The residents of Polygons 16 and 1610 are not "fighting change" as Mr. Gallihue was quoted above. The 20 children in isolation under the current proposal are currently going to Guilford ES and we are asking to be changed to either Atholton or Hammond ES along with the rest of the Dickinson community of which we are geographically a part. We have given input to the Board members and to the planning committee, and it feels like it is falling on deaf ears. We hope that the testimony this evening will be heard and these 2 small polygons will be shifted to the west, as the plan was originally drawn before the alteration to leave us at Guilford ES was made 2 weeks ago.

Personally I am more worried about the after affects of the changes. The county seems to not understand that it is not the location of the school but the quality of education that the children receive. The GES meeting parents were told that test score would drop 10% after the changes and the PTA would lose over 50% (or higher according to some) of the parent volunteer. What is the plan to correct this issue? I do not worry about children being isolated. We are a transient society and our children move around as much as we do. Children adapt and make friends quickly and neighborhoods will adjust. My concern is over the educational value of our current schools. Parity and equality are non existent around the GES and Hammond areas. Facilities, equipment, and staffing are not on par with other areas. GES and Hammond schools are in GREAT need of upgrade. Our children (no matter which school in this area) are at an educational and competitive disadvantage compare to other areas in the county. What is the Board going to do about that!!!!

While some may consider themselves transient visitors to this area, my family has lived in Kings Contrivance for 14 years. I have graduated two daughters from Hammond High School and have a son in Hammond Middle and another in Guilford Elementary. I have had the same next door neighbors on both sides the entire time. Five of the 16 houses on my street are occupied by the original owners. They have lived here for 30 plus years. Is that transient? We moved to Howard County for the quality of schools and to Columbia for the quality of the community. I have been through redistricting with my older children but never before has our immediate community been torn apart in such a manner. While you have brought up some valid points, does plucking one small group of elementary-age children from their community (20 of the 134 Dickinson children who now attend Guilford) and bussing them to a school where their closest classmate now lives 1.4 miles away, with an industrial complex separating them, solve the problems? Maybe that's okay for those who view themselves as transient, but not for those of us who have a longterm, vested interest in our community.

Totally agree with the point that strong communities build strong children. My point is the location is does not matter as much as the content. I do not agree with the change in the first place. My frustration has been with the county not address the root of the problems. I have watched my children move through the school system from elementary through high school and watched the change level of education. I moved to Howard County for the same reasons and have seen my community go to five different school between elementary and high school. Moving children does not fix the actual problem.

My family and I live in this part of Kings Contrivance that is being isolated from our neighbors in the elementary school redistricting. We moved to this part of Columbia because we wanted to put roots down and to be a part of a real neighborhood for many, many years to come. For my children to be separated out from the kids on the next street and shipped to a school with people from a different town is very disappointing, especially considering that the planners just decided to do this 2 weeks ago. For over a year, we have been told that we would be attending Atholton next year with the rest of our neighbors, but suddenly it has changed for just 20 kids?

Michael - Do you live in Polygon 16 or 1016? My husband and I also purchased our home in this neighborhood to raise our kids who will start elementary school next year. My husband and I also started our own businesses in our community.
We plan to be here long term - not transient. Our issue is keeping kids with their neighbors so that we don't have to cross through 1.4 miles of commercial areas of Guilford Road, Broken Land Parkway for our kids to have playmates. What you are asking for is a different issue than redistricting.

The "transient" label is very interesting. I think it's being used as code for "renters." And as we all know, renter is a pretty bad word in HoCo. Either way, it's not the issue. The issue is trying to make sure that kids are sent to a school in their community. Sending Dickinson kids to Guilford will force them to be on buses for far too long and to travel through a highly congested area during rush hour. Not to mention, there are three schools (Atholton, Hammond, and Gorman Crossing) that are closer and more geographically connected to the area. I didn’t move back to HoCo to have my kids commute by bus for 30-60 minutes of their day. And let’s not even get into the fuel/transportation implications for “green” HoCo.

Just to be clear, transient does not mean renters or low income or moving in and out of the area. Transient means just that, we as a society move in and out of areas even when we live in a community for a long time. We play sports, go to church, volunteer in different groups, etc. These take us outside our "home" community. If this does not apply to you then that is OK. I am referring to the Howard County area at large based on my opinion and my opinion only. I feel that this issue is content based and not location and again is my opinion. I would fight for the entire county to try and bring to bring parity. I will say it again, I do not agree with this nor do I support this. This is foolish but I also wanted us to look at the bigger picture.

