As Paul Harvey used to say, "And now...the rest of the story."
This past Saturday's infrastructure summit at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School was long in hours, but short on accurate information. The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County described it as a "farce." Much of the program was made up of County officials delivering the same talking points we've already heard in other forums, and too little from actual parents and residents. More facts were being tweeted by the PCMC and citizens during the meeting than being generated by the speakers themselves.
 |
| No public speaking by the public, please! |
DC, Fairfax and Arlington have all had real estate development booms - and they all had budget shortfalls this year. Montgomery County has been growing like mad before and after the recession - and is in a structural deficit as far out as the projections go.
Guess what? It's a fact that residential development does not generate the revenue needed to cover the schools and services those new populations require. Your ever-increasing Montgomery County taxes and fees are the best evidence of that.
 |
| Developers covering school construction costs? Not quite... "Need state aid," tweeted MCPS Board of Education member Jill Ortman-Fouse. Yep, actual BOE member said it, not me |
FACT: I'm aware of eight Montgomery County public schools which currently exceed 150% of capacity. One is at, or exceeds, 180% of capacity. At some point, it's like having two schools within one building.
FACT: As regards future development in the Walt Whitman cluster - those schools are over capacity now. Wood Acres Elementary is getting an addition, and that will put it at full capacity when completed (it was over-capacity prior to the beginning of construction). Kids are taking gym class in hallways at Pyle Middle School.
FACT: The generation of students from multifamily housing in the Whitman cluster, and in the Westbard Sector in particular, is significantly higher than elsewhere in the county. Bruce Crispell, long-range planner for MCPS, acknowledged this fact at the Westbard Sector Plan charrette.
How about those talking points about "urban" schools? Put aside the point that Westbard and other areas being targeted for massive overdevelopment are definitively suburban and residential in character for a moment. Put aside the point that neither potential elementary school site floated by planners for the Westbard sector is large enough to hold a school. Put aside the point that the acreage of Westland Middle School and the current Little Falls Library site together is not large enough to support the population, employees and facilities for two "collocated" schools (one wonders how many people who are talking about "collocating" a school at the Westland site are aware of the actual size of the property, and that any expansion into Equity One's site is blocked by the driveway for Kenwood Place - and the proposed Equity One grocery store building that would be on that part of the Westwood Shopping Center site).
Put that all aside, and ask yourself if you want your kids in a tiny school, with inadequate playground space, athletic fields and other facilities. As Rockville Planning Commissioner John Tyner pointed out recently, schools involve more than just jamming kids into sardine can classrooms and "urban" (a.k.a. cramped) school buildings. The facilities that high-quality schools require are "the things that really determine if kids get a good education or not," Tyner said. I won't even get into the idea being floated of these schools being placed in industrial areas! What's better than a portable classroom? A portable classroom next to an EPA brownfield, I guess.
"Full disclosure": The architect speaking at the meeting was with Perkins Eastman. The same Perkins Eastman retained by developer Equity One for its Westbard redevelopment plan. The same Perkins Eastman that thereby will profit from approval of the Westbard Sector Plan as currently formulated. An approval that will be decided by Chairman Anderson, and Councilmembers Roger Berliner and George Leventhal, and other officials present at Saturday's forum. Is this a forum, or corporate lobbying?
By the way, there's a lot more to infrastructure than schools. Roads, sewers, police and fire are just some of the major expenses development generates. Yes, proponents of BRT did use this forum to push for that $5 billion bus system boondoggle - which will have zero impact on traffic congestion.
FACT: BRT would reduce capacity on the County's most-traveled commuter routes by a full 33%.
FACT: The current draft of the Westbard Sector Plan includes not a single project or proposal to increase automobile capacity on River Road or Massachusetts Avenue. And how could you do much anyway, given that the River Road right-of-way is constricted by homes east of Little Falls Parkway. Would the War-on-Cars-Capital of the World, Washington, DC, widen River Road within its borders past Western Avenue? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Contrary to what you may be hearing from this meeting and the media - we are not "going to be okay" on our present course regarding development and infrastructure.
