BOE Handing Over Closed Schools and Vacant Land to County for Future Use as Schools #forgotAboutSolarPanels

MCPS Planner at work.*

Here is a perfect example of how Board of Education long range planning is based on which way the wind is blowing on any given day.  

In the letter shown below from MCPS we learn that the Board of Education is now offering up closed school sites and vacant school land for use as future school sites in Montgomery County planning.

That means that any organization currently using a closed school site should be prepared to vacate the property in the future.  For example, the Montgomery County Health Center on Dennis Avenue in Silver Spring should get ready to move when the school is needed back by MCPS.  In addition, the Washington Waldorf School, Acorn Hill School, Interages, The Woods Academy, Yeshiva of Greater Washington, Centers for the Handicapped, Clara Barton Day Care Center, The Ivymount School, Crossway Community, YMCA and all of the other users of closed public schools should be prepared to find new locations in the future.

What is amazing about this letter is that the Board of Education seems to be completely forgetting that they are in the process of handing over 60 ACRES of public school land to a private company for use as solar panel installations.  

At the three public meetings on these open pieces of BOE land, the MCPS position was that these 60 ACRES would not be needed for public school use in the next 20 years.  

Yet, at the same time, the Board of Education is offering up these vacant public school sites for use in County planning over the next 20 years. 

   2015 December 10 Letter Berliner Roger Et Al Mstr Plan Collab by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

*Photo Credit: New York Public Library

No Mention of Early Termination Fee in $5 Million + Solar Panel Deal

On November 17, 2015, MCPS held the third and last meeting on their plan to turn 3 future middle school sites into solar power plants.  
During the first meeting, the public learned that the lease for these properties will include an early termination clause.  That means that if after say 6 years, the Board of Education wants to use one of these properties for the education of public children, the Board of Education will have to pay a fee to end the lease early.  To date, the early termination clause fee has not been announced by MCPS or the solar panel companies. 

Potomac Residents Decry School System Plan to Install Solar Panels at Former Organic Farm

...Sean Gallagher, assistant director of the school system’s Department of Facilities Management, told a crowd of about 70 people Tuesday night at Seven Locks Elementary School that together with proposed solar panel fields on future school sites in Gaithersburg and Rockville, MCPS could save about $2.5 million in electricity costs over the next 10 years...
...The solar panels at Brickyard would cover 12 acres of the site, cost about $5 million to build...

BOE Shuts Down Driving Range to Make Way for Solar Panels #laytonsvillegolfcourse

Bad news this evening for the Laytonsville Golf Course.  The Montgomery County Board of Education is putting solar panels on the golf course's driving range.  That's the end of practice swings for golfers, and lessons for thousands of county public school children. 

The Board of Education only sent two MCPS administrators to this evening's meeting to discuss the plan to put solar panels on the Laytonsville Middle School site in Gaithersburg.

Neither of those administrators had any clue that half of the Laytsonville Middle School site is leased to the Laytonsville Golf Course.

Take a look at the Google Earth image of the middle school site.  See all that really green land? That's the driving range.

Now take a look at the plans for the solar panels.  This is a copy of the plans that MCPS sent out to neighbors of this site.  See how the solar panels on the right are on the really green part of the land?
No one in MCPS noticed that?  

Now, if the lease of half of this property was a secret, well then, we could understand how no one in MCPS knew that half of this property was the driving range for the Laytonsville Golf Course.  But, the lease of this land was not a secret.  In fact, MCPS mentions this lease in their very own site selection report that they put out in 2011.

The MCPS administrators at this evening's solar panel meeting wanted the public to trust and believe that everything about the 60 acre solar panels on future school sites plan had been thoroughly vetted and reviewed by MCPS staff.

It's a little hard to believe that this plan has been thoroughly reviewed when MCPS staff didn't even notice an entire driving range on one of the properties!

FORE!! 

   Upcounty Holding Facility Recommendation by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Exclusive Video: Board of Ed and Annapolis Delegation Discuss Construction, Solar Panels, Interrupted Education, Equity and More

Today, the Montgomery County Board of Education met with some members of the Annapolis Delegation. The Agenda for this meeting is at this link.

The Board of Education does not video tape this meeting and does not record minutes for this meeting.  These meetings are open meetings under the Maryland Open Meetings Act and the public is welcome to attend and record these meetings.  

This video tape represents the last 40 minutes of today's meeting.  The video includes the end of the formal presentation, and the question and answer session.  

These are very interesting discussions.  Unfortunately, the Board of Education does not make these discussions available to the public.  In fact, as you will see in this video, the Student Member of the Board went so far as to stand in front of the camera as some sort of juvenile attempt to disrupt the recording of this meeting. The Montgomery County Board of Education is still hostile to the concept of Open Meetings.

Larry Bowers Building Solar Panels Instead of Schools #futureschoolsites #mcps #mocoboe

   2015 Solar Panels Future School Sites by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Update!! Exclusive Breaking News: Bowers Gives Away 61.25 Acres of MCPS School Land

UPDATE:

Is your local MCPS school overcrowded? Have you heard the Board of Education complain that they do not have any place to build more schools and that they can only build multi-level, overcrowded schools on too small lots?

Do you like being tricked?

Well Trick or Treat time is here, and the Parents' Coalition has heard that the Board of Education and Superintendent Larry Bowers have a big trick for parents this week!

The Trick is that without any public process or Board of Education public discussion or vote, Superintendent Larry Bowers is giving away 61.25 acres of open public school land.  

The Treat is that the land is being handed over to a no bid vendor.  

Where is this land located in the County?  It doesn't matter.  
Public school land is a valuable asset and its disposition should be discussed in public by the land owner, the Board of Education.  
The land could be used to build a school, it could be sold, or it could be traded.  The possibilities are endless, but, once again, usable public school land will disappear from the Board of Education inventory without any public process.  





We have seen over 176 acres of MCPS public school land lost since 1994.  

 
Say good-bye to another 61.25 acres this week and add it to the list of dedicated, public school land that was given in trust to the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education for the benefit of public school children, but not used for the educational benefit of our children.  

Happy Halloween!  

 

Exclusive Breaking News: Bowers Gives Away 18.5 Acres of MCPS School Land

PLEASE SEE UPDATE!

Is your local MCPS school overcrowded? Have you heard the Board of Education complain that they do not have any place to build more schools and that they can only build multi-level, overcrowded schools on too small lots?

Do you like being tricked?

Well Trick or Treat time is here, and the Parents' Coalition has heard that the Board of Education and Superintendent Larry Bowers have a big trick for parents this week!

The Trick is that without any public process or Board of Education public discussion or vote, Superintendent Larry Bowers is giving away 18.5 acres of open public school land.  

The Treat is that the land is being handed over to a no bid vendor.  

Where is this land located in the County?  It doesn't matter.  Public school land is a valuable asset and its disposition should be discussed in public by the land owner, the Board of Education.  The land could be used to build a school, it could be sold, or it could be traded.  The possibilities are endless, but, once again, usable public school land will disappear from the Board of Education inventory without any public process.  

We have seen over 176 acres of MCPS public school land lost since 1994.  
Say good-bye to another 18.5 acres this week and add it to the list of dedicated, public school land that was given in trust to the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education for the benefit of public school children, and not used for the educational benefit of our children.  

Happy Halloween!