With an upcoming boundary study set to impact 19 of the 25 local public high schools, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor is taking steps to ease community concerns by releasing a video that explains why the analysis is needed.
As Taylor explained in the video posted Friday, the boundary study is required due to an expansion of the district’s “high school offerings” by 2027 — with the planned opening of Crown High School in Gaithersburg, reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School in Rockville and an expansion of Damascus High School.
Taylor said the openings and expansion will likely have a “domino impact” across the county and even impact schools that don’t border the three new schools. In the video, he acknowledged the emotional nature of boundary decisions.
“Many of your family decisions may have been tied to planning where your children were going to be assigned to go to school,” Taylor said. “We know that this is a big deal, and if we make a change to attendance boundaries, we must proceed with as much thought and care as possible.”
On Dec. 5, the county school board approved a $1.3 million contract with FLO Analytics, an “employee-owned consulting” company with offices in Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts, and Bloom Planning, a Pennsylvania-based company, to conduct the school boundary study. Taylor said hiring the firms was to ensure the boundary study was done well and to eliminate bias.
Analyses of boundaries have divided the MCPS community in the past. In 2019, MCPS conducted a countywide boundary analysis. While district leaders said at the time the review wouldn’t result in changes, the analysis sparked debate over the value of school diversity versus students attending schools close to their homes. Hundreds of residents attended forums and community feedback meetings on the topic, with one forum resulting in jeers and yelling from attendees.
Taylor also explained the school board’s priorities when considering boundary decisions, which include diversity, proximity, stability and fiscal responsibility. The priorities are based on school board policy, he said.
In the coming weeks, Taylor said MCPS will work with the companies to develop a timeline for community engagement. Taylor said MCPS will reach out to students, staff, parents and community members in a variety of ways.
