By Adam Pagnucco.
MCPS’s ongoing boundary study is heating up as activists get organized to participate. But now it’s getting hotter as a planning board member has waded into the debate, branding the notion of busing students out of their neighborhoods as “insanity.”
Planning Board Member Shawn Bartley weighed in on MoCo Neighbors for Local Schools, a Facebook group formed in 2019 to question an MCPS boundary review launched that year. (This year’s review covers about three-quarters of the county’s high schools and middle schools.) Screenshots posted on Bluesky show Bartley making three comments in a group discussion about the boundary study. Those screenshots say:
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REVERSE BUSSING IS HORRIBLE.
Two Questions:
- Will high preforming family children be sent to low performing schools?
- Are high performing family children and their modus operandi and culture valuable?
I don’t know why they would want to bust kids out of their neighborhoods it’s insanity.
it doesn’t make sense for people to invest in a home and the local school and then the county rip it apart. Is it it’s as if they want that school to fail and that high performing neighborhood so that they can make it a title one and get more money?
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I asked the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), where Bartley is a board member, for comment. They sent me this quote from Planning Chair Artie Harris:
I was made aware this morning of social media posts by Commissioner Shawn Bartley regarding school busing. The Planning Board does not have jurisdiction on school transportation or boundary issues. His opinions expressed in these social media posts were not made on behalf of the Planning Board. However, Commissioner Bartley is free to express his personal opinions as a Montgomery County resident.
This is not the first time Bartley’s social media posts have been an issue as they nearly derailed his original appointment to the board two years ago. This is an excerpt from the post I wrote about the planning board appointments at that time.
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The Republican seat had the only whiff of controversy. Council Member Gabe Albornoz nominated Shawn Bartley, an attorney and state board of education member. Mink seconded the nomination but mentioned “some concerns about social media.” More on that below. Council Member Dawn Luedtke nominated former state transportation secretary and attorney David Winstead and was seconded by Marilyn Balcombe. The vote was split 5-5, with Luedtke, Balcombe, Fani-Gonzalez, Katz and Friedson voting for Winstead and Albornoz, Mink, Jawando, Sayles and Evan Glass voting for Bartley. Kate Stewart abstained.
Stewart then said this:
I will change my vote to Mr. Bartley. I at first abstained because originally I was going to vote for Mr. Bartley but did have concerns as some of my colleagues have pointed out and did reflect on them. This was – as with other votes today – this was a tough decision. I respect very much my colleagues up here who are supporting Mr. Bartley and at the end of the day I will support him and believe that and hope that he works to build trust with all in our community and brings respect and honor to the position on the planning board.
Bartley was then appointed on a 6-5 vote.
What was the controversy about? Two weeks ago, Greater Greater Washington wrote the following about Bartley’s tweets:
In his interview with the County Council, he said “When we avoid questions and we avoid answering…questions, it gives the perception of not being transparent.” Bartley did in fact avoid answering our questions. We’re also curious about Bartley’s purported Twitter account, and if it is indeed his account, why someone asking eleven Democrats to appoint him to public office would say Democrats are “morons” who will “ruin our country” or boast that liberals got him kicked off Facebook.
I emailed Bartley requesting comment on these tweets and he did not respond.
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The council unanimously reappointed Bartley last May.
Look closely at the vote tally on his original appointment. Council Members Kristin Mink, Will Jawando, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Evan Glass and Kate Stewart are some of the most progressive members of the council. Few would argue against the notion that Mink and Jawando are the most progressive council members.
And so if you disagree with Bartley’s comments on school boundaries, don’t get mad at Planning Board Chair Artie Harris or at the institution of M-NCPPC itself. They had nothing to do with Bartley’s arrival at the board.
Bartley is on the planning board crafting housing and planning policy because the majority of MoCo’s most progressive county council members put him there.