"And now you know...the rest of the story."
Just the facts, ma'am.
Dyer and the "Parents Coalition", whoever she is.
ReplyDeletePerfect combination of crazy.
5:25: If you're not familiar with the Parents' Coalition, how can you judge the organization? When you can't debate on the issues, just throw a rhetorical grenade and say whoever you disagree with is "crazy." Pathetic.
DeleteWhat is the Hogan administration's solution? Cut funding, label schools as failing, and then give the middle class vouchers to private schools or close public schools for charters?
ReplyDelete5:50: This problem predates the Hogan administration. I personally do not favor vouchers or charters over fixing the worst-performing schools in Montgomery County. Of course, we are talking here about school capacity, not academic performance, which is a separate issue.
DeleteWhy is Dyer the worst man in the world? I'd rather hang out with gangbangers than this dude.
ReplyDelete6:06: Probably because of my penchant for telling the truth about the MoCo political machine. Considering that the machine has fostered the economic and educational climate that generates new recruits for gangs, you shouldn't have trouble finding some.
DeleteI'm glad Robert was at the event to provide a truthful and factual report
ReplyDelete"the War-on-Cars-Capital of the World, Washington, DC"
ReplyDeleteYou don't travel much, do you? You might actually have some sense of perspective if you did.
7:50: DC Government's hostility towards automobiles is not in dispute; it is fact.
DeleteWhy is it that the width of River Road through Westbard is simply a function of "the right-of-way [being] constricted by homes east of Little Falls Parkway", whereas in DC, it's due to their being "the War-on-Cars-Capital of the World"?
ReplyDeleteHypocritical NIMBY scum.
8:25: They're actually quite similar situations. My point was, even if we widen River Road to the doorsteps of the houses on our side, DC's current anti-car regime would never widen their part of it. So you'd end up with congestion anyway.
Delete"Yes, proponents of BRT did use this forum to push for that $5 billion bus system boondoggle - which will have zero impact on traffic congestion."
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame this was used as yet another forum to promote BRT propaganda. They missed an opportunity to really address infrastructure issues including water, sewer, bridges, roads in addition to schools and transit. Not only were questions pre-screened but once in the breakout sessions, you could only discuss their pre-determined questions. Then "facilitators" rephrased comments from participants and reported the ones they thought were worthy. Wasted opportunity for a dialogue with residents.
Thanks for setting the record straight on some of the misinformation being spread.
8:50: Why is Montgomery County's political machine so scared of its constituents with a live mic in their hands? Well, it's fairly obvious. That Rockwell painting with the guy speaking his mind at a (gasp!) town hall meeting scares the Dickens out of them. How did we devolve to "write your question on this card, and we'll answer it if we feel like it"?
DeleteSpeaking of "NIMBY scum", is Berliner still trying to buy the WMAL transmitter site?
ReplyDeleteWhy was he talking with the Sentinel about trying to stop development of that site? Perfect spot for townhomes.
9:24: I'm sure he's exploring it, but it's kind of hard for them to claim we have a fiscal crisis and need to raise property taxes, and then turn around and buy $100M real estate sites. Surely there's a developer smart enough to fit a new school, and as many of the estimated 300 SFHs that can be fit around that school. There's no way Cumulus is just going to donate a site that valuable as parkland.
Delete"When you can't debate on the issues, just throw a rhetorical grenade and say whoever you disagree with is "crazy." Pathetic."
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what Parent Coalition does on a continual basis. A short review of their online comment history you will see that as soon as you disagree with them you are labeled a "child hater," you support allowing children to be abuse, or something equally disgusting. I have yet to observe them discuss an issue in a civil manner where they do not immediately attack someone.
