By Adam Pagnucco.
Five years ago, a planned countywide school boundary analysis by MCPS led to a heated parent uprising and became a huge issue in the 2020 school board elections. The resulting analysis wound up not being used for a comprehensive redistricting. But the political upheaval was significant and former Bethesda Beat reporter Caitlynn Peetz (who should really write a book about it) memorialized the experience for posterity in 2021.
Now the issue is right back on the table, just in time for the school board general election.
Two weeks ago, MCPS published an open solicitation for Bid/RFP Number 4998.1 titled “Consultant for School Boundary Review for Montgomery County Public Schools.” Boundary reviews are not unusual, particularly in cases of school expansions or openings, but the scope of this one is noteworthy. Three different high school capital projects are coming online soon: the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School in North Bethesda, the opening of a new Crown High School in Gaithersburg and the expansion of Damascus High School. The RFP’s erratum #1 incorporates three school board resolutions listing the schools affected by boundary studies. The high schools include:
Woodward Study
Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Blair
Einstein
Walter Johnson
Kennedy
Northwood
Wheaton
Whitman
Crown and Damascus Studies
Churchill
Clarksburg
Damascus
Gaithersburg
Richard Montgomery
Northwest
Poolesville
Quince Orchard
Seneca Valley
Watkins Mill
Wootton
While elementary schools are not included in the study, many middle schools are.
MCPS has 25 high schools, not including Thomas Edison, a co-enrolled career and technology education school on the Wheaton High School campus. The above lists include 19 high schools. That means a large majority of the county is covered by the boundary review RFP.
The due date for the solicitation is October 9. The solicitation includes this timeline:
*****
3.3 Timeline for Deliverables and Implementation and Key Staff
- Project Orientation & Projection Consultation: November-December 2024
- Development of engagement process model: December 2024
- Data collection, validation and option development: Late November 2024–January 2025
- Community Engagement–process and developed options: January 2025–October 2025
- Boundary Study Report released: No later than January 15, 2026
- Superintendent Recommendation released: No later than February 1, 2026
- Board of Education Hearings and Work Sessions: February–March 2026
- Boundaries adopted: March 2026
*****
That’s a year and a half from now to boundary adoption. A tight timeline indeed!
Perhaps the school board candidates should state their positions on what is likely to become a gigantic issue for the future of MCPS.