Michael J. Martirano, Superintendent of the Howard County Public School System, proposed a plan for redistricting County schools on August 22, 2019. That plan has been, to say the least, controversial, taking as its goal an attempt to equalize school populations on a socio-economic basis. The Republican Party of Howard County encourages all County residents to make their concerns known via testimony. Public meetings begin September 17, 2019. The posted schedule for these meetings is here. Access to these meetings may be limited to families with children in specific schools.
Testimony will also be accepted via email.
Below are some resources which may be helpful in understanding the issues involved, and in preparing testimony.
Make your voice heard!
Summaries:
Research:
- FuturedEd – A Reality Check on the Benefits of Economic Integration
- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel – Here’s what you should know about ‘student churn,’ and how it affects your kids
- The American Psychological Association – Frequent School Moves Hurt Low-Income Children’s Math Scores
- Citylab – Long School Commutes Are Terrible for Kids
Opinion:
- The Baltimore Sun – Howard school redistricting plan uses outdated, inflammatory language
- Westhowrd..org – This is What Equity in Action Looks Like
- Westhowrd.org – The Curious Case of Polygon 1200
- Politico – School Busing Didn’t Work. And to Say So Isn’t Racist.
- Time – 10 Things Your Commute Does to Your Body
Maps, Data and Documents:
- Maryland School Report Cards – Howard County
- Maryland Census Data Comparison Tool(The top 50 most diverse zip codes in the state of MD include 21044 and 21075!)
- HCPSS budget
- Board of Education Policy 6010(Contains official redistricting policies)
Polygon map - Current ES, MS, HS Attendance Area Maps:
- Per-polygon enrollment projections
- Per-polygon FARM rates
- Per-school FARM rates, non-suppressed
- Per polygon race data
- Polygon locator
- HCPSS 2019 Feasibility Study(Contains school capacities and utilization)
- HCPSS Deferred Maintenance Cost List(From Dr. Chao Wu, Howard County Board of Education member)