much ofthe Dorsey Hall community in polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, and 276 have the option to walk or bike to school as many are less than 1 mile from Northfield Elementary & DunlogginMiddle - these preferred sustainable school commuting options would be completely eliminated. In particular, the recently build trafFic cu'cle at Kingscup Court and ColumbiaRoad would be rendered meaningless, along with the significantamount of capital resources expended in the project to ensure safe crossing of ColumbiaRoad by walkers, particularly from polygon 2148 and 1 148 (like us). This option would be completely removed by the proposed changes and runs to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, d which encourages walking. The proposed redistricting would require busing ofthese students to ensure that students safely arrive at school and effectively double the number ofbuses required to transport these students along both sides of Columbia Road. It also would compound traffic issues are require that virtually all buses will need to make left turns as they enter Columbia Road - the buses on the west side of Columbia Road currently do as they head towardsNorthfield/Dunloggin but theproposal would also require at a minimum school busesto exitKingscup Court OldDragon Path and Hallowed Streamvia left turns. All ofwhich would need to occurprior to these same busestraveling throughthree heavily trafficked traffic light intersections along ColumbiaRoad at Dorsey Hall, OldAnnapolis Roadand Clarksville Pike. I would encourage any all Board ofEducation members to observe these intersections during the morning or afternoon bus commutes or consult the with Howard County Office ofTransportation which is currently studying this entire section of Columbia Road (see https://www. howardcountvmd. aov/DeDartments/County-Admmistration/Transportation/Columbia-Road- Traffic-Operations-Assessment-and-Complete-Streets-Studv) Based upon the number of accidents and delays tiiat are regularly encountered atthese intersections, I wouldnot wantto sendadditional schoolbuses through these region strictly &om a safety standpoint, yet alonetraffic considerations. This clearly runs counterto Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c & d and would significantfy increase capital and operating costs while increasing the time and distanceta-aveled by students while alsojeopardizing student's safety. . The proposed redistricting ofDorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would allow unfair treatment by the introduction these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and extended periods for public testimony have already passed. This lacks the same due process that other proposals and communities have been afforded. It was not until the October 28th Work Session that these proposals were even introduced. It is notable that during the public hearing for Wilde Lake High School on September 24, not a singleperson from polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 or 2148 testified - becausewhy would we, this areawas not then under consideration. The last-minute proposals are ill-considered and Board of Education members, let alone the impacted communities have not had an opportunity to adequately review the new proposals, let alone participate. This is woefully inadequate for a public process and runs counter to Ae intent of engaging the public and receiving Community Input per Policy 6010, IV, D. For the reasons articulated above, I strongly request the BOB NOT include polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in thefinal redistricting plan andthat my neighbors canremain atNorthfield Elementary andDunloggin Middle Schools. Thank you for your consideration, SusanBayer Kathleen V. Hanks From: Kim Sivley I am writing regarding the pending redistricting decisions, know that the board has hard decisions to make regarding the safety, well-being, and education of all Howard County students. know that any decision you make regarding moving students is likely to meet with some displeasure. We live in polygon 3087. We are currently districted for Howard High School. Many of the plans you are considering we move us to Long Reach High School. We have a current 9th and 6th grader. I am requesting that you consider exempting rising sophomores from any redistricting. I know that all Howard County schools have great teachers, staff and educational opportunities. I am asking that you consider that success and enjoyment of high school years is impacted by more than a nice building and great teachers. At this time of development peer groups and peer support are also very crucial and can impact self-esteem, stress management and positive or negative decision making. While, "children are resilient" is a nice catch phrase, what we actually know is that some children are more resilient than others and some children need more support in managing this turbulent time. Please give current freshman who just went through a large transition from middle school to high school an opportunity to stay in their current school if this isa positive enriching environment for them. Many have found their way already into supportive relationships with coaches, teachers and guidance counselors. My understanding is that there has already been discussion of exempting rising juniors and seniors and even providing transportation. Many juniors and seniors do not even take the bus and their likely would not need to be any additional cost to adding sophomores to existing buses. Even if transportation is only available for one or two years or not approved at all. Please give children who would prefer to stay in the supportive and stable environment they have already formed a chance to do so with their own transportation. This compromise would cost nothingand serve to make the transition easierfor many. Let risingfreshman and beyond start in a school they will remain in and let others complete high school in the school they have already made a home. Thank you for your consideration, Kim Sivley Kathleen V. Hanks From: NEAL BONNER Dear Members of the Howard County Board of Education: I am a resident ofthe Dorsey Hall neighborhood, Polygon 1152. I strongly oppose the recommendation from both Board of Education members, Ms. Mallo and Dr. Wu, that move the following polygons in Dorsey Hall (148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148) from Northfield ES and Dunloggin MS to Running Brook ES and Wilde Lake MS. This move presents several violations of Howard County Public School System Policy 6010 on School Attendance Areas. The movement ofthese five polygons will split the Dorsey Hall community apart which will adversely impact community stability. This absence of stability would be felt with a decision, such as this, that moves one side of a neighborhood street away from the neighborhood to schools outside of the community. CViolationof Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b). The movement ofpolygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 would significantly alter the socioeconomic diversity at Northfield ES and Dunloggin MS, by eliminating affordable housing options including all townhouses and condominiums which are currently assignedto Northfield ES and Dunloggin ES. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 3). The current Dunloggin MS feedto Wilde Lake HS is small (approximately 11%). Redistricting polygons148, 276, 302, 1 148 and 2148 from Dunloggin MS to Wilde Lake MS will create a micro-feed from Dunloggin MS to Wilde Lake HS. It is highly unreasonable to reduce the size ofan already small feed and the movement ofthese polygons would adversely impact the stability ofthe Dorsey Hall community. Reducingthe size ofthe feed from Dunloggin MS to Wilde LakeHigh School not only creates an unreasonable micro-feed, but could isolate this portion of the Wilde Lake High School community whichis already separated by geography. (Violation ofPolicy 6010, IV, B, 2, a). Although not currently designated as walkers, many ofthe students who live in polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148, and 2148 have the option to walk or bike to school by accessing sidewalks md walking paths throughout the community. By using these paths, many students in these polygons are less than a mile &om bothNorthfield ES and Dunloggin MS. Additionally, a ti-affic circle was built that now allows for walkers to safely cross Columbia Road to get to school. There is also a crossing guard posted on Gray Rock Road that allows walkers, using the walking paths to get to school, to safely cross this road. Redistricting these polygons eliminates sustainable options ofcommuting to both Northfield ES and Dunloggin MS, and will add to the already high volume oftraffic that exists for Wilde Lake MS, as a result of its location next to Wilde Lake HS. (Violation ofPolicy 6010, IV, B, 1, c & d). The proposed redistricting ofDorsey Hall polygons148, 276, 302, 1 148 and 2148 presents as unfair treatment to the residents ofthe Dorsey Hall community, as these proposed moves were introduced duringwork sessionswell afterthe opportunity to provide public testimony. Introducingtwo newplans both after the window ofpublic testimony and with only a few weeks before the November 21, 2019 deadline, lacks the same due process that other proposals and Howard County residents have been afforded. Plainly stated, introducing new plans following the opportunity for public testimony and with an imminent deadline, raises real concerns about the integrity ofthe redistricting process. I implore you to consider extending the deadline if the Board is unable to reach a decision that reflects the goals of redistricting, with equal opportunity for residents to respond to all plans in consideration. For the reasons noted above, please refrain from redistricting polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148 and 2148 from Northfield ES and Dunloggin MS to Running Brook ES and Wilde Lake MS for the sake of safeguarding community stability, affordingstudents the option to walkto school, andpreserving analready small high school feed. Thank you for your time, consideration and efforts to address these issues thoughtfully for Howard County. Sincerely, Cindy Banner (polygon 1152) Kathleen V. Hanks From: YC Un Hi BOB members I live in Polygon 1148. 1 have two sons, and one is in the 1 st grade and anther will be K next year. We really appreciate your time and efforts on this topic. I know you me reasonable and data driven, specifically for this topic. Here are a few factors that I would like you to consider before decidingthe redistricting changesmade to NES andDMS, moving polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302: First, this move splits a community. Splitting one side of Columbia Rd off fragments our community, and would also leave a ridiculously small feed from DMS to WLHS. Here is a post from our neighbors "In June, whenthe 8th graders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing...the Dorsey neighborhoodsplitting from the Dunlogginneighborhood for High School is a tough split since the majority of the kids has been together K-8th and then they have a super small feed to WLHS. I was shocked at the sobbing, mostly from young men. That said, we KNEW it was coming, .we had years to prepare ..try to lean. towards a friendshipwithin the "hood." This change would make it so much more devastatingon these kids... they'll know zero people" Second, the proposed redistricting would require busing of these students to ensure that students safely arnve at school and effectively double the number ofbuses required to transport these students along both sides of Columbia Road. It also would compound traffic issues are require that virtually all buses will need to make left turns as they enter Columbia Road - the buses on the west side of Columbia Road currently do as they head towards Northfield/Dunloggin but the proposal would also require at a minimum school buses to exit Kingscup Court, Old Dragon Path and Hallowed Stream via left turns. All of which would need to occur prior to these same buses traveling through three heavily trafficked traffic light intersections along Columbia Road at Dorsey Hall, Old Annapolis Road and Clarksville Pike. I would encourage any all Board of Education members to observe these intersections during the morning or afternoon bus commutes or consult the with Howard County Office of Transportation which is currently studying this entire section of Columbia Road (see https://www. howardcountvmdigoy/.. . /Columbia-Road-Traffic-Oper...) Based upon the number of accidents and delays (hat are regularly encountered at these intersections, I would not want to send additional school busesthrough these region strictly &om a safety standpoint, yet alone traffic considerations. This clearly nms counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c & d and would significantly increase capital andoperating costs while increasingthe time and distance traveled by students while alsojeopardizing student's safety This move splits a community. Splitting one side of Columbia Rd offfragments our community, and would also leave a ridiculously small feed from DMS to WLHS. Here is a post from our neighbors "In June, when the 8th graders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing... the Dorsey neighborhood splitting from the Dunloggin neighborhoodfor High School is a tough split since the majority of the kids has been together K-8th and then they have a super small feed to WLHS. I was shocked at the sobbing, mostly from young men. That said, we KNEW it was coming.. we had years to prepare .. try to lean towards a friendship within the "hood. " This change would make it so much more devastating on these kids...they'll know zero people" Here are some suggestions that I would like you to consider: 1. All current proposal will move 96 MS students (avg 5 year projection) from polygons (148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276) to WLMS andmove 24 students from Polygons 111, 1111 from DMS to OMMS while moving in 66 students (avg 5 year projection) from Polygons 153, 1153, 72 to DMS. 2. To reduce the over capacity at DMS, you canjust move 63 students from polygons 106, 1106 from DMS to Patapsco MS. Those polygons are closer to PMS than DMS. also this will get the same number of students reduction at DMS. This will eliminate the island (106, 1106) on map as well. It reduces the impact from 10 polygons to 2 polygons. NES projected utilization is 108% and does not need to be touched at all. Please keep Dorsev TOGETHER and keep us ALL at our walkable, neishborhood schools: DO NOT movine polvsons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302 Regards Guo Zhao Kathleen V. Hanks From: LinJing Hi BOE members Please keep Dorsey TOGETHER and keep us ALL at our walkable, neishborhood schools: NOT moving polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302 I live in Polygon 1 148. 1 have two sons, and one is in the 1 st grade and antherwill be K next year. Wereally appreciate your time and efforts on this topic. I know you are reasonable and data driven, specifically for this topic. Here are a few factors that I would like you to consider before deciding the redistricting changes made to NES and DMS, moving polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302: 1. The proposed redistrictmg would require busing ot these students to ensure that students safely arrive at school and effectively double the number of buses required to transport these students along both sides of Columbia Road. It also would compound traffic issues are require that virtually all buses will need to make left turns as they enter Columbia Road - the buses on the west side of Columbia Road currently do as they head towards Northfield/Dunloggin but the proposal would also require at a minimum school buses to exit Kingscup Court, Old DragonPath and Hallowed Stream via left turns. All ofwhich would needto occur prior to these same buses traveling throughthree heavily traffickedtraffic light intersections along ColumbiaRoad at Dorsey Hall, Old Annapolis Road and Clarksville Pike. I would encourage any all Board of Education members to observe these intersections dliring the morning or afternoon bus commutes or consult the with Howard County Office of Transportation which is currendy studying this entire section of Columbia Road (see httDS://www.howardcountvmd. gov/.. ./Columbia-Road-Traffic-Oper... ) Based upon the number of accidents and delays that are regularly encountered at these intersections, I would not want to send additional school buses through these region strictly from a safety standpoint, yet alone traffic considerations. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c& d and would significantly increase capital and operating costs while increasing the time and distance traveled by students while also jeopardizing student's safety 2. This move splits a community. Splitting one side of Columbia Rd off fragments our community, and would also leave a ridiculously small feed from DMS to WLHS. Here is a post from our neighbors "In June, when the 8th graders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing... the Dorsey neighborhood splitting from the Dunloggin neighborhood for High School is a tough split since the majority of the kids has been together K-8th and then they have a super small feed to WLHS. I was shocked at the sobbing, mostly from young men. That said, we KNEW it was coming.. we had years to prepare .. try to lean towards a friendship within the "hood." This change would make it so much more devastatingon these kids...they'll know zero people" 1 Here are some suggestions that I would like you to consider: 1. Your current proposal will move 96 MS students (avg 5 year projection) from polygons (148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276) to WLMS and move 24 students from Polygons 111, 1111 from DMS to OMMS while moving in 66 students (avg 5 year projection) from Polygons 153, 1153, 72 to DMS. 2. To reduce the over capacity at DMS, you can just move 63 students from polygons 106, 1106 from DMS to Patapsco MS. Those polygons are closer to PMS than DMS. also this will get the same number of students reduction at DMS. This will eliminate the island (106, 1106) on map as well. It reduces the impact from 10 polygons to 2 polygons. NES projected utilization is 108% and does not need to be touched at all. Regards Jing Un Kathleen V. Hanks From: YenChih Hi BOE members My family live in Polygon 1148 and we really appreciate your time and efforts on this topic. I know you are reasonable and data driven, specifically for this topic. Here are a few factors that I would like you to considerbefore decidingthe redistricting changesmade to NES and DMS, moving polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302: 1. This move splits a community. Splitting one side of Columbia Rd off fragments our community, and would also leave a ridiculously small feed from DMS to WLHS. Here is a post from our neighbors "In June, when the 8th graders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing... the Dorsey neighborhood splitting from the Dunloggin neighborhood for High School is a tough split since the majority of the kids has been together K-8th and then they have a super small feed to WLHS. I was shocked at the sobbing, mostly from young men. That said, we KNEW it was coming.. we had years to prepare .. try to lean towards a friendship within the "hood. " This change would make it so much more devastating on these kids... they'll know zero people". 