@ 9:36 AM: You said "he War-on-Cars-Capital of the World". That means that DC is somehow worse than every single other city in the world, for driving. More of your ridiculous hyperbole.
ReplyDelete10:31: But it is the worst. 25 MPH speed cameras on MacArthur Boulevard, a road designed for 35 MPH. Parking is a nightmare. #ReopenKlingleRoad Nuff said. Sure, other cities are bad, but DC in last decade has become the worst.
Delete@ 9:47 AM -
ReplyDeleteMontgomery County has a population of a million, and you think that the county government can have the same procedures for public discussion as a town in Vermont with just a few hundred residents? That would result in a handful of long-winded residents denying everyone else a chance to have their say.
10:43: We're paying their salaries. We ought to be able to speak.
Delete@ 11:02 AM -
ReplyDelete"ReopenKlingleRoad Nuff said. Sure, other cities are bad, but DC in last decade has become the worst."
Like I said earlier, you have zero sense of perspective or proportion, and it is clear that you have never traveled outside the DC metro area.
"Parking is a nightmare."
Plenty of parking. You're just a cheapskate.
4:12: Given that I've been out of the DC area thousands of times, "it is clear that" you are a moron. #ReopenKlingleRoad
Delete"Thousands of times"
ReplyDeleteLOL, more hysterical exaggeration.
5:25: #ReopenKlingleRoad
DeletePhrase you'll never see on the Gazette, Sentinel or other Bethesda blogs: "Fact Check".
ReplyDeleteThey're all auditioning for Neil Greenberger's job.
Hello, Dyer's Toady.
ReplyDelete8:52: Hello, Riemer's Toady.
DeleteRobert, you confuse the word "fact" with "assertion"
ReplyDeleteWhich school is at 180% of capacity? How did you measure it? Why does your measure differ from MCPS?
BRT will reduce capacity by 33%? Number of lanes? Yes. Number of commuters? Unlikely. (and I think BRT on 355 is a criminal waste of tax money).
This post just reads like campaign literature. Either be a journalist or a politician. Don't try and have it both ways.
7:35: I explained why the MCPS measurements are inaccurate - they average by cluster, rather than individual school. That allows the school that is 180% over capacity to be hidden, when it is balanced out to a lower number by cluster averaging.
DeleteYour ridership claims have no solid numbers to back them up. In fact, Larry Cole initially reported there was insufficient projected ridership to support BRT. After receiving a "talking to" from BRT proponents behind closed doors, his projections mysteriously changed months later.
Most campaign literature isn't filled with facts - this article is. The bar for "journalism" in Montgomery County is about as low as it gets. Fortunately I can provide "the rest of the story," while other outlets cheerlead for our incredibly-talented, exceptionally-effective, and simply-indisposable County Council "leaders".
Robert Dyer is as close to being a journalist as he is to being an elected official.
ReplyDelete(not close at all, like the distance between the sun and Pluto)
8:10: Do you define "journalist" the way AOL/Patch did, advising their reporters to be obsequious and partner with local elected officials in providing rosy coverage of government? No wonder you don't think I'm a journalist, then!
Delete8:10 AM is living in the 1950's where unless your work appears in a print newspaper, you're not a journalist.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to 2015! Wake up please.
@ 8:52 AM - who said anything about "print"?
ReplyDeleteThe reason Dyer is not a journalist is his lack of objectivity and accuracy.
5:51: What are the specific inaccuracies in this article?
Delete"obsequious and partner with local elected officials in providing rosy coverage of government"
ReplyDeleteLOL, you just described your coverage of Hogan.
9:14: "LOL", My coverage of Hogan is exactly the same as my coverage of the Donna Edwards Senate announcement - who is a Democrat, if you haven't noticed.
DeleteI stand by my earlier comment. Dyer is the only local journo who bothers to fact check the PR.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad the Gazette has a full staff and can't bother to write one investigative piece or ask a tough question occasionally.