FEAC Meeting 10/27/09 Good News

The FEAC committee met today to continue voting on the proposals for school redistricting in Washington County, MD.  Many decisions were made tonight but there were several left that were not addressed requiring the committee to schedule an additional meeting on Tuesday November 3rd.

Since this blog is focused on Keedysville, we will focus on the portion of the meeting that impacts our community.  For those parties interested in other areas affected by the proposed redistricting in Washington County, I would refer you to the Herald Mail or the official Washington County Public School website for details.  If at all possible, I would encourage you to attend the meetings which are open to the public.  

I am pleased to announce that the FEAC Committee made the decision to reject the proposal to send our children to Rockland Woods.  There was an additional proposal made and passed to send approximately 20 students from Keedysville to Pleasant Valley which is closer than Rockland Woods and feeds into Boonsboro Middle and High Schools.

The FEAC Committee meeting was originally scheduled to end at 8pm but ran late and ended at 9:30 in an attempt to complete voting on all of the proposals.  At time the meeting became fairly contentious especially involving the Boonsboro area.  Lorraine O'Connor, who represents Keedysville/Boonsboro on the FEAC committee, presented an alternative plan to alleviate the overcrowding at Boonsboro and was very passionate and outspoken about the negative impact on the Keedysville community.  Board of Education Donna Brightman was present as an observer in the audience.  

Adam Lewis, the co chair of the FEAC Committee, made a motion to recommend to the Board of Education for the magnet program to be taken out of Boonsboro and placed into the new Eastern Primary School.  His thought process was he felt as many as 50 students would voluntarily move with the program which would alleviate the overcrowding at Boonsboro. The problem with this thought process is out of the approximately 90 students involved in the magnet program at Boonsboro, 82 of those students are Boonsboro residents.  Although there was a recommendation to poll the parents involved in the program whether or not they would follow the program if it moved, the likelihood of parents doing so is slim especially considering they would have to provide their own transportation.  

So what is next?  The FEAC Committee will meet next Tuesday to go vote on the remaining discussions and finalize their proposal for the Board of Education.  They will simultaneously present their proposal to School Superintendent Dr Morgan and the Board of Education.  Dr Morgan can elect to accept, reject, or modify the proposal.  She would then present the plan to the elected Board of Education who will vote on it.  The FEAC Committee only makes their recommendation to the BOE, they do not make the decision.  Although it is very encouraging that the proposal to send our children to Rockland Woods failed, we must continue to press hard and continue to make our voice be heard.  Be on the lookout for our petition to sign which we would like to present next week.  If you live in Keedysville and would like to sign the petition or help gather signatures, send an email to keedysvilleredistricting@gmail.com

Thank you very much for all of the parents and citizens of Keedysville and the Boonsboro area who showed their support by attending the FEAC meeting tonight.  I know there were many other who were there in spirit but were unable to attend. 

The next FEAC Committee Meeting in on Tuesday November 3rd from 6pm to 8pm.