Looks like the 16/1016 folks succeeded in creating more options for redistricting maps and increased their likelihood of attending Atholton Elementary. But so much for that “Dickinson not be divided” stuff. Basically, in making their case about "keeping Dickinson together," they led to one map (Plan 2) that keeps us as divided as ever but allows their kids to attend Atholton Elementary instead of Guilford.

It’s well played on their part. They behaved as if they spoke for all of Dickinson and they now have two plans that shift there little group of houses out of Guilford (surely their goal all along) without making it sound like they were trying not to attend Guilford. And remember, Polygon 16/1016 is “only 20 kids.” Now, a great deal more kids from polygons 15/1015 will run the risk of being bused to Guilford.

I am seriously offended by the implication that 1016/16 have had anything to do with what is going on in 1015/15 and would like to set straight a few of your points. The families in Polygon 16/1016 were asking to be included in either Atholton or Hammond Elementary, the two schools proposed in the staff plan for the rest of Dickinson. All of the previous plans had us going to Atholton and we were fine with that since we have neighbors on Carriage Hills Drive who already attend Atholton and our other neighbors across the street (Polygon 15) would also be attending Atholton under the previous plans. It was a group of people in polygons 1015 and 15 who started the "Dickinson One" and "Keep Dickinson Together" campaigns. Dickinson has always been divided into two schools and that is what we wanted to continue, with our 20 kids being in one of the two schools. We never believed this "Dickinson One" was feasible and never supported it. In fact, the "Keep Dickinson Together" group came up with their own plans which they presented to the board, check their public website on Facebook, which never included Polygons 16 and 1016 in the same schools as them. Their goal was to keep 15/1015 together. So please, before you continue to malign our neighborhood, get your facts straight and find another scapegoat to shift the blame to. Karin Bruce

One thing I don’t like about the redistricting plan for this neighborhood is that it does not take into consideration how geography also divides communities. Both I-95 and the Patapsco River/greenway divide our neighborhoods. These features influence our day to day movements. While Gilford or Hammond may be physically closer, they are separate from our neigborhoods.

To set the record straight, 16/1016 never started the "Keep Dickinson Together" campaign, nor did we ever speak for the entire Dickinson community. We knew all along that it would be highly unlikely for the entire Dickinson community to attend the same elementary school. Would it have been nice? Of course.

Our issue arose when we were split off from our neighbors after the 10/20 work session. Our goal was simply to realign our neighborhood with some section of the Dickinson community for the sake of our children. We came together, notified the BOE of our concern, and testified during the public hearing. We are thankful that the BOE addressed our concern during the 11/10 work session. I guess some people would call that "well played", however I prefer to call that a lot of hard work and effort from a great little neighborhood.

I'm not trying to malign 16/1016, just pointing out that their advocacy led to the creation of one plan BOE2 that does far more to divide Dickinson than to keep us together.

And Lilah makes a great point at how geographical features are equally as important as distance from point A to point B.

P90Noir, I believe that you're mistaken again. Our advocacy led to the creation of BOE1; the advocacy of many neighborhoods led to the creation of BOE2.

With all due respect, you still do not get it. The "Keep Dickinson Together" campaign, coming from Polygons 15/1015, led to the formation of BOE2, as did public concerns from other neighborhoods besides Dickinson such as those around Hammond Elementary, Fulton and Bollman Bridge. BOE1 actually deals only with the issue that involves our 20 kids. Again, as my neighbors have pointed out, we never advocated for one school, but just to be included with those neighbors to whom we are connected geographically, in one of the two schools in the staff plan. Our comments about this have always been very straightforward and very public.

I was unfamiliar with "Keep Dickinson Together" until this evening. Clearly they could have done a better job with outreach. I for one would much rather have my kids at Hammond or Atholton rather than keep the kids together. It seems that there is a large contingent of families with kids not yet in school that have been working solo or in very small groups (that describes my activities).

As for my thoughts on 16/1016 - The long and short of it is that a loud (but small "just 20 kids") minority raised enough of a stink to make sure that their kids go to Atholton under 2 of 3 plans. I don't claim that your intention was to create the current mess, but your advocacy did play a major role creating it.

My point in all of this is that there is no way that everyone can "win." Thanks to where the schools are located and where people live, there is no way to keep neighborhoods together, have schools that are utilized but not overcrowded, and send kids to school in their community.

The original staff plan was a good plan. I have no doubt that staff took it seriously and considered many options. Now that everyone in the community has their own selfish (and I include myself in that pool) agenda, we have a situation of too many cooks in the kitchen and a possible outcome that benefits the most vocal contingents of the group.