2. The proposed redistrictmg would require busing ofthese students to ensure that students safely arrive at school and effectively double the number ofbuses required to transport these students along both sides of Columbia Road. It also would compound traffic issues are require that virtually all buses will need to make left turns as they enter Columbia Road - the buses on the west side of Columbia Road currently do as they headtowards Northfield/Dunlogginbut the proposal would also require at a minimum school buses to exit Kingscup Court, Old Dragon Path and Hallowed Stream via left turns. All of which would need to occur prior to these same buses traveling through three heavily trafficked traffic light intersections along ColumbiaRoad at Dorsey Hall, Old Aimapolis Road and Clarksville Pike. I would encourage any all Board ofEducation members to observe these intersections during the morning or afternoon bus commutes or consult the with Howard County Office ofTransportation whichis currently studyingthis entire section of Columbia Road (see httDS://www. howardcountvmd. Bov/.. ./Columbia-Road-Traffic-Oper... ) Based upon the number of accidents and delays that are regularly encountered at these intersections, I would not want to send additional school buses through these region strictly from a safety standpoint, yet alone traffic considerations. This clearly runs counter to Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c& d and would significantly increase capital and operating costs while increasingthe time and distance traveled by students while also jeopardizing student's safety 3. There is a crossing guard who allows kids to safely cross Gray Rock and CA paths that make it a quick and direct route to school. There are homes in this part ofthe neighborhood whose yards literally back to the schools' fields through a short path. Howard County Government spent nearly a halfmillion dollars of tax payers' money to install a roundabout on Columbia Road so over 50 kids from polygon 1148 and 2148 could safely walk to NES and DMS and now...NOW...you wantto move them?!? It makes absolutely no sense to move kids from school withinwalking distanceto schools that are not walkable and adds extremely heavy traffic pressure to the already crowded Rt 108 andmall traffic during morning peak hour. In addition to the affected residents ofDorsey Search, hundreds of thousands of stakeholders living and working near downtown Columbia area are also negatively affected by the increased traffic. 4. Microfeeder. Right now DMS splits into 3 high schools (Wilde Lake, Centennial andMt Hebron). Only 11% ofDMS students feed into Wilde Lake. So this is already a small feed. If the Dorsey polygons are redistricted to WLMS,the feed from DMS to Wilde Lake (which is already small) shrinks substantially, probably to 4%. And as you can probably imagine, a small feed can be tough on students. It can be isolating and could create a situationwhere students from Dorsey will enter WLHSpretty disconnected from their incoming class and knowing very few people. 5. Polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, 302 provide much of the socio-economic diversity at Northfield. These families may not have a high percent that qualify for FARMs, but those polygons mostly consist of affordable housing (townhomes, condominiums, and apartments). If you remove them, then Northfield becomes less diverse and more affluent. Here are some suggestions that I would like you to consider: 1. Your current proposal will move 96 MS students (avg 5 year projection) from polygons (148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276) to WLMS and move 24 students from Polygons 111, 1111 from DMS to OMMS while moving in 66 students (avg 5 year projection) fromPolygons 153, 1153, 72 to DMS. 2. To reduce the over capacity at DMS, you canjust move 63 students from polygons 106, 1106 from DMS to Patapsco MS. Those polygons are closer to PMS than DMS. also this will get the same number of students reduction at DMS. This will eliminate the island (106, 1106) on map as well. It reduces the impact from 10 polygons to 2 polygons. NES projected utilization is 108% and does not need to be touched at all. ..'ase liee-: D oisey T3 SET_-_^R aLu .ise ; '-, s ALL at our w&Ik£ULC, neisLfcpr . I T .:T ' . x . ;c~'7yc~.c _/'C, 1148, ''. '. '. 'C, '', /r, ?_: 1, ;:''. Regards Yenchih Lin Kathleen V. Hanks From: John Sullivan Greetings Respected Member ofthe HowardCounty Public School System, We are a new family to Howard County that just moved to the Sebring neighborhood ot'Clemens Crossing this summer from Baltimore, MD. We strongly value diversity, inclusion, and stability and accordingly, narrowed down our home search to focus on the Clemens Crossing elementary school area as it is known to be a tight- knit, inclusive and diverse school that is well loved and with a strong sense of community and pride. We are in polygon #132 and live roughly a 10 minute walk to Clemens Crossing ES. In fact, ahnost daily (weather permitting) I walk my dog and 4 year old son to the playground. We've come to really enjoy these walks (less than a halfmile away and easily walkable on neighborhood streets and CA pathways) and our son asks every day "when will I go to school here, daddy?". We always say next year and are excited to live so close to a community oriented elementary school. When I found out there were plans to move Polygon 132 (which 1 don't think would impact more than 2U children) &om Clemens Crossing to Bryant Woods I was surprised and confused. Moving such a small population would significantly interrupt our sense of community. Attending a school 2. 5 miles away from friends and school community geographically isolates our children by major roads (Hickory Ridge, Broken Land Parkway, Little Patuxent and Governor Warfield) and intersections, which will never allow them to be socially independent and a part of the Bryant Woods Elementary Community. Removing them from Clemens Crossing prevents them &om hiking and walking to see their friends or being a part of their local swim team with their classmates. The only way to access the Bryant Woods community is by car. This change will be emotionally traumatizing to the students proposed to be moved as they would be the only students in their grade or class to be moved from their current neighborhood. Additionally, moving our polygon provides no seen advantage to Bryant Woods. I understand the redistricting policy and reasoning, but find it challenging to understand what moving such a small number of students to a much further away from school and a completely different neighborhood does to achieve the overall goals of the redistricting plan. These handful of students would be the only Clemens Crossing Students moved to Bryant Woods - meaning they would enter a new school hardly knowing any peers. How could moving so few children accomplish any of the goals of diversity and utilization that the redistricting plan is attempting to solve? Why move them at all? Moving our polygon 132 would disturb our community and isolate us from our neighborhood. Pleasekeep our students where they are. Keep Polygon 132 at Clemens Crossing. Thank you, John, Valerie, and Dillon Sullivan 6121 Sebring Drive Kathleen V. Hanks From: Nancy Williams Good Morning- I am in polygon 149 and am writing to provide feedback on the two additional plans that were recently presented during the BOEWorking sessions by Jen Mallo and Dr. ChaoWu. These newversions identify newpolygons to move that have not been previously listed in the previous three plans. The polygons I am referencing include: 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 strongly oppose these recommendations for the following reasons: . Dorsey Hall community would be split apart, negatively impacting community stability. Moving one side of the street would tear these community bonds apart. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b) These polygons provide much of the socioeconomic diversity at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle. Redistricting of these polygons would eliminate the majority of the affordable housing options, inclu^ng a[l townhouses and condominiums, which currently attend Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV B, 3) . The Dunloggin Middle to Wilde Lake High feed is already very smal^ These proposals redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons-M48, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would result in a micro-feed of ~4% for DMS to WLHS. which is highly unreasonable and would be one of the smallest in the county. (Vioiation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, a) . All though not designated walkers, much ofthe Dorsey Hall community in polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, and 276 have the option to walk or bike to school, many are 1 mile or less from Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle- these preferred sustainable school commuting options would be completely eliminated. Increases in the already traffic stricken locations of Running Brook Elementary and Wilde Lake Middle would increase commutes exponentially. These Dorsey Hall polygons have either 0 orjust 1 traffic light to get to school, further demonstrating community connection and proper community proximity toattend Northfield and Dunloggin. (Violation of Policy 6016, 'IV, B, -\',c &d) Redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons 1 148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would allow unfair treatment by introducing these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and periods for public testimony have already passed. This lacks the same due process over these past months as other proposals, including public testimonies. I strongly request the BOE : "; include polygons 1 148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in the final redistricting plan and that they remain at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle for the clear reasons stated above. Thank you. Nancy Williams Polygon 149 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Eliana Del Castillo Hi, We live in polygon 1007 andmy grandsonwill stan 4th grade. We moved last year and I think he should be able to attend his same school for his 5th year. I think it would be cruel to change him for only 1 year. Also I heard there is a proposal to send the kids across the interstate 95. I thilik this is a terrible idea having other elementary school (Hammond) much closer. The school across 1-94 is also a completely different commumty. Thanks. Marcia Del C. Dear HCPSS Board of Education members, My name is Sharon Hoover and I !ive in polygon 1183. 1 have three children in HCPSS, two in middle school (Folly Quarter MS) and one in high school (River Hill HS). I embrace promoting equity in Howard County. I have worked as a psychologist in the Baltimore City schools for several years and have seen the injustices of inequitable education and health on students in Baltimore. I now serve as Co-Directorof the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. This Center (and my career) focuses on advancing equitable mental health supports within schools across our nation, including in Howard County. In 2014, I worked directly with the HCPSS Board of Education and Howard County Health Department as they implemented the County's first school mental health program at Bollman Bridge Elementary. I worked with Dr. Cindi Schulmeyer at HCPSSto augment existing student supports by providing accessible student mental health services duringthe school day. With the support of the Horizon Foundation and Health Department, this program expanded to five schools over the next three years, including Wilde Lake High School, and is now in several more County schools. I have served on the Howard County Mental Health Community Advisory Council since its inception, and now also serve on Superintendent Martirano's Mental Health Subcabinet. I remain committed to all students in Howard County, and recognizethat we are all privileged to live here. That said, some of us hold more privilege than others, and we all benefit from recognizing privilege and power as a serious responsibility. I applaud the Superintendent's vision of equity in education. I agree with the statement of our former Secretary of Education John King, Jr. that "the future of education is equity." I do, however, have some concerns about Superintendent Martirano's redistricting proposal and the process used to develop and disseminate it. I am a strong proponent of community-partnered approaches that embrace building consensus through co-development and identification of shared values. Such a consensus-building planning process requires an investment of more time, important now, and also for the future. I urge you to consider a thoughtful approach to moving this forward, and one that meaningfully engages and informs aN sectors of our County. A thoughtful process that results in a modified plan is not a vote against equity. Specific recommendations for the current redistricting plan include: 1. Allow any student (9th-llth grade) who has already started in a high school the option to continue attending that high school. This allows for parent/family and student choice to remain in their current school. There is irrefutable evidence on the value of school connectedness, particularly for high school age students, as they separate from parents, establish their identities, and connect with their high school peers, very often among their most significantfriends for life. Whileconnectedness is important for all students, it is uniquely important for high school students during this developmental stage. One of my colleagues. Dr. Peter Wyman, published an article last week on the increased risk of suicide among students who have fewer or less stable peer and adult networks in their high school, and it presents a compelling case for the value of student-student and student-educator relationships in high school in fostering positive mental health and connectedness. To be clear, redistricting will not result in mental illness or suicidality for most students, especially those without existing mental health issues. However, maintaining stability of schooling in the high school years is a mental health matter, and a significant responsibility we must all assume in making decisions about moving students during this developmental stage. Students who have started in one high school should be allowed the opportunity to remain in that school for the duration of high school. I acknowledge that double bussing of three grades is expensive. I recommend a cost analysis by Central Office and that the Board of Education ask Superintendent Martirano for what is needed to accomplish this important goal. In addition, if the County Council supports integration as stated in CR-112, then the funds to support this integration in a waythat also minimizes disruptions to students during high school, must be provided. If double bussing is deemed too costly, consider allowing students to remain in their originating high school if families are able to provide transportation to the school. (There is precedent for allowing rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders to finish out in their current school even without HCPSS-provided transportation (done in my former neighborhood 10+ years ago when redistricted from Marriotts Ridge HSto River Hill HS). 2. Embrace options for moving students that do not cause undue transportation burden on the HCPSS system or the student/family. There are many examples of proposed moves in Superintendent Martirano's plan that run counter to Policy 6010, and will result in additional travel time/expense and have negative impacts on costs, sleep, before/after care, etc. a. Our community (polygon 1183) is proposed for redistricting from River Hill HS (5 miles away) to Wilde Lake HS (8 miles away). Polygon 1183 is 2. 