FEAC Meeting 10/13/09 Time is Running Out

 

The FEAC Committee met Tuesday night in Hagerstown to continue the discussion about redistricting.  This post is just to hit some of the highlights of the meeting.  Full minutes for the meeting will be available on the Washington County school website at some point in the future. Previous meeting minutes are online (although a bit delayed) and I would encourage interested parties to read them.

• There was discussion at the beginning of the meeting regarding communication the FEAC received from Senator Munson's Office and Senator Barbara Mikulski.  A comment was made that the matter was out of their jurisdiction. 

• Misty Roosa from Keedysville was mentioned in reference to a letter that was not responded to.  They said an apology letter has been sent but said that according to their records, Dr Spong did respond to her questions.  They also referenced a question from Michelle Green that they were still unsure as to whether or not it had been responded to.

• A motion was made by Kira Hamman  to set aside time in each FEAC meeting to answer questions from stakeholders who were present.  Lorraine O Conner (representative from Keedysville and Cannon Ridge resident) was very vocal to say that it was not necessary or appropriate and that the stakeholders had their opportunity to send letters and address the FEAC at the public forums.  She stated that the same concerns were repeated over and over and that she had even been approached at the bus stop that very morning by concerned parents.  FEAC Co Chair Adam Lewis and committee member Bert Iseminger both verbally said they had no problem with it but when it came to a vote, the only person that supported  it was Kira who made the initial motion.  Once again I am very disappointed in the committee and our representative Lorraine O Conner for the lack of courage to engage the stakeholders in an open discussion.  Although the meetings are public, they accept written statements from stakeholders and, in the case of the FEAC forums, they have listened to stakeholders statements, they have never directly answered questions from the stakeholders, preferring instead to issue written response, most of which are prepared by Staff.

• The question of sending some students to Pleasant Valley came up again.  It is a possibility that up to twenty students could be sent from Boonsboro to Pleasant Valley without adding personnel or portables. 

• The magnet school system was discussed at length.  Ultimately it appeared to be decided that removing the magnet program from Boonsboro (and other schools) would be a detriment because it would cause a different fight and hurt the affected schools.  

• A committee member asked  if there would be a liberal policy about exceptions to the redistricting.  The response was rising fifth graders would be exempt.  Other than that, it would be on a case by case business although it was also stated that most principals would choose to say no to all request so they would not have to pick and choose. 

• They voted on some of the sections of the proposal focusing on the areas that showed little or no opposition.

• When the FEAC makes its recommendation, they will present it simultaneously to the Superintendent and the Board of Education.  The Superintendent has the option to make changes to the proposal before she presents it to the Board of Education.  The Board of Education then votes and makes the final decision.

• The last twenty minutes of the meeting were basically bickering about the impending deadline and what would be the best way to proceed.  An additional meeting was added since most members did not feel they would be able to complete it as planned at the next meeting.  The FEAC Committee can submit their recommendation with caveats (i.e. here is the best we can come up with although the stakeholders strongly disagree) and they can also roll out their recommendation in stages as long as future recommendations do not contradict previous recommendations.

• There was a lot of discussion about other schools that would be affected by the redistricting but this blog is focused on the Boonsboro/Keedysville Community. If you are interested in those areas, please watch the Herald-Mail who was represented at the meeting or better yet, make arrangements to attend the meetings whenever possible. They are open to the public.

The next FEAC meeting will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm on Tuesday October 27th.  The first order of business will be the discussion about Boonsboro.  Please mark your calenders and plan on attending this meeting.  Although we are not allowed to speak at this meeting, it is important to let them know we are there.