At this point, I'll place my faith in the board and hope that they agree that the staff plan or BOE1 are the best options.

http://www.change.org/petitions/dickinsonhuntingtonkings-contrivance-community-support-the-boe1-redistricting-plan

P90Noir that was the problem from the onset that you were unfamiliar with the details of 1016/16 and now you are just touting off on us in your feeble attempt to save any chance you have in an outcome that is favorable to you. I am thankful that you are not a part of my immediate neighborhood...you and several of you cohorts are liabilities and that does not add to the value of a neighborhood in any capacity.

P90 Noir, you are so off base in your comments about about 1016/16 and our involvement in the redistricting plans that you ought to be ashamed of yourself. We never claimed to say that we were speaking for all of Dickinson, just our group of 20, so stop ignoring our testimony and take ownership over your own actions.
Karin Bruce

The above was my response to yet a more offensive blog by this joker at www.hocoblog.com

Unfortunately, none of the options will make everyone happy. While I hate to see friends move to another school, it may make the most sense for the 16/1016 polygons to end up at Atholton ES, since their neighbors on that side of Guilford Road already go to Atholton. P90Noir - As for the "busing of 15/1015 to Guilford" - well, we are already bussed to Guilford, so that isn't anything new, and no matter which school they send us to, we'll have to be bussed. My family has been happy at Guilford ES. Can't complain. Might not have the big PTA participation/fundraising dollars that Hammond or Atholton has, but that's how I got to know my neighbors - by participating in the school PTA. What will really stink is if the staff recommendations are approved and they split us into 3 groups, 3 separate schools, with no rhyme or reason other than juggling numbers. Howard County isn't community-oriented when it comes to school re-districting.

Selection From An E-Mail Sent To HCPS About School Redistricting

Dear Howard County Board Of Education,

I am writing you this e-mail as a result of the various proposals to redistrict students who are now, or in the future should be attending Forest Ridge Elementary School. As a result of the information that has been published on your website, as well as information that was shared at the redistricting meeting in late August 2011, myself and the other residents of the Bowling Brook Community have serious concerns as to the feasibility of such proposals. Allegedly, the reason for redistricting in our area is overcrowding at not only Forest Ridge, but also at Laurel Woods, and Bollman Brook elementary schools. However, the proposals all involve moving almost equivalent numbers of children between these three schools. You don't need to have a degree in Mathematics to figure out that this doesn't solve any overcrowding issues. All this seems to do is change the demographics of the students who attend these schools. Specifically, this would only seem to change the socioeconomic and testing data at these schools.

Selection From An E-Mail Sent To HCPS About School Redistricting Part 2

In addition, it seems that some of these proposals would also involve the busing of children who are now, or would normally be walking to Forest Ridge Elementary, to the other aforementioned schools. One of the reasons why my family and that of the other residents of the Bowling Brook Community live where we do, is the fact that that Forest Ridge Elementary School is one of the top elementary schools in Howard County, and it's proximity to our homes. It makes absolutely no sense to bus an elementary school student to another school, when their neighborhood school is within walking distance of their home. First of all, it would be rather expensive to transport these children for whom there were no previous transportation costs to the school district. Secondly, this would cause hardships to the families who depend on the various before and aftercare programs, who currently have arrangements with these schools. Those students who are redistricted might no longer be able to attend those programs, and their parents might have a great deal of difficulty in finding alternate programs that are of the same quality and affordability, as well as causing logistical problems in dropping off and picking up those students.

Selection From An E-Mail Sent To HCPS About School Redistricting Part 3

As experienced educators, both my wife and myself understand the challenges that are faced by school districts, school administrators, and teachers. None of the proposals which have been presented would seem to adequately address any overcrowding issues. They just seem to shift children around just for the sake of doing so, with no real benefit to those children, nor consideration of the negative impact to the children, their families, and their communities. Instead of spending additional money for transportation, that money should be spent to add capacity to schools which are now, or are projected to be overcrowded, or for the building of additional schools.

Selection From An E-Mail Sent To HCPS About School Redistricting Part 4

None of the plans which have been proposed are acceptable. They split up communities along arbitrary boundaries, cause social, emotional, and transportation hardships, and most importantly don't provide a permanent solution to overcrowding and other issues. The few problems that are solved, are mitigated by the multitude of other new problems that are created.
At Forest Ridge Elementary School, students who live within walking distance of the school should not have to ride a bus to another school. This is just common sense. Does the HCPS BOE possess any common sense? If so they shouldn't rush to redistrict. Do you agree?