5 miles from Glenelg HS, which is currently at 82% capacity. Our high school bus currently comes at 6:25am. I believe a move of our polygon to WLHS would require our community's high school students to get on the bus before 6am. That is counter to all data on school start time impacts on adolescent sleep hygiene, with well-identified negative impacts on those students academic performance, school conduct, school attendance and tardiness, and even risks for harm from travel-related accidents. High school students biologically change during this developmental period with altered melatonin release (and thus later time to go to sleep, no matter where they reside), such that only deleterious impacts result from any travel or other conditions that make school start times earlier. There is simply no data from any school in any State thus far published that shows different (better) outcomes by havingstudents get up earlier to attend high school, and all medical organizations (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, etc. ) remain united in their efforts to dissuade school districts from having earlier school start times for high school students. Consistent with Policy 6010, a plan that adjusted polygons 1183 and 2183 to move to GHS from RHHS (which was recommended in one AAC report) would seem preferable both imminently, and, based on growth projections and school construction, for the foreseeable future. Polygons 1183 and 2183 are the two closest to GHSthat are currently being proposed for redistricting to WLHS.Given Policy 6010 directives to reducethe number times a student/polygon is redistricted, it seems unwiseto move polygons 1183 and 2183 to WLHSwhen they will likely haveto be redistricted again in the near future to GHSto manage capacity issues. It would be preferable for polygons 1183 and 2183 to either remain at RHHS or be redistricted to GHS. Although moving polygons 1183 and 2183 to GHSwould not move the needle on FARMs integration, issues of capacity, start times and transportation costs should also be factored in pragmatically. b. Keeping walking communities in their walkable schools would better support families, particularly with multiple children or limited childcare options for these children before and after school. Families rely on trusted others in their neighborhoodsto help monitor and assist when parents must work or schedules impede being easily available when schools let out early, children are ill, or when other parent responsibilities limit their availability. Particularlyfor young children, familiarity with local schools, easy and safe access and transition to and from their schools must be balanced with any perceived advantages afforded by attending more distant schools. Increasingtravel to further distancesfurther adds a significant and unnecessarytransportation cost burden on the HCPSS system. 3. In partnership with a workgroup composed of broad membership of all Howard County communities, co-develop a strategic plan to promote education equity using evidence-based strategies, including consideration of the following: . Recruit and support an education workforce that reflects and appreciatesthe racial and ethnic diversity of our community. Some strategies to achieve this include more intentional partnership with HBCUs and our local community colleges, incentivizing educators of color to work in our community, and ensuring that we are leveraging the strengths of and not overburdening or inappropriately relying on our educators of color. . Incentivize our most qualified educators to work with our students with the highest needs. . Increase opportunities and investments for students who are disproportionately impacted by an achievement gap. In Howard County, our African American and Latinx students are disproportionately impacted and this must be addressed.There are numerous strategies to increase opportunity, including adjusting how students are selected for AP classes (in which African American and Latinxstudents are currently less selected/enrolled in Howard County), providing more intensive individualized support for African American and Latinx students, and investing in culturally responsive education training and implementation support for our educators. Impiement social emotional learning (SEL) that fosters equity (see new CASEL. org guidelines on infusing equity into SEL). . Implement restorative practices that reduce exclusionary discipline practices that disproportionately impact students of color, especially African American and Latinx students. . Invest in early childhood and kindergarten readiness, especially in communities that have disproportionately lower readiness indicators, including students of color and lower socioeconomlc status. Brain science and education science provide ample evidence that investing in these domains leads to better outcomes for children in all domains. These investments include socioemotional development of young children, cultivating bi-lingual education settings in early childhood, recruiting and supporting highlyqualified early education teachers, and creating racially and socioeconomically diverse early education settings. Again, I applaud Dr. Martirano and the Board of Education for acknowledging and taking on the important issue of equity. I urge you to be thoughtful, logical, and visionary in your decision-making as equity will not be achieved with this one decision alone; indeed, every step ofthis process can build cohesion and commitment toward equity, or lead to fragmentation and active opposition. There are important steps to take now, and many steps will be influenced by these initial steps and decisions. You cannot be held solely responsible for advancing equity in our community, but you can demonstrate thoughtful leadershipthat pavesthe wayfor ever-increasing equity in Howard County. I believe socioeconomic equity rests on the shoulders of our entire community, and I believe most Howard County residents also share a commitment to equity for all our residents, and particularly our children. I am concerned that the Board of Education is being positioned to make up for decisions that have prohibited affordable housing in certain communities and that have limited socioeconomic integration. (I am hopeful that the County Council will consider eliminating or modifying current single family residence zoningin an effort to foster socioeconomic integration. ) The Board of Education has a responsibility to promote equity, but so too does our County Council and our County Executive. I am also concerned that the limited time the Board of Education has had to make a thoughtful, due diligence decision is not in balance with the weight ofthis decision in this watershed moment in our County's history to advance equity. Let us move toward equity, and do so in an exemplary reasoned, thoughtful, and positive way. Sincerely, Sharon Hoover, Polygon 1183 Resident and Parent Dear Members of the Board, We are Dylan and Emily Drudul, residents of the Wheatfield neighborhood and polygon 1100. Although our neighborhood is comprised of two polygons (100 and 1100), we are one contiguous community and are a tight knit neighborhood. We understandyou have a very difficulttask and ask you to reconsiderour place in the redistricting plans. We have two youngsons, the oldest whichwill be starting Kindergarten in the 2020 school year within the Howard County Public School System. We have significantconcerns regardingthe plans proposed for our neighborhood. Wheatfieldstudents currently attend Waterloo ES, Ellicott Mills MS and Centennial HS. Dr. Wu s plan has several areas of concern. While it does keep our community and polygons together, it proposes our high school students to move to Wilde Lake HS. This is most concerning as this school is outside the northeast corridor and across Route 29 and Route 100 - two major highways and natural boundaries. There are three high schools that can be accessed from our development that doesn't require crossingacross the above highways(Centennial HS, Howard HSand Mt. Hebron HS). Additionally, this move separates our high schoolers from our neighboring communities (Stonecrest and Brampton Hills), making an island of isolation for our students. These neighboring communities are within a mile radius and many can see them from their property. Most importantly, this plan creates a micro-feedof <15%where the only students movingfrom Ellicott Mills MSto Wilde Lake HSare from Wheatfield, creating our students to only know those in our community and will not attend high school with anyone they knowfrom elementary or middle school. This also generates a feedersituation where Ellicott Mills MS sends students to four high schools, the most in the county. With respect to FARMS percentages, Dr. Martirano's proposed plan does substantiallydecrease the FARMSpercentage at Wilde Lake from 46% to 38%. Dr. Wu's most recent plan would have only Wheatfield moving into Wilde Lake. We do not believethat our small neighborhoodof modestly priced homes and townhomeswould have a significant downward impact on Wilde Lake FARMS percentages as Dr. Martirano's plan. We believe that Dr. Wu's most recent plan violates Policy 6010 (Section IV. B. 2. Community Stability) which states that reasonable, school attendance areasshould promote a sense of community in both the geographic place (e. g., neighborhood or place in which a student lives) and the promotion of a student from each school level" by considering factors such as "keeping students together from one school to the next[by] avoidingfeeds lessthan 15%at the receivingschool" and "areasthat are made up of contiguous communitiesor neighborhoods." The micro-feed from Ellicott Mills MSto Wilde Lake resulting from this change would be In clear violation of Policy 6010. The main concern of Ms. Mallo's plan is that it splits our community by sendingone polygon (1100) to Centennial HSand the other polygon (100) to Howard HS. This isvery troubling and we encourageyou to re-examinethis part ofthe plan. We would agreeto move BOTH polygons to Howard HS or keep both polygons at Centennial HS. Ms. Malta's plan moves us to Veterans ESwhich we do encourage and agree with, given that we live along the Route 103 corridor and many neighbors can see both Veterans ES and Ellicott Mills MS from their houses. Our recommendations are as follows: . Keep Wheatfield polygons together (100 and 1100). It is unreasonable to split them. . Keep Wheatfield students at Ellicott Mills MS. It is unfair to move students when they can see the school from their houses. Additionally, if possible, a move to Veterans ES would be beneficial as it is seen from many houses as well. Avoid creating Wheatfield students into a micro-feed by keeping polygons 100 and 1100 in one of the current Ellicott Mills MS feeds to either Centennial HSor Howard HS. It is unfair and unreasonable to create an island for our students through a micro-feed. Again, we understand this is a very difficult task you are dealing with and appreciate your time and consideration while reading our testimony and recommendations. Sincerely, Dylan and Emily Drudul 8711 Cedar Post Ellicott City, MD 21043 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Shawna Frazier Dear Board Members, I live in Polygon 1186 and watched the October 30th Board ofEducation Work Session on during which similarities and differences between the plans presented by Ms. Jennifer Mallo and Dr. Chao Wu were discussed. I wanted to draw your attention to a comment that Ms. Mallo made to Dr. Wu, while you were discussing moving polygons from Howard High School to reduce overcrowding. In particular, Ms. Mallo emphasizedthe importance ofnot splitting neighborhoods apartwhen discussing polygons 1300 and300, which are current feedersto HowardHigh School. Ms. Cutroneo also discussedthe importance ofneighborhood continuity when addressing which polygons to keep at Oakland Mills High School. These particular comments drew my interest because Ms. Mallo's "test scenario" plan for the middle schools separates anddivides our PheasantRidge community. Ms. Mallo proposes to sendPolygons 28, 186, and 187to Clarksville Middle Schools, whereaspolygons 1028, 1186and 2028 will be sentto Harper's Choice Middle School. Aside from dividing OUTPheasant Ridge community, we want to reiterate that our community borders the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area andthat there is no direct road leadingfrom our community to Harper's ChoiceMiddle School(see Figure 1 on nextpage). Becauseof this natural border, the commute will be significantly longer and through Clarksville Pike (Route 108), which is often highly congested with traffic. As with Ms. Mallo and Ms. Cutroneo had discouraged splitting up neighborhoods for polygons that currently feedto HowardHigh School andOakland Mills High School, please also do not split ourPheasant Ridge community. Please maintain this long-established feeder system, by keeping our polygons together attending RiverHill community schools (1028, 28, 2028, 1186, 186, 187, 1187, 188,and 1188). Pleaseprioritize the importance of contiguous neighborhoods at their community schools in all future modifications ofthe final Attendance Area Adjustment. I would also like to convey strong support for Dr. Chao Wu's plan as a starting point for the Attendance Area Adjustment, as his plan addresses a reasonable reduction m FARM rates while still balancing utilization with minimal disruption to communities, including our community in River Hill. Thankyou for your continued effort and support of all HCPSS students. Shawna Frazier Polygon#1186 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Amy Brewster Hello Board Members, My name is Amy Brewster and I live in the Woodmark community in polygon 1 180. Woodmark is an older, establishedcommunity with no room for growth in a very rural area (polygons 18U, 181, 1180). Over the years Woodmark has been redistricted several times. In 2006 we were moved from Manor Woods to TRES and from Mount View to Folly Quarter. We were also moved from Glenelg to River Hill, then from River Hill to Marriotts Ridge. Believe it or not we were then moved backto River Hill again. In all 3 plans proposed we were proposed to be moved to Glenelg or, a divided Woodmark to both Glenelg and River Hill. As you can imagine, we wouldjust like to be where we are going to stay. Although I wish for my youngest to be able to go to school with his older brother at RHHS, I believe with the growth in the east, that home will eventually be Glenelg High School. In the Superintendent's plan, a large number ofpolygons, including ours, were slated to be moved to Wilde Lake. While I objected to the radical moves, this at least was a robust feed into a community where we have no ties. In Jen Mallo's plan, she has removed almost all of the polygons which Dr. Martirano slated to go to WLHS and has only 7 remaining. Per HCPSSprojections, these 7 polygons yield only 115 high school students ('including niimbers for all 4 years) whichis a tiny feed of about 12%. We, inpolygons 180, 181 and 1180 also know that those 2020-2021 projections are inaccurately high. Inaccurateprojections for an already small feed is a significant issue. The only substantial polygon in this proposed move is 176, which is Walnut Creek, who are not in our community. Our surrounding communities ofBuckskin Lake, WaltAim and all of the Triadelphia Rd. communities will be moved to Glenelg under JenMallo's plan, leaving our children in this micro feed. Please do not leave our children in a tiny feed which feeds into a school community which is a far distance from us, and to whom they do not have any connections. It is difficult enough to go through a small feed when you are going to a community school - often kids may find a handful of kids they know through sports, religion classes or scouts. Wilde Lake is a fine school - one to whichI would proudly send my children. Our family is there quite a bit and we feel Lake Pride all during basketball season as my husband coaches there. I just can not in good conscience support a plan for our neighborhood where our children are put in this tiny feed. I encourage any Board members who have not been through our neighborhood to please drive through -1 am happyto discuss any ofthis with any Board members as well. Warmly, Amy Brewster 410-991-4042 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Xiangtao Zhao Dear BOE board member, My name is Xuewei Li and I live m Polygon 152 at Dorsey Hall neighborhood. I really appreciate your time and efforts on this topic. Here are a few factors that I would like you to consider before deciding moving polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302 to different schools from our community. 1. Microfeeder. Right now DMS splits into 3 high schools (Wilde Lake, Centennial and Mt Hebron). Only 11 % ofDMS students feed into Wilde Lake. So this is already a small feed. If the Dorsey polygons are redistricted to WLMS,the feed fi-om DMS to Wilde Lake (whichis already small) shrinks substantially, probablyto 4%. And as you can probably imagine, a small feed can be tough on students. It can be isolating and could create a situation where students from Dorsey will enter WLHS pretty disconnected from their incoming class and knowing very few people. 2. This move splits a community. I have two kids studying at Northfield elementary schools now. Their best friends are mostly live in polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276. They have known each other and played with each other for years. Moving their friends away to different schools will make them feel isolated and will significantly impact their mental health. Splitting one side of Columbia Rd off fragments oiir community, and would also leave a ridiculously small feed from DMS to WLHS. Here is a post from our neighbors "In June, when the 8th graders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing... the Doisey neighborhood splitting from the Dunloggin neighborhood for High School is a tough split since the majority ofthe kids has been together K-8th and then they have a super small feed to WLHS. I was shocked at the sobbing, mostly from young men. That said, we KNEW it was coming.. we had years to prepare ..try to lean towards a fnendship within the "hood. " This change would make it so much more devastating on these kids... they'll know zero people" 3. There is a crossing guard who allows kids to safely cross Gray Rock and CA paths that make it a quick and direct route to school. There are homes in this part ofthe neighborhoodwhose yards literally backto the schools' fields through a short path. Howard County Government spent nearly a halfmillion dollars 3; oftax payers' money S> to install a roundabout on Columbia Road so over 50 kids from polygon 1148 and 2148 could safely walk to NES and DMS and now...NOW...you want to move them?!?H makes absolutely no sense to move kids from school within walking distance to schools that are not walkable and adds extremely heavy traffic pressure to the already crowded Rt 108 and mall traffic during morning peak hour. In addition to the affected residents ofDorsey Search,hundreds of thousands of stakeholders living and working near downtown Columbia area are also negatively affected by the increased traffic. 4. Polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, 302 provide much ofthe socio-economic diversity atNorthfieId. These families may not have a highpercent that qualify for FARMs, but those polygons mostly consist of affordable housing (townhomes, condominiums, and apartments). If you remove them, then Northfield becomes less diverse and more affluent. Here are some suggestions that I would like you to consider: 1. Your current proposal will move 96 MS students (avg 5 year projection) from polygons (148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276) to WLMS and move 24 students from Polygons 111, 1111 from DMS to OMMS while moving in 66 students (avg 5 year projection) from Polygons 153, 1153, 72 to DMS. 2. To reduce the over capacity at DMS, you canjust move 63 students from polygons 106, 1106 from DMS to Patapsco MS. Those polygons are closer to PMS than DMS. also this will get the same number of students reduction at DMS. This will eliminate the island (106, 1106) on map as well. It reduce the impact from 10 polygons to 2 polygons. NES projected utilization is 108% and does not need to be touched at all. Please keep Dorsey TOGETHER and keep us ALL at our walkable, neighborhood schools. Thanks Xiangtao Zhao Kathleen V. Hanks From: Shawna Frazier Dear Board of Education members, Thank you for your deliberate andthoughtful development of alternative Attendance Area Adjustment plans for Howard County students for the upcoming school year. I am writing to specifically support Board Member Dr. Chao Wu's proposed Attendance Area Adjustment plan as an ideal starting point for future work sessions. Overwhelming written and verbal testimony from residents throughout Howard county, as well as feedback from resident survey respondents, have clearly demonstrated that most residents prioritize maintaining contiguous communities, community stability and reducing overcrowding as primary factors to be addressed by any redistricting plan. Resident feedback over the past few months has also demonstrated that most residents also believe that the Board ofEducation should still reduce the high concentration of FARM numbers in specific schools and/or improve support ofthose community schools, but that Attendance Area Adjustment plans should only balance FARM numbers while still prioritizing overcrowding and community stability. Board Member Dr. Chao Wu's plan incorporates all ofthese important factors. His plan attempts to balance FARM numbers and overcrowding with minimal impact to communities. Most importantly, the plan moves significantly less students compared to the Superintendent's plan and Board Member Jen Mallo's plan. Dr. Wu's plan places significantly less financial burden on an already strained HCPSS financial support system, which has already reduced funding for necessary programs in schools, such as technology and ancillary teacher support. Please use Dr. Wu's plan as a starting point and bar for future work sessions. Thank you, Name: Shawna Frazier Polygon#1186 Courtney Greer Polygon 181 Dear Board of Education Members, I would like to thank both Dr. Chao Wu and Jennifer Mallo for doing research and bringing two options to the table. I would also like to thank Christina Delmont-Small for her preparedness and for fighting to get ALl information needed in order to make such an impactful decision on our children's futures. And thank you to Vicky Cutroneo for sticking to her guns even when others, like Dr. Martirano would push back. And thank you to ALL board members for knowing the seriousness of your decisions and not taking it lightly! You have a daunting task and I appreciate each one of you for stepping up for our children. I am writing because I wanted to share how I see the various proposals affecting my children and community. I have three boys ages: 6 years old, 4 years old, and 1 year old. I live in polygon 181 which is part of the Woodmark community. It is comprised of Polygons 180, 181, 1180, and part of 3182. Woodmark is not just a geographic boundary defined by Mark Wakefield when he developed this neighborhood in the 1970's; it is a close-knit community. We have a facebook page, monthly bunco gatherings, a fall picnic, Halloween parade and party, and an email list that we use to update each other on what is going on in our neighborhood (like redistricting!!). A myriad of school options have been proposed for Woodmark in this process. We are currently districted for Tridelphia Ridge Elementary School (TRES), Folly Quarter Middle School (FQMS), and River Hill High School (RHHS). ALL plans unanimously have KEPTour neighborhood at TRESand FQMS. It is the high school that seems to be the point of debate. The feasibility studies split our neighborhood between Glenelg High School (GHS) and RHHS. The Superintendant's proposal split our neighborhood between GHS and Wilde Lake High School (WLHS). More recently, Malta's plan split our neighborhood sending some of our neighborhood (polygon 3182) to Glenelg High School, and the rest (1180, 180, and 181) to Wilde Lake High School (WLHS). Dr. Wu's plan sends polygons 3182, 1180, and ISO to GHS and 181 to RHHS. Woodmark is no stranger to redistricting. In 2006 we were moved from Manor Woods ES to Triadelphia Ridge ES. At the middle school level, we were redistricted from Mount View MS to Folly Quarter MS. At the high school level, we were moved from Glenelg HS to River Hill HS and then from River Hill HS to Marriotts Ridge HS. Then again we were redistricted from Marriotts Ridge HS back to River Hill HS. After all of this movement, we respectfully request that the Board only propose plans that satisfy a long-term high school assignment for our community. To try to get some objective guidelines on what High School would be the best fit for Woodmark, I thought it made sense to look to Policy 6010, which is meant to "define the conditions and process by whichschool attendance area adjustments will be developed and adopted," and apply its regulationsto our neighborhood's High School choice. You will find my points below: 1. Policy 6010 IV.B. la- Facility Utilization is defined as enrollment as either below 90% or above 110% of capacity. OfRHHS, WLHS, and GHS (our current three high school contenders), GHS has the LOWEST CAPACITY. In fact, it has the lowest capacity of all high schools in Howard County throughout the entire Feasibility study projected period of 2019- 2031. Moving our neighborhood to WLHS exacerbates overcrowding at WLHS and it leaves GHS more under capacity than what Policy 6010 recommends. In addition, RHHS many times has historically had lower capacity than WLHS and, although it has a highercapacity from 2019 to 2021, it is projected to have a LOWER capacity than WLHS moving forward according to the independently conducted Feasibility Study, (see below): 2017- School Total Enrollment % Capacity 2018 Capacity school profiles GHS 1420 1173 82% RHHS 1288 1157 78% WLHS 1424 1276 89% 2019 2019- 2020- 2021- 2022 2023 2024- 2025 2026 2027 2028 Feasibilit 2020 2021 2022 2025 Studt 2023 2024 2026 2027 2028 2029 Capacitie GHS 84% 82% 83. 5% 82.9 84% 84.6 82.7 82% 82.5 83.5 % % % % RHHS 94.2 98.3 100.1 91.7 94.4 91.3 89.6 88.2 88.4 89.5 % % % % % % % % % % WLHS 94.2 94.7 94. 2% 94.4 96.2 94.6 94.7 94.5 95.2 97.7 % % % % % % % % Current Utilization Mallo's Plan GHS 84% 102. 10% RHHS 94. 2% 109. 90% WLHS 94. 2% 106. 70% 2. Policy 6010. IV.B. 1 and IV.B.2- Facility utilization and community stability are both compromised by sending us to WLHS as this is further away than other high school alternatives. There are three High Schools (GHS, RHHS, and MRHS) that are closer to the Woodmark Community than WLHS as you can see below: Minutes High drive from Miles from Traffic School Mt Albert Mt Albert Rd. lights Rd. GHS 9 min. 4.6 mi 0 RHHS 11 min. 5.3 mi. MRHS 13 min. 6. 7 mi. WLHS i 16min. 7 mi. |7 3. Policy 6010 IV.B. 2. a - Feeds that encourage keeping students together from one school to the next: a. Currently our neighborhood is districted for Folly Quarter Middle School with a feed of33% from FQMSto River Hill High school. The remaining-70% of students from FQMS go to Glenelg High School. The superintendent's proposal divides our neighborhoodand decreasedour feed from MS to HS from 33% (from FQMSto RHHS) to 17% (from FQMSto WLHS). Under the plan that Ms. Mallo proposed on October 28, 2019, our polygon would be moved to Wilde Lake High School with an extremely small feed of 12% (from FQMS to WLHS). With our agingneighborhood and many in our community choosingto send students to private school, this number could easily dip below 10%. Policy 6010 defines a small feed as one that is less than 15%. Creating small feeds was one ofthe top priorities voted on in the AAC andis a top priority ofvoters in HowardCounty. Please do not create a small feed like this for our children. The children of our Woodmark community deserve better than this. 4. Policy 6010 IV.B.2.b - Keeping contiguous communities or neighborhoodstogether: a. Mallo's plan sends polygon 3182 which is comprised of homes from our neighborhood to GHS and sends the rest of our neighborhood (181, 180, and 1180) to WLHS. We do not want there to be a precedent that it is acceptable to divide our neighborhood. Pleasekeep our neighborhoodtogether at GHS. b. Our community is part of the Triadelphia Road corridor and is deeply tied to the WesternHoward County Community. It includes Polygon 3182 on Triadelphia Rd. c. Woodmark is separated from the WLHS community by University of Maryland Agricultural Center (925 acres) and the Shrine of St. Anthony (320 acres) which creates a natural land barrier separating our communities. Sending Woodmark to WLHSwould make our community and island. One of our neighbors summarized some of these points with the below image. '1»* ri ><-> In every single plan that has beenproposed for our neighborhood, at least one polygon is sent to GHS. This is not surprising given that it is closest to us, has the lowest capacity,would provide our children with the largest feed from FQMS. RHHS maintans a large feed, is our second closest high school, and is also projected to have a lower capacitythan WLHSmoving fonvard. Please consider sending our entire neighborhood to GHS or RHHS. Thank you for your dedication and research towards an informed plan. Keep our Woodmark Community together! Thank you, Courtney Greer Kathleen V. Hanks From: Cherie Hromek Dear Board of Education Members, My name is Cherie Hromek, and I live in polygon 100. First and foremost, polygons 100 and 1100 are the SAME neighborhood of Wheatfield. The arbitrary line that separates these polygons is a narrow stretch of common community space. I ask the Board ofEducation to keep these polygons together at all school levels. In addition, I askthe Boardof Education to makethe following considerations in anyplan that affectspolygons 100 and 1100: . Keep all of Wheatfield in a Route 103 corridor school with our neighboring communities of Stonecrest or Brampton Hills. Route 103 is not a dividing line but instead joins our communities not only in the schools that our children attend but also in their extracunicular activities. . Keep all ofWheatfield in close proximity to where we live. Schools are the center ofour community, and their locations should support this premise. Do not create an island by using major highways to separate Wheatfield from its Northeast communities. Note that polygon 1100 includes Long Gate ShoppingCenter which makes Wheatfieldincorrectly appearcontiguous with communities onthe west side of Route 29. . Keep all of Wheatfield within a large feed from elementary, to middle, and then to high school. The recent suggestion to move Wheatfield from Centennial High School to Wilde Lake High School would create an extremely small feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School. Currently, Wheatfield has strong feeds from Waterloo Elementary to Ellicott Mills Middle to Centennial High. Avoid short-term patchesthat will force Wheatfield's childrento move again.Major redistricting will be needed to populate the newhigh school andagain when a newelementary school is built. Keeping Wheatfieldin our current schools until thenew high school is builtwill avoidmoving our children multiple times within a very short time period. All ofthese considerations areconsistent with the Boardof Education 's Policy 6010- SchoolAttendance Areas for Community Stability, which states school attendance areas should promote a sense ofcommunity in both the geographic place and the promotion of a student from each school level. Sincerely, Cherie Hromek Kathleen V. Hanks From: Janaki Mandava HCPSS Board of Education Members, I^am writing this letter to express my concern and opposition to the proposal (i. e., 'test scenario') for Howard County school redistricting posted by JenMallo on her Facebook page (https://www. facebook. com/ienmallo4boe/). Though, I am grateful for the BOE's time and dedication to the school redistricting process includingfor Ms. Mallo sharingher 'test scenario', herproposal hasseveral issues. First, the total movement of 7, 300 students is too large of an impact for redistricting in SY 2020-2021 when HS13 will open shortly in 2023. Considering that Dr. Martirano's proposed plan will move similar number of students (-7, 400), I believe Ms. Mallo's proposal will have a similar financial impact, which, in my opinion, is not fiscallyresponsible withthe consideration that HCPSSalready has a limited budgetwhere certain'programs (e. g., technology) andstaff (e. g., paraeducators) hadto be cutrecently. Although I acknowledge Ms. Mallo's proposedplan may reduce the individual school capacities,the plan will split communities andschool feeds. Dividing one or more polygons from the rest oftheir established, cohesive community neighborhood destroys thevery community stabilitythat your constituents haverepeatedly voicedas the number one priority. Keeping these highly diverse neighborhoods together in their neighborhood schools directly upholds the standards in Policy 6010 withregards to community stability, maintaining strong feeds, minimizing transportation costs, fiscal responsibility, demographic characteristics, minimizing the number ofstudents moved, and optimizing facility utilization. Furthermore, sending students outside oftheir communities without addressing theroot cause ofthe achievement gapplaces greaterbarriers to student achievement. Moving anychild awayfrom their neighborhood school and community supports does more harm than good. I would also like to remind the BOE that through online surveys, community input sessions in July, andwritten andspoken testimony that an overwhelming majority ofHoward County residents strongly value community stability, strong feeds from one school level to the next, and minimized transportation costs when redistricting. Ms. Malio's proposal would not be alignedwith the Howard County community's input. In closing, I urgethe BOB to consideralternative redistricting plans thatbetter balance emergency capacity issues with community continuity inmind andwait to do anymajor redistricting until HS13 is available. Furthermore, I askthe BOEto considerchoice-based alternative methods such asMagnet schools andControlled Choice Policies to address equity instead ofjust redistricting. These alternative methods canbe developed aswe waitfor the availability ofHS 13 and concurrently implemented with its opening. Thank you, District 4 Voter: Janaki Mandava Polygon: 1186 Dear Members of the Board, Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. My wife already sent one in, below are her points which I completely agree with. These proposals have my Wheatfield neighborhood (polygons 100 and 1100) facing continued confusion at the elementary level, and moving from Centennial High School to Wilde Lake High School or even the possibly of splitting my neighborhood's two polygons to two different high schools. HS 13 will be opening in a few years; please don't make changes now when you will need to make changes again. Spend that time researching the best solution for all the neighborhoods in the County. A few of the issues we have with this proposal are listed below. lUicro Feed: The creation of a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake High School. When leaving middle school, Wheatfield's polygons 100 and 1100 would be sent to Wilde Lake where they would comprise fewer than 15% of Wilde Lake's approximately 1300 students. None of the elementary schools we have been considered for (Waterloo, Phelps Luck and/or Veterans), are Wilde Lake feeder schools. So with Chao's most recent plan, children in polygons 100 and 1100 would be forced to enter high school at Wilde Lake knowing nobody outside of their small neighborhood micro-feed. They would be lucky to have even one familiar face in a class, they will be the outsider on any team or club, and they will be entering high school with more challenges and disadvantages than their peers. Years of transition: This plan would create a situation where our Waterloo students (already split into several middle schools), as well as Ellicott Mills students will have years of change and transition, definitely more than their share. So many students would be leaving Waterloo to start at a different elementary school next year. At Ellicott Mills, our students would (or could) be split between four different high schools (Centennial, Mt. Hebron, Howard and Wilde Lake, no other middle school is slated to be split between more than 3 schools). Our current elementary schoolers will be facing changes and challenges for so many years to come, forced to make new friends next year, again in middle school, then again in high school due to redistricting and a complete lack of feeder schools for our area. This is a massive division of students at all grade levels and would do nothing to promote a sense of community the Policy is intended to foster. If anything, it will damage what we already have. Creating an Island: Wheatfield becomes a complete, isolated island. Chao's current plan creates a situation where Wheatfield will attend a different high school than children in our closest surrounding neighborhoods, places where our children are able to walk paths to each other's homes, they are so close. Wheatfield and Brampton Hills would attend different elementary and high schools, passing each other on the bus as they are moved around varying parts of the county - despite the fact that they're all within a one-mile radius of each other. Longer commutes and Student Health: Over the last few years more and more studies on student's health, both physical and mental, have been made. Neighboring counties have gone as far as adjusting their start times so students can get more sleep in the morning. But Howard County wants students to get up much earlier to make it through the new distance and morning rush hour to get to school on time. And starting over in a new school where most other students already have a base of friends or at least familiar faces will affect their self-esteem, confidence, and the paths they choose for themselves in the future. As discussed by my community, it is our belief that Mallo's plan makes little sense, and Chao's most recent plan violates Policy 6010 (Section IV. B. 2. Community Stability) which states that "reasonable, school attendance areas should promote a sense of community in both the geographic place (e. g., neighborhood or place in which a student lives) and the promotion of a student from each school level" by considering factors such as "keeping students together from one school to the next [by] avoiding feeds less than 15% at the receiving school" and "areas that are made up of contiguous communities or neighborhoods." In closing, I went to a parochial school and had the same classmate's grade 1 to 8 and the majority of them continued on to another parochial high school. We forged long-term friendships. We didn't have to worry about polygons or being uprooted to go to another school. I cannot imagine the stress and anxiety this puts on not only my children put all the children these proposals will affect. Thank you for your time and consideration, Jason Raker (polygon 100) Kathleen V. Hanks From: Xuewei Serene Li Dear BOB board member, My name is Xuewei Li and I live in Polygon 152 at Dorsey Hall neighborhood. I really appreciate your time and efforts on this topic. Here are a few factors that I would like you to consider before deciding moving poiygons148, 1148, 2148, 276, and 302 to different schools from our community. 1. Microfeeder. Right now DMS splits into 3 high schools (Wilde Lake, Centennial and Mt Hebron). Only 11 % ofDMS students feed into Wilde Lake. So this is already a small feed. If the Dorsey polygons are redistricted to WLMS, the feed from DMS to Wilde Lake (which is already small) shrinks substantially, probably to 4%. And as you can probably imagine, a small feed can be tough on students. It can be isolating and could create a situation where students from Dorsey will enter WLHS pretty disconnected from their incoming class and knowingvery few people. 2. This move splits a community. I have two kids studying at Northfield elementary schools now. Their best ftiends are mostly live in polygons 1148, 214S, 148, 302, 276. They have known each other and played with each other for years. Moving their friends away to different schools will make them feel isolated and will significantly impact their mental health. Splitting one side of Columbia Rd offfragments our community, and would also leave a ridiculously small feed from DMS to WLHS. Here is a post &om OUTneighbors "In June, when the 8th graders were leaving DMS on the last day of school (my kid was an 8th grader), the kids were sobbing...the Dorsey neighborhood splitting from the Dunlogginneighborhood for High School is a tough split since the majority of the kids has been together K-8th and then they have a super small feed to WLHS. I was shocked at the sobbing, mostly from young men. That said, we KNEWit wascoming.. we hadyears to prepare ..try to lean towards a friendship within the "hood." This changewould make it so much more devastating on these kids... they'll know zero people" 3. There is a crossing guard who allows kids to safely cross Gray Rock and CA paths that make it a quick and direct route to school. There are homes in this part of the neighborhood whose yards literally back to the schools' fields through a short path. Howard County Government spent nearly a halfmillion dollars S: oftax payers' money i; to install a roundabout onColumbia Road so over 50 kidsfrom polygon 1148 and2148 could safely walk to NES and DMS andnow... NOW...you wantto move them?!?K makes absolutely no sense to move kids from school withinwalking distanceto schools that are not walkable and adds extremely heavy traffic pressure to the already crowded Rt 108 and mail traffic during morning peak hour. In addition to -the affected residents ofDorsey Search, hundreds of thousands of stakeholders living and working near downtown Columbia area are also negatively affected by the increasedtrafSc. 4. Polygons 148, 1148, 2148, 276, 302 provide much of the socio-economic diversity at Northfield. These families may not have a high percent that qualify for FARMs, but those polygons mostly consist of affordable housing (townhomes, condominiums, and apartments). If you remove them, then Northfield becomes less diverse and more affluent. Here are some suggestions that I would like you to consider: 1. Your current proposal will move 96 MS students (avg 5 year projection) from polygons (148, 1148, 2148, 302, 276) to WLMS and move 24 students from Polygons 111, 1111 from DMS to OMMS while moving in 66 students (avg 5 year projection) from Polygons 153, 1153, 72 to DMS. 2. To reduce the over capacity at DMS, you canjust move 63 students from polygons 106, 1106 from DMS to Patapsco MS. Those polygons are closer to PMS than DMS. also this will get the same number of students reduction at DMS. This will eliminate the island (106, 1 106) on map as well. It reduce the impact from 10 polygons to 2 polygons. NES projected utilization is 108% and does not need to be touched at all. Please keep Dorsey TOGETHER and keep us ALL at our walkable, neighborhood schools. Thanks Xuewei Li Get Outlook for iOS CitizenTestimony Plan 1 3176 River Hill HS No CitizenTestimony Plan 2 150 Centennial HS No Citizen Testimony Plan 3 256/1256 Reservoir HS No CitizenTestimony Plan 4 1159 Mount Hebron HS No AndCitizen-Submitted Polygon Moves via Online i No ^^S^. lW6W3697w24131^^3^1.^^^m31'lo!w3sls50' Link to Citizen Alternative Plans and Options: hLtos://ti--ivurl. com/vyi7t. ^. h So, why is Polygon 147 not moved? Polygon 147 students are officially walkers to the Centennial High School based on HCPSS Policy 5200. The majority (80%+) of our students live in Centennial Overlook and within the walk zone. 1-lAlfaMknlSTUT. The only plan ever that proposed to move 147 was the 2017 AAC plan, which was based on erroneous data. Polygon 147 students were double counted due to the use of outdated housing unit data. See details After OSPacknowledged and correctedthe dataerror, 147was not movedby the Superintendent'splan or the final plan approved by the previous BOE in 2017. Keeping Polygon 147 in our 'eighborhood Schoo s based on Policy 6010 Residents of Polygon 147 October 27, 2019 Centennial Park comprises most of the land area in Polygon 147. Our residents live on four streets at the northeast corner of the polygon. I. ^s 0 J? c c "- JI> .o JO p 3 0) w ^ w . o> c x S v> < 0» -® X .o ?.s .3 o *c (0 ffi '«.< <^ co c p V Ia. .0 »< c i-fS ^. ^! (0 «p »v co cr: 'S IS= ^7 c 0< .^0 _0 w .® ? § 0 ^ s » siS, .® 'D '° . s s Scm^ .® **» ^s co vs ® 0 0 w? c £ ^ ? $'i£ 0 §5 w ;fj £§co §i£ f'f ^\.^ P-^Z S? o w ^" c ® re p> 0 .?' £lf ? 0 I II f ® S?-°m .£ Ill ^ s^J 1$? [^ Polygon147 is partof theOld Annapolis Roadcommunity (see polygon map). This contiguouscommunity of six polygons wants to stay together and stable. ygon147 is connectedthrough walk andbike pathsto Polygons2147and5147. Kidsin thesepolygonsfrequently bike to eachothers' homes to playtogether. Polygon147 homes are isolatedfrom other school zones by CentennialPark. major roads(Route 108, Columbia Road), and dangerousintersections. A new island L7 __ would be created if 147 is moved. 8 School Utilization Ratios based on the Superintendent's Plan 110.7% 102.2% 110.8% School reported that the actual CLES enrollment in September 2019 is 717 with an actual utilization ratio of 110%. CLES was expecting 113 Kindergari:eners based on OSP projections for September 2019, but only received 90 and had to reduce the number of Kindergarten classes from 6 to 5, That is a 26% overestimation in Kindergartener enrollment projections. CHS enrollment growth after 2021 can be addressed with the new HS 13. A Call for Action that Expands * A Written Testimony Submitted by Polygon 147 November 4, 2019 t. ^ I 'e urge the BOE to keep wa kers as walkers. Polygon 147 is part of the Old Annapolis Road community (see blue area in map). Our six polygons use the same road for access/egress. Awalk/bike path constructed in Spring 2018 connects Polygon 147 to 2147 and 5147 and to Centennial HS; which officially qualified 147 as part of the Centennial HS walk zone. The new path not only better connects our community, but also Today, 11,4/2019, the entire Maple Lawn community becomes walkers to Fulton ES, Lime Kiln MS, and Reservoir HS, thanks to a new walk path. Bus transportation is no longer required for 425 ES, 212 MS, and 204 HS students. Cindy Vaillancourt actually suggested other polygons that t am a staunch supporter of keeping are close enough to walk if they had walkers as walkers. In practice that is sidewalks, to took into options for likely to result in any polygon that getting sidewalks - whether that means contains walkers, whether there are installing them, having them included in non-walkers in the polygon or not, will future phase development plans, or either stay at the current school - or be lobbying local government to get them. moved to another school where they Folks can debate the ethics of can still be walkers. Unless, or until, the reviewing the situation and working BOE splits polygons based on within the established regulations to walkability, I believe it is fair for this achieve a goat. But for now, if the BOE polygon to remain in its present is going to make every effort to assignment. Maybe these residents maintain walkers, then this polygon figured out a way to weight their should get the same treatment, imho. likelihood of being left alone. I have n' -a' II,',. -^ .. -. -, ;-- -. ?? .. '** -^ 1!- - ^.- ::' :.''.'"':: Support the County and HCPSSin the expansionof walkzones and seek qualification as walkzones. This can save HCPSS millions of dollarseach year. (Polygons 159 and 1159) (Polygons 65, 1065, 2065) _ (Polygons 256, 1256, 259 1259,115) __^ (Polygons 147, 2147, 5147) (Polygon 311) We welcome more communities to join this 1st. If your community is interested in becoming officially qualified as walkers, please contact HCPSS Pupil Transportation Office. Dear Members of the Board, I am a resident ofWheatfietd Way in polygon 1100 with a 7th grader and a 12th grader and two previous redistricting experiences while living here. While I may not have agreed with all the decisions made with those redistrictings, I appreciated the ability to provide my input, the open and honest explanations to questions and concerns, and the data that ultimately drove the decisions. I look forward to the same with the current 2019 redistrictingfrom this illustrious Board of Education. To that end, I would like to provide my input on the three proposals that have been put forth for the 2019 redistrirting by various members of the BOE. Our neighborhood consists of two (2) polygons, 1100 and 100, and we believe that splitting our community according to one proposal is antithesis to Policy 6010, Section IV, Item B, Subitem 2 with regards to promoting a sense of community. Our children play, study, and have extra circular activities with school friends at every end of the neighborhoodthat covers polygon 1100 and 100. They have many of the same interests, worries that they support each other with, and aspirations of what their futures might hold - all because they attend the same school as the same community. I hope that the BOE takes into consideration for all proposed plans that regardless of wherethe polygon line falls, we alt consider ourselves part of the same community in no small part to the schools our children attend. We were fortunate duringthe last two redistrictings to avoid movingto another school at any level, providing our children the stability of knowingtheir teachersthrough the grades and being able to trust and confide in them. With the development of a new High School in Jessup that will require another study of redistricting for feeds and utilization, I don't feel it makes sense to move forward with any movement of students in the potential areasthat could be impacted when the new school opens in three years. Referencing the community item above, the goal should be to minimizethe frequency a student is reassigned at any level, Knowingthat a redistricting is goingto be required in three years, reassigningstudents that are in the potential impact area now is contrary to the policy. The first time I attended redistricting meeting was the year that Veterans ESwas scheduledto open. Even though that school is within walkingdistance from our community and our community did more than any other community to work for it to happen, our students were still assigned to Waterloo ES. The reasoning at the time was based on projections that included data if Fort Meade closed due to the ongoing BARCs. The projections turned out to be completely wrong as Fort Meade did not close as the BOE had planned for. One of the most recent proposals put forth has our community moving our students from the second furthest school (Centennial HS 5 miles) that has minimal commuter traffic to the third furthest school (Oakland Mills HS 6 miles) with considerably more commuter traffic, instead of the much closer Howard HS (2 miles). Reiterating my prior point, the planned opening of the Jessup high school in 2023 will more likely than not result in another redistricting that wilt impact our community due to the proximity to the existing high schools and the planned high school. I do not envy you the job you have at hand and hope that the final decision is one that is best for the students and the communities while remaining true to the spirit of the BOE policies. In closing, I do not believe that it is prudent to consider high school redistricting at this time knowing that many will be forced to have another one in three years; my children are part of a community that is not defined by a single polygon, but multiple polygons and our children should be treated as such; planning strictly on projections is tricky and not something that should be the only basis for consideration; and the proposal to reassign our high school children to a further facility with highercongestion that addsto commute times doesn't make sense given other options. In conclusion, I would ask the Board to keep our community together in all decisions and to postpone any decisions on High School reassignments until a year before the Jessup high school is scheduled to open. Best Regards, Andrew Mauer Haycarriage Court, Ellicott City, MD Kathleen V. Hanks From: Shany Seawright All, I am writing today regarding the redistricting plans that have been proposed. First off, I've felt that the attempt to create more equitable school environments is a very important one. I think the Superintendent's plan was feasible. I do have lots to say about the fact that equity often ignores the most needy schools in our system. The funding for Hammond's renovation is needed. My students are in Bollman Bridge, Patuxant Valley MS, and Hammond. We are very invested in our community and want to advocate for it. As a community, we often do more with less and are not as vocal as some of the loudest people in the county. As a result, we are often overlooked. We still do the best with what we have. But in no means is it equitable to table renovations for Hammond HS. That fact that the county and board continue to ignore the needs of these schools, shows how little priority we get. In terms of the new plans presented for redistricting, I want to express issues with Mallo's plan for redistricting elementary schools. Bollman Bridge, like many communities is doing more with less. We have worked hard to build community. Our PTA struggles for volunteers and funding. We don't have access to the resources as others in our county. That said, it seems that Mallo's plan is looking to move students from Polygons 20 and 1020 out of Bollman Bridge to Guilford ES. This move demolishes our PTA that we've worked so hard to build. Its has major implications to the community we've tried to build over the years and the resources that we've struggles to secure for our school community. Yes, we can start over again. With so little funding. So little resources. We can start from scratch. But it just seems so unnecessary. The move from Guilford (polygons 26, 27, 1026, and 1027) moving to Bollman Bridge, is a swap without purpose. It doesn't change our numbers or impact FARMS. Both schools are Title 1, both face serious challenges, both have struggled with building community. And now you are asking both schools who are already at a disadvantage to start over? How equitable is that? Instead, this move just replaces our students with Guildford students and vice versa. Why uproot these communities without purpose? Please explain the thinking behind this. I fail to see how Mallo's plan improves commuting time, reduces transportation costs, significantly impact overcrowding (BBES is not at capacity), or makes an impact of the percentage of FARMs students. So why make this adjustment? It seems like our less resourced schools are just on a chopping block. Like we are getting short changed.. yet again. Please consider the feedback from the Bollman Bridge families that have expressed concern during this process. Thank you, Shany Seawright Kathleen V. Hanks From: Janet Rohner Once again l^find myself spending countless hours of research and conversations with fellow Howard Countians wondering why you are forcing us to fight so hard to keep our communitiesYn tact and'ourchilciren'beingredTst'ricted to Landc°mmunlt, ies.s°. faraway-.' Justhave to restatethatwe wers told that7edistnctin'g'would"nost 'occur' u'ntil'the newo3 th)-h'gh. scho°' wasbu"t whyisthere a neeli to d° this now?-Redistncting~should"te done"in'relatio"n to'a'new I builtand offsetting anyovercrowding at that time. Thereare beautifurportablesthatare'being'usedall'over icountry^where redistricting isn'te_ven a consideration. In NewJersey, for example, there'are'townships' "Each" and fol' t°wlllshi^^asjts feeder-system °ver. 50 years this hasnlt changed. Our sister'county, -Mon'tgome'^ where I up, nas NtVER experienced redistricting. Surely we have the smarts'and foresight to come up withsomethingbett^r" My^children go to Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School, Folly Quarter Middle School and River Hill High School. and aiways,h. a''e, _alwayssh°uld- We need the stability voiced by Christina'Derm ort-Small and Dr."Ma°rtirano"'T'am a''i he^RwerHW community^ I shop at RiverHill Giant,'! get my prescriptions at River'HilFGiantRharmac'v""lbankat'' IOTO'.FUIt°nJ.formerly c°l""r'bia) Bankin RiverHill ShoppingCenter and Revere Bank'(formerfv'San'dv"Sorir ^ank.)-°", Rt .'P8. "''c'arksvi"e- i_?et my. haircutat River Hill Hair'Cuttery'. TgetmynaNs'do^eat'Tin'a^'NailsTn' sp°tsare R"'er and El Azteca. I to L My..g°-to. Hi". G!:i"e go Fusion Dentari n'Station'Squire'in'River Hill. I am Leptoml°. f.what"meansto be a part °f.the .River Hi" community. I dono[shop, bank~or do'an'y'th'ing'at'Ha'rper's Choice. I drivethru it to go to the mail and that is it. - --. . -.--..-r, -...., My»?h,"dre,n.currentlye^Perience °ne traffi<:; "Sht to get to RiverHill HighSchool. Thereare no lights between me and s. sch°°[ ,There-are 10: count them -w traff":."9hts between my house'and Wilde°Lake'high'sc'h'o'ol. "'lfa L9°t^tuc!^. a^ea£Mlght. theyw°uld be. °n e road 30_minutes just waiting for'trafficlights 'not to'ment?on"bus"stops and ',!me,-lh "ch°°l;s. 9-m"es_away;.. this is absurd- R"/er Hi"'is 5 miles and Gre nelga'r'ound'3. 5."'UtewTse""if"p'are'n'ts ^todr^e2h-ar ch'ldrento sch°°1 rathertha^have them 9ettin9 UPata-ridi<:"l°"^ am°.unt-ofaddltl°nal cars thatw"1 brin9 Homewood, Rte 108 and Harpers Farm Rds to ahait?"WhaIt'raffic''st'udies"have i? Please share. Asjaras we can tell, Ms. Mallo's plan does not take into consideration'the'traveiToars tic ^°^rE°tyg°n^DJS tanceto..RHHS. a"d, st°Plishts are si9nifica^ ' 7°%. a"d^ur °ne way.tl'avel time to-1 hour and 18 minutes due'to the 10'lightsT pre'vic 1. Howard County road infrastructure will not support Dr. MartiranoorMs.'Mallrfs'proposars' o.ur'lpathJ°^H.HSI,s^"'ect'"a, shepparclLane:There are natural turnarounds and natural farmland boundaries at the SLrctea-tH°mew°°d/she ard/F°"yQuarter Rd OR atTen Oaks7Royal"Farm7. "Those'are natural 'bo"u"nd'a'i'iM°for°ou'r on Folly Quarter Rd. Ld°^t,be'leve/edls,t"ct"1gshouldbe done at is time- ifforced to support something, then wouldstrongly support Dr. 's plan as a starting point. '' ^^.,. -.. -.. .. --.--.. -.. 3., -^u,. u,. Lstron9'y-d'sagr. ee-wlthIV's;Ma"o's ProPosed P.la"- The numberof kids moved aresubstantial, withincreased timeon the l, more buses needed and increased overall transportation costs. ^mn°Ie;iM, s;,S'LPLan9°es.!gamst. pol;(:y6, °, 10in thatit comPtetely disrupts neighborhoods, even more than Dr. (which I didnot support). It is breaking up sisterpolygons' ~ -1-" .-.,.. -.--, -. -,,.,, -, - ..,",, ^,. from FQMS to than which is M^Maws , pia n,, CIMte^n. exfa:en1.elysma"feed WLHSOess 12%) very' unfair to those is "ot <:>veTCr°wdecl- T° '"troduce WLHS;a~thirtHS"not'fed'from"FQM'S, fnto't^'e lmi^'m'>akes ^S'll y Ln'S^'nsseeRHHS Lhe,,K"TO°nswest. °f, the_tumab°ut;183' 1183. 11_81 should remain as is. Similarly polygons 147, 1147and 2147 should be moved to Wilde Lake High School from Centennial where there is ove'rcTowdrn ga"l"ama'bit s^rp^d't'ha't Centennial is not being looked at during this redistricting process - why is that? Address any overcrowding where there is actually overcrowding. Walkers should not bussed. There is a shortage of bus drivers and a shortage in the budget. JWany positions were frozen or eliminated this past year, Scheduled and much needed improvements to Talbot Springs ES and Hammond HS were yet again put on hold. There is no budget or infrastructure to support what is being proposed. Please create a task force with citizen input - do the only thing you should do which is put any redistricting notion on hold for now- look at portables, wait til the new high school is built, be responsible. As elected officials we expect you to have your constituents best interest at heart. We areyour constituents. You have heard us loud and clear. We do'notsupport the plan as proposed by Dr Martiranoor by Ms. Mallo. We believe your FARM data is flawed and your forecasting is flawed. Population density is a moving target - you cannot possibly plan for what may or may exist in the county in the comin9 years. Similarly you have no idea how many people may move or put their children into private school as a result of this lack of consideration for your student population. I don't believe that using socioeconomic status or FARM data is a way to assist students to perform better and I don't believe you do either. Merely sitting next to someone does not make you smarter or more equipped to succeed. Please provide the necessary resources to those schools/teachers/students who need it at every school. Please manage byfact and not hearsayor flawed data. Pleasedo not make your constituents feel like you do not care what they have to say. Five hearings in one "jurisdiction", numerous rallies, thousands of emails, phone calls, testimonies and texts should tell you that the people do not support this disruptive planning and destruction of their communities. Recommendations: 1) Table redistricting until the 13th high school is underway and planned to open 2) Bring in portableswhere there is an overcrowding situation 3) Analyze the root cause of lower test scores and provide resources to those schools/teachers/students who need it 4) Create a task force with citizen input focused on responsible redistricting - keeping communities together (I would be happyto sit on the taskforce -1 have served in executive roles for PTA in every school my children attended). There is no need to make the changes being suggested. The concepts are wrong, the data is flawed, the road infrastructure will not support the proposals put forth by Dr. M or Ms. Mallo nor wifl the budget. Please do the responsible thing and stop these proceedings. Thank you, Janet Rohner Karen Raksis MD 4693 Hallowed Stream Ellicott City, MD 21042 November 3, 2019 To Howard County Board of Education, I live in polygon 1148 in Dorsey Search and have for 11 years, have 2 children in Howard County publicschools: a 4thgrader at Northfield Elementary (NES)and a 7"' grader at Dunloggin Middle School (DMS). I also grew up in Columbia. I am saddened to have to defend our school assignment. I do NOT support the move of polygon 1148 to Running Brook Elementary School (RBES) and Wilde Lake Middle School (WLMS) as suggested in Ms Mallo's and Dr Wu's recent plans. 1) This proposed move divides Dorsey Hall right down the middle, splitting neighbors apart. This is in direct opposition to the stated goals of Policy 6010 to keep contiguous neighborhoods together. In addition, it would split community organizations such as Columbia Neighborhood Swim League in the summer and Girl/Boy Scout troops which are based on school attendance. 2) Also in opposition to Policy 6010, the feed from DMS to WLHSwould decrease even further to less than 5%. 3) Additionally in opposition to Policy 6010, this proposed move which reduce almost all economic diversity from NES as the identified polygonsare most of the apartment/townhouse communities currently attending NES. At the same time, it would not bring any significant increase in economic diversity to RBES and WLMS. 4) The late addition of our polygons to the redistricting proposal denies us due process and the opportunity to provide oral testimony at public hearings. 5) These polygons have been redistricted in the past, separate from the rest of Dorsey Hall. It feels like we are targeted, which I can't help but think is due to our lower property values or socioeconomic status. We don't want to be the hot potato passed from school to school with every round ofredistricting. 6) I attended RBES and WLMS myself and received an excellent education. This is not about the quality of the schools but about the profound loss of community a move like this would wreck on my neighborhood and our children. Thank you for reading my comments and feel free to contact me with any questions. Karen Raksis, MD Kathleen V. Hanks From: Tammy Pullen Dear Board of Education Members, 1 . Ye.inpolygon }34' my childrencurrently attendClemens CrossingES. Wejust movedhere and would, selfishly, hateto have to move schoolsagam. Plus I havespent the last year working closely with the CCES stafftowards a 504plan for my son and am nervous about having to rebuild those relationships at a new school. Copying the below from a neighbor: Dr. Wu's revised plan moves polygons133, 1133, 2204, 4133, and 5I33 out ofBryant Woods ES and into Clemens Crossing^ES, andtiien moves 66, 130, 134, 1066, 1134, and2134 out of'Clemens Crossing ESand into^Swansfield ES. But the Bryant Woods boundary directly touches the Swansfield boundary - fliere is no need to domino through Clemens Crossing at all! Clemens Crossing was heavily impacted in the last redistricting two years ago- we lost over 100 students to Pointers Run. NeitherBrvant Woodsnor Swansfield was impacted lasttime. Pleasedon't move us out ofOUT school unnecessarily! Additionally, polygons 66,_134, 1066, 1134, and2134 just hadour middle school changedtwo years ago! We hadbeen a tiny feedfrom Clemensto Harper's Choice MS for years, whichwas ver>' recently fixed- weare finally^gratefully!) pait ofa 100%feed from Clemens Crossing to Wilde LakeMS!' Moving ourpolygons'to Swansfield now wouldjust recreate the small feed in the opposite direction, as 100% ofSwansfield feeds to Harper's Choice MS. No one in our neighborhood wants to go back to being one of only about a dozen kids to leave theu-elementary school to start at a different middle school from everyone else. Please look urto movmgpolygons 133, 1133, 2204, 4133, aiid 5133 directly from Bryant Woods ES to Swansfield ES, without impacting Clemens Crossing again, and without moving students from 66. 134. 1066. 1134, and 2134 again! ' -- . --"------",. -..,. ",, Thank you for your consideration, Tammy Pullen 10811 Timber View Way Polygon 134 410-491-5178 Kathleen V. Hanks From: nurtelli We areresidents ofDorsey Hall, polygon cluster 148, 1148, 2148, 276 and302. Ourkids attendNorthfield ElenientaiyandDunloggin Middle. We are signing this petition to oppose the redistricting plans presented by boardmember JenMallo andboard member Chao Wu. these proposals moves these polygons out ofNorthfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle to Running Brook Elementary and Wilde Lake Middle respectively. This will move kids from a school that is less than a mile awayto a school 3 to 4 miles away and across a major intersection. The move will also not beeconomical for the school system since it will result inbussing thekids that could walkto their current school. After years ofpetitioning, a roundabout wasrecently installed at one ofthe Intersections on Columbia Road to allow kids to walfc^ike to school safely. The move will render it a wasted investment. Furthermore, the proposed move will break up the extremely close knit community ofDorsey Hall while also leaving the saidpolygons isolated sincethey arephysically far awayfrom the Running Brook and Wilde Lake communities. The kids andfamilies ofDorsey Hall are very tight - they love beingon the same swim team, they play onthe same soccerteam, they are scouts underthe samepack andtroop, theywalMiike to eachother's to dohomework together. All ofthis would be taken away &om these young kids and they will beexpected to make so many new connections all at once - this is stressful for young kids. This move would, in essence, bein clear violation ofpolicy 6010. By signing this petition we urge you to reconsider these proposals. Sent from my iPhone Kathleen V. Hanks From: Ed Arnold Ed Arnold Polygon 1148 - 4642 Learned Sage Ellicott City, MD I am writing this email to voice my strong opposition to the proposal made this week by Jen Mallo and Dr. Chao Chu to split the Dorsey Hall community. This has been my home for over 17 years, and I have watched my older kids graduate Northfield and Dunloggin Middle. Currently I have a daughter in Dunloggin Middle so this new proposal has a tremendous impact on our family. Proposing to move just one side of our street and ship these kids across 108 to Wilde Lake Middle school does not make any sense. Our neighborhoods are already diverse and to move these kids and separate our neighbors is not right. It appears on the surface that we are being targeted because our side of the street is mostly townhouses and apartments, while the other side of the street is mostly single-family homes. This appears to be a sort of segregation based on income which on the surface would encourage lawsuits against the county. This also would have an impact to property values which could be another issue for the county. Many or our neighbors live very close to Dunloggin and Northfield and some of us walk and bike to school on good weather days. Redistricting us across 108 into Columbia would make this impossible. Once again to increase the distance to school does not make much economic sense. The main concern of this proposal is we were not given a voice during the public testimony and to attach the Dorsey Hall polygons to the original proposal is unfair. Howard County was brought together by diversity from its founder Jim Rouse and Dorsey Hall has been a leader in this effort. To split up our neighborhood because of the proposal will not be tolerated at any level and we will use our voices to be heard and will proceed with all legal efforts afforded to us under law. I strongly suggest that you reject this proposal and keep Dorsey Hall united. Ed Arnold 4642 Learned Sage EllicottCity, MD 21042 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Mary M Dear Howard County Board of Education Members, Pleasesee my feedback regarding redistricting in the attached letter (andpasted below). Thank you for your consideration, Mary Monroe November 3, 2019 Dear Howard County Board of Education Members, I amwriting on behalfof my fellow community members in Polygon 132.The current Elementary School redistricting proposal byBoardmember Mallo (1030 2019 Mallo ES. pdf(3, 723 KB)carves thissmall cluster of students away from our Clemens Crossing Community. I disagreewith this proposal regarding Polygon 132 for the following reasons: -^-Ithas been overlooked thatan apartment unit consisting of about 250 units isbeing proposed fordevelopment in the HickoryRidge Village Center (Polygon 1131)for construction withinVhe~ next2 years. In an effortto reduce movement ofstudents, havingdisparate feeder polygons and also in anticipation ofthis newdevelopment I would liketo propose postponement of redistrictingpolygons in or out of Clemens Crossing Elementary until the impact of the Village Center redevelopment issolidified. Additionally, can we askthe county and state government to obtainSchool-earmarked taxesfrom these new developers? Itseems like they are able to profit" fromthe reputation of Howard County Schools without having any responsibility for ensuring our communities and schools are not negatively impacted byovercrowding. -^-There\sa\so a human impact ofthis to these kidsand our community. Forexample, a Girl Scout c'emens crossing cluster leader lives there' the children there are pclrt ofthe Clemens'Crossing" Community SwimTeam andother community groups. Also,from a geographic perspective" (lookingat major roadboundaries), it doesn't makesense to carvethis tiny area away from the rest ofthe Clemens Crossing and Hickory Ridge Community. -P\ease. I askyou to take more time to lookat all the data (to includefuture housing developments) rather than driving a decision based on a date. Thank you for addressing my concerns, Mary Monroe, Polygon 1131 Kathleen V. Hanks From: nurtelli Dear Board OfEducation Members, I believe that you have the best intentions to help kids that require our help and attention but have the wrong approach to achieving this goal! Why don't we . Renovating current schools . Building new schools Extendingtutoring and mentorship programs to the students who needthem Establishing scholarships Providing workshops to educate parents on the best ways to motivate their children I'm asking you to have the best interests ofall Howard County kids in mind, andto be true representatives of all residents. Respectfully NT Sent from my iPhone To whom it may concern, I would like to voice my concern over the most recent redistricting proposals from Ms. Mallo and Mr. Wu for our neighborhood of Dorsey Hall. My family lives in polygon 2148. Our 2 boys originally attended Thunder Hill ES, and due to the distance from that school, we felt a disconnect from that community. When we were redistricted to Northfield ES,we suddenly became a part ofthe larger Dorsey Hall neighborhood that we continue to live in. Being less than a mile from school, our boys walked to and from school almost every day, and our youngest, who nowattends Dunloggin MScontinues to walkor ride his bike daily. Movingwalkers to schools that require a long bus ride seems counterproductive to me. When our polygon, alongwith polygons 148, 1148, 276 and 302, were moved into our DorseyHall neighborhood, we were not only united with our fellow Dorsey Hall neighbors, but we also brought a socio-economic diversity that was sorely lacking to Northfield, providing the only affordable housing to the school, aswell asto Dunloggin MS. Moving us from Northfield and Dunloggin would severely reduce that diversity, to the detriment of those schools. Im also concerned for our DorseyHall neighborsthat would not be moved. The Dunloggin MSfeed to Wilde Lake High School is already very small, as my oldest son can attest to. Without our cluster of polygons to contribute to that feed, it would become one ofthe smallest in the county. I've heard estimates of between 2 and 5 percent. Forthese reasons, I'm askingyou to consider the consequences ofthese proposals, and keep our neighborhood of Dorsey Hall together as one. Thanks you for your time and consideration. John Hoagland Kathleen V. Hanks From: David Magdoff Dear Board of Education Members, I live in polygon 1066 and currently have two children at Clemens Crossing ES. Dr. Wu's revised plan moves polygons 133, 1133, 2204, 4133, and 5133 out of Bryant Woods ES and into Clemens Crossing ES, and then moves 66, 130, 134, 1066, 1134, and 2134 out of Clemens Crossing ESand into Swansfield ES. But the Bryant Woods boundary directly touches the Swansfield boundary - there is no need to domino through Clemens Crossing at all! Clemens Crossing was heavily impacted in the last redistricting two years ago - we lost over 100 students to Pointers Run. Neither Bryant Woods nor Swansfield was impacted last time. Please don't move us out of our school unnecessarily! Additionally, polygons 66, 134, 1066, 1134, and 2'\34 just hadour middle school changedtwo years ago! We had been a tiny feed from Clemens to hlarper's Choice MS for years, which wasvery recently fixed -- we are finally (gratefully!) part of a 100%feed from Clemens Crossing to Wilde Lake MS! Moving our polygons to Swansfield now would just recreate the small feed in the opposite direction, as 100% of Swansfield feeds to Harper's Choice MS. No one in our neighborhood wants to go backto being one of only about a dozen kids to leave their elementary school to start at a different middle school from everyone else. Please look into moving polygons 133, 1133, 2204, 4133, and 5133 directly from Bryant Woods ES to Swansfield ES,without impacting Clemens Crossing again, and without moving students from 66, 134, 1066, 1134, and 2134 again! Wejust started at our new middle school last year. Thank you for your consideration, David Magdoff Kathleen V. Hanks From: T. C. Woodward Dear BOE Members: In 2017, our polygon, 127, was redistricted from Clemens Crossing ES and Lime Kiln MS to Pointers Run ES and Clarksville MS (which took effect for the 2018-2019 school year), Our neighborhood understood the reason behind the Board's decision to redistrict our community and supported the move to PRES-CMS to fix the small feed that existed at the time. With Board Member Mallo's current proposal our polygon would again be placed in an unacceptably small feed. Also, her scenario has the current sixth graders in Polygon 127 attending four schools in as many years: . 4th grade at Clemens Crossing ES (CCES) . 5th grade at Pointers Run ES (PRES) . 6th grade at Clarksville MS (CMS) . 7th grade at Wilde Lake MS (WLMS) Board Member Malta's plan also aligns us with Polygon 126. Per the image below 126 has redacted data, which suggests fewer than 5 students at each level. This means Polygon 127 is once again - being moved as basically a single polygon. This is exactly why the board voted in 2017 to move us away from CCES-LKMS. We were the only polygon feeding from Clemens to Lime Kiln. PLEASE DO NOT UNDO WHAT THE BOARD PURPOSEFULLY PUT IN PLACE IN 2017. OUR CHILDREN DESERVE STABILITY AND STRONG FEEDS. PLEASE VOTE AGAINST MOVING POLYGON 127 Respectfully, Tatia Woodward (mom to Maxwell Woodward, 2nd grade at PRES) Bro^tiw^ »thi»<>**uLrunu>tt ?'";" uf«*ntcw ^i i tif-i.'.iwn «ii»nt> ftlui. witjnntifui j *'MWy « <. f^;/'^ ''' t - .. " Kathleen V. Hanks From: valerie Scannell Good morning, I wanted to take a moments to send my thoughts and concerns redistricting Bollman Bridge polygons, especially the onesjust swappingwith Guilford. To be frank, there isjust no logical reasonthat i have beentold or have figured out myself why this move is needed. It doesnt help with overcrowding ( neither is), desegregation, feeding into middle school (actually it distrupts it) or equality ofthe FARMS program. And physical location to the schools woulfmake sense to stay as is for ti-ansportation. This move absolutely goes againstthr policy. My children would be the only kids left on their bus, not a huge deal but it is a reminder of a whole area that would be swappedthat lives on the same street as me. It really cuts the neighborhoodin half. Kids on the same streer going to diffemt schools. As a single mom, i have built relationships with my neighbors, they help me with carpools, looking after a kid at an afterschool event, and extravcurricular activities. Futhermore, it would collaspse Bollman Bridge PTA whichhelps keep staffmorale high and is invested in the well being ofour kids. I say this becasue the President, treasurer anfother board members live in the polygon that is swapping. This fall alone they raised 10k flr our title 1 school. I dont think the community can maintain that with this disruption. I oppose Mallos plan or any other plan to move the children from their close knit community to another school without any logical reasoning and causingdistruption to children. Valerie Scannell Kathleen V. Hanks From: Bhawna Poonia Bhawna Poonia Polygon2148 I^am opposing the proposed redistricting plan to move our children from Northfiled ES and Dunloggin MS to Running Brooks ES and Wilde Lake MS for polygon 2148. Children on Kingscup ct (polygon 2148) are now able to walk safely to NES and DMS starting this school year since^the completion ofroundabout (intersection ofkingscup withColumbia rd) whichwas constructed with significantpublic fundsrecently . As a result my 2 middle schoolers alongwith many other children from this polygon walk to their school almost everyday (Walking distance 0. 7 miles). This move to redistrict will negate theutility ofthe roundabout andmoving ourkids to a school 3-4miles awaywill not allowthem to be walkers. Sincerely, Bhawna Bhawna Poonia Ellicott City, Maryland Cell:410-710-8116 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Gigi Raney Dear Members of the Board of Education, We were surprised to hear that two new redistricting proposals were submitted this week by Board of Education members Dr. Chao Wu and Ms. Jen Mallo. In both ofthese plans our friends and neighbors in Polygon 132 would be moved from Clemens Crossing Elementary to Bryant Woods Elementary. With less than 3 weeks until the vote, I am writing to explain the reasons I believe this be detrimental to the overall Clemens Crossing community. The kids of Polygon 132 have always attended Clemens Crossing Elementary. They are socially embedded in our community. These families are on our swim team, in our chess club, part of our CA after school program. Many parents are our Scout leaders and soccer coaches. Through these neighborhood-basedactivities we have built a mutual support network and removing this small group of kids from that would only serve to separate relationships and community ties. KeepingALL of our diverse neighborhoodstogether in our local neighborhood school directly upholds the standards in Policy 6010with regards to community stability, maintaining strong feeds, minimizing transportation costs, fiscal responsibility, diversity, and minimizing the number of students moved. Respectfully, please reconsider including Polygon 132 in the current redistricting plans Thank you for taking the time to consider my input. Respectfully submitted, Virginia Raney Whitewasher Way Concerned Howard County Voter Dr. Wu and Members of the Board, Once again, I recognize the difficult job that you're undertaking to ensure that Howard OL)n?y?tuder1tscontirlue to recsive the besteducation possible. I'm grateful foryour work but am contacting you today to express my deep concern with Chao Wu's most recent proposal (10/30/19). Among other changes, this proposal has my Wheatfield neighborhood (polygons 100and 1100) moving from Centennial High School to Wilde LakeHigh School. Asyou mayknow, weare a small neighborhoodmade up ofmodest single family homes and townhomes. This is a brand newchange. In nearly all previous proposals, Wheatfield was not moved at the high school level. The only proposal which included a high school movement was Jen Mallo's plan which splits Wheatfield in half between Centennial and H.owa. r.d'. Asa nei9hborhood we would accept a change moving us to a different Ellicott Mills Middle feeder (Howard or Mount Hebron) if we moved as a neighborhood unit. However, while we know changes are needed Chao's most recent plan to create a new feed from Ellicott Mills and move Wheatfield from Centennial to Wilde Lake is unreasonable and violates policy 1610 for the following reasons: 1) First and foremost, it creates a micro-feed from Ellicott Mills Middle School to Wilde Lake. Specifically, upon leaving middle school, students from WheatiField's polygons 100and 1100would besent to WildeLake where they would comprise a tiny fraction ofWilde Lake's approximately 1300 students. And while previous proposals have included various elementary school assignments for Wheatfield residents (Waterloo, Phelps Luck and/or Veterans), it's currently unclear where we'll end up. Yet none of these elementary schools are Wilde Lake feeder schools. So with Chao's most recent plan, children in polygons 100 and 1100 would be forced to enter high school at Wilde Lake knowing nobody outside of their small neighborhood micro-feed. 2) Second, this plan would create a situation where Ellicott Mills Middle School students would be split between fourdifferent high schools (e. g., Centennial, Mt. Hebron, Howardand Wilde Lake). Lookingat the superintendent's proposal, no' other middle school is slated to be split between more than 3 schoois. This is a massive division of students at the middle/high school transition and would do nothing to promote a sense of community the Policy is intended to foster. 3) Third, Wheatfieldbecomes a complete island. Chao'smost recentplan creates a situation where Wheatfield alone attends a different high school than children'in immediately adjacent neighborhoods, whose homes we"can easily see and walk to. Specifically, Wheatfield, Stonecrest and Brampton Hills would'all attend different highschools - and be bused to varying areas ofthe county-despite the factthat they're all within a one-mile radius ofeach other. Notably, ofthose three neighborhoods, Wheatfield is the only one that would be forced to cross Route 100 (a natural boundary) to get to their newhigh school assignment. 4) Fourth, Chao's most recent plan moves Wheatfield from Waterloo to Phelps ..uck for elementary school. Jen Mallo's plan, on the other hand, moved Wheatfield from Waterloo to Veterans, which is preferable considering that it's . ^_s, _th^n ahalfmile from the neighborhood and walkable with a crossing guard. Jen's plan is better on this specific issue because it would allow Wheatfield residents to stay in schools on the Route 103 corridor and remain aligned with its neighboring_development (Stonecrest). However, we appreciate that"under Cao's plan Phelps luck does provide a decent size feed to Ellicott Mills. 5) Finally, while Dr. Martirano's proposed plan may be disruptive in some respects, 'tdoes-substantially dscrease the FARMS percentage at Wilde Lake from 46% to 38%. Chao'smost recentplan, onthe other hand, would haveonlvWheatfield Lake with no other neighborhoods moving ouTTcannot .T?yi ng. l?to wilde. image that our tiny neighborhood of modestly priced homes and townhomes would have anywhere near the kind of downward impact on Wilde Lake FARMS as Dr. Martirano's plan. ^o!':the, reasons discussed above, it's my beliefthat Chao's most recent plan violates Policy 6010 (Section IV. B. 2. Community Stability) whichstates that"reasonable. 'sc'h'ool attendance areas should promote a sense ofcommunity in both the geographic place (e. g, neighborhoodor place in which a studentlives) andthe promotion ofa student from-each.sch°01leverlby. considerin9 factors such as "keeping students together from onesch001 to the nexttby]. avoiding feeds less than 15% atthe'receivYngschool';'and' reas. at are made up of conti9uous communities or neighborhoods. The microfeed atWilde Lake resulting from this change would be in clear violation of Policy 6010. I!;!!."?. ^qu.. Lt?ble. forwheatfield residentsto bemoved toWilde Lake, across major highwayswithout anyof our Route 103 neighbors. Additionally, it is unreasonable to be moved from EllicottMills MiddleSchool - whichis within walking distance-"and-can be" seen from our homes. Forthese reasons. I am requesting that the Board'keep both DQlvaons(100 and 1100)in oneof Ellicott Mills' currentfeeder high schoo!s_(e'a" ce"tennial- Howard or IViount Hebront and avoid makina~Whea~tfield a"d-lsland and the creation ofa mi<;ro feed into Wilde Lake. Wealso request the board as outlined in Jenn's plan consider, ifpossible, moving Wheatfield to Veteran's elementary schoolwhich is also visible from our homes, thankyou. Thank you, Ryan Kaufman (polygon 100) Kathleen V. Hanks From: Amy & Jim Berkson To the Board of Education: My family STRONGLYOPPOSES proposals made last week by Jen Mallo & Dr. Chao Wu that will move the Dorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276. 1. You just wasted millions of tax payers' dollars on the consultants for the feasibility study. If this is how you plan to proceed - moving polygons on your own - you could have used all that money on school expansions, renovations, and high school #13. 2. Undoubtedly, this will negatively impact community stability. Moving one side of the street would tear these community bonds apart. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, b). These polygons provide much of the socioeconomic diversity at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle. Redistricting of these polygons would eliminate the majority of the affordable housing options, including all townhouses and condominiums, which currently attend Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 3) This goes in the face of the plan for this radical redistricting. 3. The Dunloggin Middle to Wilde Lake High feed is already very small. These proposals redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would result in a micro-feed of ~4% for DMS to WLHS, which is highly unreasonable and would be one of the smallest in the county. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 2, a) 4. All though not designated walkers, much of the Dorsey Hall community in polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, and 276 have the option to walk or bike to school, many are 1 mile or less from Northfield Elementary & Dunloggin Middle - these preferred sustainable school commuting options would be completely eliminated. Increases in the already traffic stricken locations of Running Brook Elementary and Wilde Lake Middle would increase commutes exponentially. These Dorsey Hall polygons have either 0 or just 1 traffic light to get to school, further demonstrating community connection and proper community proximity to attend Northfield and Dunloggin. (Violation of Policy 6010, IV, B, 1, c & d) 5. Redistricting Dorsey Hall polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, 276 would allow unfair treatment by introducing these major community changes last minute, after the months of evaluation and periods for public testimony have already passed. This lacks the same due process over these past months as other proposals, including public testimonies. We strongly request the BOE - - ' include polygons 1148, 2148, 148, 302, or 276 in the final redistricting plan and that they remain at Northfield Elementary and Dunloggin Middle for the clear reasons stated above. Sincerely, Amy Berkson Polygon #1148 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Ruy Garda-Zamor Dear Board of Education, My name is Ruy Garcia-Zamor and I am a father ofthree young children and a resident of polygon 1200. 1 strongly support Chao Wu's current proposal to send our children to Glenelg High School. The commute will be so much better for our children and we will not have two buses coming into our small community every day to take neighbor children to two different high schools. As an extra bonus, many of my children's friends (outside ofpolygon 1200) were already designated to go to Glenelg High School and I am excited that they may not be separated. Thank you for the extra consideration you are giving our polygon. Please accept the redistricting proposal set forth by Chao Wu. Best regards, Ruy Ruy Garcia-Zamor 12960 Linden Church Road Clarksville, MD21029 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Gina Rothbaum Hello Board Members ofHCPSS, I am ^vritmg to share my deep concern with Jen Mallo's recent proposal to redistrict District 7 to Laurel Woods ES and Murray Hill MS. Wejust built our house and moved to HOCo in April because we wanted to send our child to Fulton ES and Hanunond MS. My daughter had to make new friends at a new preschool when we moved here in April, and had to make new friends again in kindergarten just a few months later, and we had thought that she was settled and that the emotional upheaval had ended. Now with Jen Mallo's new plan, she could be uprooted again, being forced to make new friends for a third time in less than two years. As a psychotherapist, I am extremely worried about the mental health of my child should she be forced to do this. We would have never built our house here had we known that she would be experiencing this much emotional upheaval. I recognize that this is a very personal account of how our family will be negatively affected by redistricting, and that I have not mentioned how this will decrease our home value, or potentially affect her ability to get the differentiated enrichment instruction that she is so wonderfully receiving at Fulton. I also recognize that other families in other polygons could argue these same points, but I urge you to stick with the original redistricting plan that was proposed late this summer so that district polygon 7 can remain at Fulton ES and Hammond MS. Sincerely, Gina Rofhbaum 8612 Doves Fly Way Kathleen V. Hanks From: Adam Goode Members ofHCPSSBoard ofEducation La?.aresi(?ent °fDorsey HEdl>polygon cluster 2148. Mychild attends Northfield Elementary. OurOne Dorsey Hall United community opposes the redistricting plans presented by board member JenMallo andboard member Chao Wu that propose to move these polygons out ofNorthfield Elementary and Dunlogging Middle to RunningBrook Elementary andWilde Lake Middle respectively. Thisproposal will move kids from a school thatis less thana mile awayto a school 3 to 4 miles awayand across a major intersection. Themove will also notbe economical for the school system sinceit will haveto buskids that are right nowable to walkto their current school. After years ofpetitioning, a roundabout wasrecently installed atone ofthe intersections on Coliunbia Roadto allowkids to waWbiketo school safely. NowI walkmy daughter to Northfield almost every day. Themove will render it a wasted investment. Furthermore, theproposed move will breakup the extremely closeknit community ofDorseyHall while also leaving the said polygons isolatedsince they are physically fm- awayfrom the Running Brook and Wilde Lake communities. Thekids and families ofDorsey Hall arevery ^i ~.my daushteris ina Girl scouttrooP with girls throughout DorseyHall and other neighborhoods feeding NES they are scouts under the same pack andtroop. All ofthis would be taken away from these young kids and theywill be expected to make so many newconnections all at once - this is stressful for young kids. This move would, in essence, be in clearviolation ofpolicy 6010. 1 urge youto reconsider these proposals. Thankyou. Adam Goode Kathleen V. Hanks From: Jessica Visco To whom it may concern: I currently reside in the Montgomery Meadows neighborhood in Polygon 84 but also includes polygons 95, 1095 and 2095. A proposal was recently submitted by Dr. Wu which would move us to Waterloo Elementary school (another proposal was submitted by Ms. Mallo which excluded polygon 84 but included all other polygons in Montgomery Meadows). I don't feel that we should be included in the proposal as IlchesterElementary school is not over capacity and it not projected to grow in the future. This will be polygon 84's fourth move in 12 years, which seems excessive and overly dismptive to the students (Bellow Springs, Rockbum, Ilchester). Ilchester currently has a 1 00% feed into Bonnie Branch, the optimal goal ofthe Board as discussed in recent work sessions. The proposed plans would reduce this feed. Please reconsider including Polygon 84 in any redistricting and stick with Dr. Martirano's original proposal which excludes us from any redistricting. Thanks. Jessica Visco Kathleen V. Hanks From: Stephane Latour <04sjl17@gmail. com> Sent: Sunday, November 3, 2019 8:18 AM To: Hcpss Redistricting Subject: [External] Polygon 127 Dear Board Members: In 2017, OUT polygon was redistricted from Clemens Crossing ES and Lime Kiln MS to Pointers Run ES and Clarksville MS (took effect for the 2018-2019 school year). OUTneighborhood understood the reason behindthe Board's decision to redistrict our community and overwhelmingly supported the move to PRES-CMS to fix the small feed that existed at the time. WithBoard Member Mallo's proposed scenario our polygon would againbe placed in an unacceptably small feed. Also, her scenario has the current sixth graders in Polygon 127 attending four schools in as many years: o 4th grade at Clemens Crossing ES (CCES) o 5th grade at Pointers Run ES (PRES) o 6th grade at Clarksville MS (CMS) o 7th grade at Wilde Lake MS (WLMS) Board Member Mallo's plan also aligns us with Polygon 126. whichhas redacted data, suggesting fewer than 5 students at each level. This means Polygon 127 is basically its ownpolygon moving. This is exactly whythe boardvoted in 2017 to move us awayfrom CCES-LKMS.We were the only polygon feedingfrom Clemens to Lime Kiln. Board Member Mallo's approach would also violate the goals of Policy 6010 (IV. B. 2.), which states the Board will make "every attempt to not move a student more than once at any school level or the same student more frequently than once every five years. " This policy is important to our neighborhood because in the 2018-2019 school year we experienced firsthandthe impact and challenges redistricting presents as our children worked to adjust to new academic environments and friend groups after the last redistricting decision. For these same children to endure another redistricting just a few years later places an extreme burden on them. Our children deserve stability and strong feeds. Pleasevote againstmoving polygon 127. Thank you Stephane Latour Kathleen V. Hanks From: Grace McMonagle Hello, Hive inGray Rock Farm and have a 6thand 4th grader. Wehave been so happy with Northfield Elementary! Theteachers areamazing thecommunity ispriceless andI feelthose friends mil lasta longtime. My6th graderstarted Burleigh Manor middle this year and has loved it! She'smade wonderful newfriends, isenjoying theamazing music department andall the extra curriculai activities thatBMMS hasto offer. Mykids arevery excited to start Centennial High School becauseit hassuch a greatreputation andthey getto bereunited with some friends &omNES that went to a different middle schooL Webought ourhouse in'GrayRock Farm becauseof these schools. Pleasedon't take that away from us! It'shard enough being a kmdergartner, 6thand 9th grader! Pleaselet them count onwhere they will be goingto school. Sincerely, Grace McMonagle 3604 Homed Owl Ct. Sent from my iPhone Kathleen V. Hanks From: Emily Atkinson Dr. Wu and Ms. Mallo, CURRENTLY Bus to Northfield ES/Dunloggin MS: 1. 4 miles Time: 5 minutes as there are no other bus stops between home and school YOUR PLANS Bus to Running Brook ES: 3. 2 miles Time: 20 minutes assuming 5 two-minute bus stops between home and school Bus to Wilde Lake MS: 4. 3 miles Time: 25 minutes assuming 5 two-minute bus stops between home and school Feeder schools don't always make sense. Don't single out townhome communities because it's convenient for you. Don't transfer polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148, and 2148. Emily Atkinson Kingscup Court Polygon 2148 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Emily Atkinson Dr. Wu and Ms. Malta, CURRENTLY Walk to Northfield ES/Dunloggin MS: 0. 8 miles along 1 side street Time: 15 minutes YOUR PLANS Walk to Running Brook ES: 2. 7 miles crossing a six-lane highway Time: 1 hour Walk to Wilde Lake MS: 4. 3 miles crossing a six-lane highway, walking along a divided highway, and taking 6 side streets Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Feeder schools don't always make sense. Don't single out townhome communities because it's convenient for you. Don't transfer polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148, and 2148. Emily Atkinson Kingscup Court Polygon 2148 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Emily Atkinson Dr. Wu and Ms. Malta, MY CHILDREN'S WALK Walk to Northfield ES/Dunloggin MS: 0.8 miles Time: 15 minutes LONGEST WALK FOR CURRENT DISTRICTED WALKING ZONE Walk to Northfield ES/Dunloggin MS: 1. 1 miles Time: 25 minutes Just because my polygon isn't in the "walking zone" doesn't mean it isn't extremely close to my children's school. My polygon lies on the border of the "walking zone." Feeder schools don't always make sense. Don't single out townhome communities because it's convenient for you. Don't transfer polygons 148, 276, 302, 1148, and 2148. Emily Atkinson Kingscup Court Polygon 2148 Kathleen V. Hanks From: cmanganillo@proclaimsystems. com Sent: Sunday, November 3, 2019 6:40 AM To: Hcpss Redistricting Subject: [External] Please don't "single out" Poly 176 as an example of socio equity measure poster-child Hi All, This is Carl Manganillo from Polygon 176. 1 begyou to please not pick on Poly 176 and make it some sort of poster-child example for politicians to fly up the flag pole.. It makes no sense to move our polygon on every dimension other than the political one of holding us up as some sort of trophy of triumph. We share a busstop with 3176 (which is slated to be unaffected by Mallo's plan).. The closest house to River Hill High School is in fact from 176, not 3176 (please drive by to see the geography).. We are 1.4 miles from RHHS, and almost 6.5 miles from WLHS.There are MANY, MANY, MANY polygons that are much closer to WLHS (Like in the Centeniall area) that will have the same effect on FARM movement to WLHSthan ours.. I can't help but think that we are being picked on. Please also don't forget that our community is over 80%Asian. This would likely constitute discrimination claim againstthis protected class (even if by proxy... like how FARM is a proxy for race) due to the disproportionate number of people affected in this class vs all others (again, even ifvia proxy) Thank you for your careful consideration in fairness to "all students" (as you like to say).. and we are part of the "all" (just as much as other poly's are part of it).. Dear HCPSS Board ofEducation Members, My name is Chen Li and I live in Polygon 2028. I watchedthe Board of Education Work Session this past Wednesday Oct 32 during which similarities md differences between the plans presented by Ms. Jen Mallo and Dr. Chao Wu were discussed. I wanted to drawyour attention to a comment that Ms. Mallo made to Dr. Wu, while you were discussingmoving polygons from HowardHigh School to reduce overcrowding. Ms. Mallo emphasizedthe importance ofnot splitting neighborhoods apartwhen discussing polygons 1300and 300, which are current feedersto Howard High School. Ms. Cutroneo also discussed the importance of neighborhood continuity when addressing which polygons to keep at Oakland Mills High School. Thesecomments drewmy interest becauseMs. Malta's "test scenario"plan separates anddivides Polygons 28 and 186 from therest of our PheasantRidge community. Her plan disruptsthe community even more thanthe Superintendent's plan, whichcuts ourPheasant Ridge community inhalf by keeping polygons 187, 1187, 188,and 1188at Clarksville Middle School, and sends the remaining River Hill polygonsto a much furthermiddle school. Harpers Choice Middle School. Oneconcern is the separation ofPolygon 28, which is oneof three well-connected polygons-1028, 28, 2028. Thesethree contiguous polygons include homes close to theRiver Hill Village Center, bounded by Route 108, RiverHill High School, the River Hill Village Center and Great Star Drive. Removing Polygon 28 from Polygons 1028 and 2028 arbitrarily splits tpsrt homes on the southern portion ofIndian Summer Drive from the rest ofthe community, based on nothing more thana crosswalk(see Figure 1 below). Another concernis the separationofPolygon 186 whichii immediately due south ofPolygon 1186, along Trotter Road, which is the neighborhood street that runs from the bottom of 186 to the top of 1186. We are one neighborhood which you are arbitrarily splitting down the middle at Tail Timber Drive. Ms. Mallo's plan breaks up our contiguous neighborhoods in the samemanner that Ms. Mallo andMs. Cutroneo haddiscouraged when discussing polygons thatcurrently feed to HowardHigh School and Oakland Mills High School. Ofnote, polygons 1028, 28, 2028, 1186, 186, 187, 1187, 188, 1188, 185, and 1185 are in close proximity to clarksville Elementary, Clarksville Middle School, and River Hill High School (See Figure 2). Additionally, many ofthese homes arepart ofthe Village ofRiver Hill neighborhood ofPheasant Ridge andare walkers to these schools. Forreference, the main arteries of the neighborhood are Linden Linthicuin Lane, Indian Summer Drive, Fall Moon Ride, Great Star Drive (The portion of Great Star closest to Route 108 and the River Hill Village Center), South Wind Circle, Trotter Rd, and Route 108. The homes on and off ofthese roads have attended Clarksville Elementary School, Clarksville Middle School. and River Hill High School for decades. Please maintain this long-established feeder system, by keeping our polygons together attending River Hill community schools (1028, 28,2028, 1186, 186, 1S7, 1187, 188, 1188, 185, and 1185). Please prioritize the importance of contiguous neighborhoods at their community schools in all future modifications ofthe final Attendance Area Adjustment. I would also like to convey strong support for Dr. Chao Wu's plan asa starting point forthe Attendance AreaAdjustment, ashis plan addresses a reasonable reductionin FARM rates while still balancing utilization with minimal disruption to communities, including our community in River Hill. Thank you for your continued effort and support of all HCPSS students. Chen Li Polygon 2028 Figure 1. 1028, 28, and 2028 Figure 2. 1028, 28, 202S, 1186, 186, 187, 1187, 188, 1188, 185, and 1185 Kathleen V. Hanks From: Li Li Dear BOE members, I am Li Li loving in Kingscup Court ot'Ellicott city (polygon 2148). Please consider keep polygonsl48, 1148, 2148, 276 and 302 to Northfield and Donloggin. Moving these Polygons to RBES and WLMS is against policy 6010. We are 0.7 miles from NES and WLMS and literally considered withinwalking zone (Please see attached illustration). After years ofpetition, a new roundabout crossing Columbia Rd (Colunibia Rd at Kingscup act) was constructed just by the end of June so that more than 50 of our kids can walk or bike safely to schools. The plans to move these polygons to RBES and WLMS doesn't show any financial responsibility in this regard. In addition, The long distance to RBES and WLMS will increase their daily commute to 30-40 minutes every day considering the heavy traffic on Columbia Rd crossing Rt 108 and around Coliunbiamall. It's not possible for them to walk back home and long commute also increases the safety concerns, Please keep walkers as walkers and keep polygon 148, 1148, 277 and 302 to NES and DMS Thank you very much for your attention Li Li One Dorsey Hall DunlogginM^ 07 miles walking Kingscup Ct iMorthfield ES 0 7 miles walking Current Schools /" / OKingscup Court Northfield ES(0. 7 miles walking) . -...< r" '. ' Dunloggin MS (0.7 miles walking) Wilde Lake HS * -ir.n H ". ; " Proposed Schools Howard Count installed a Running Brook ES (3.2 miles) roundabout in June 2019 Wilde Lake MS (4.4 miles) for kids' safe cross to ES 0;-' (0. Wilde Lake HS 4.4 r D ^.- and MS 7 miles from :(ingscup Ct #214S) '.'Jitde Lake From: Michael McGowen HCPSS, I know you can't please everyone in this process and I acknowledge that some redistricting is necessary. However, moving polygon 1148 andthe surroundingpolygons to Ruiming Brook Elementary makes no sense and unecessarily moves walkers to a distant and congested area. One also can't help but notice that the surrounding polygons with single family homes are uneffected. This really feels like income descriminationand is very unfairto the kids and parents. I request that our polygon remain at Northfield. Thank you. Michael McGowen 410-533-8237 Email to Board on October 18, 2019 Can you please considera more accuratemeasure oftransportation costs when redistricting? Straight line measurement is not an accurate estimate when there are barriers and no roads. One example is moving 135, 1135, 2135, 174, 1174, and 2174 from Swansfield ES, Harper's Choice MS, and Wilde Lake HS to Clarksville ES, Clarksville MS, and River Hill HS. This neighborhoodhas a physical barriers - The Middle PatuxentEnvironmental Area and Middle Patuxent River. There are no direct roads through this area. This would make walking home impossible andthere is no public transportation. An activity bus would needto be included to keep participation and mastery opportunities equitable. While is it is encouraging that students are asked to show mastery on assignments, most of those opportunities to improve are currently only being scheduled after school on a limited basis. I reviewed one polygon to determine how different straight line distance is compared to actual driving distances. Here are the results ofpolygon 1135 as measured from the 11800 block of Bright Passage. Straight line measure Swansfield ES 1. 1 miles Clarksville ES 2. 0 miles difference 0. 9 miles Driving distance SwansfieldES 1. 3 miles ClaksvilleES 4. 8 miles difference 3. 5 miles Straight line measure Harper's Choice MS 1. 5 miles Clarksville MS 1. 6 miles difference 0. 1 miles Driving distance Harper's Choice MS 1. 9 miles Clarksville MS 5. 4 miles difference 3.5 miles Straight line measure Wilde Lake HS 1. 4 miles River Hill HS 1. 9 miles difference 0. 5 miles Driving distance Wilde Lake HS 2. 6 miles River Hill HS 5. 1 miles difference 2. 5 miles Whilethe average straight line measure seems very reasonableby only increasingby 0. 5 miles, the average actual driving distance is 3. 2 miles. I hope that you consider actual driving distances students will needto travel whendetermining transportation costs. Thank you. I live in Columbia in polygon 53. 1 have lived here for over 20 years and my husband has lived here for over 35 years in the same home. When we married we looked at moving but we love this area and we wanted our children to attend diverse schools. Now during this last month of planning you have decided to move us to Clarksville MS and River Hill HS. I find this unacceptable for many reasons. I want my children to go to a diverse school. Moving us to River Hill does not change FARMS under any of the proposed plans at River Hill. River Hill is simply less diverse. I do not want my children to be moved to less diverse schools. I want my children to stay at Wilde Lake HS and Harper's Choice MS or an equally diverse school. We live in Columbia for the diverse schools and neighborhoods. I also do not want my children to go to schools where the parents have already convinced their children that we are horrible people. I do not want my children to be in such a toxic environment that they will end up feeling isoJated_Swappingpolygons between River Hill and Wilde Lake does not get the intended equitable result. It just creates more inequity because we do not have the funds to supply activity busses or to increase transportation costs. I wrote the email below on October 18. At that time the only plan that had our polygon attending a different school was in the feasibility study. The moves that were in those plans were acceptable and reasonable. Moving Polygon 53 increases transportation costs more than the transportation study shows. My home is located near the polygon 1135 and as such the distances I gave below are still valid. The driving distance from my home to Wilde Lake is 2. 2 miles and to River Hill it is 4. 8 miles. I find it troubling that you simply shifted the problem over to the next polygon in the Mallo plan. Can you please consider the actual transportation costs? The same reason that polygons 135, 1135, 174, and 1174 are no longer being moved to River Hill also apply to polygon 53. Thank you for your consideration. Sue Chase Polygon 53