Thursday, July 10, 2008
Education / Politics / Woods Wide Open Spaces
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 11:17 AM
The school re-zoning plan indicates that neighborhoods in the Hillwood cluster are "ripe" for development that will increase the student population. MNPS folks apparently haven't been to a zoning community meeting here lately. Seriously, as I have said before, one of the biggest barriers for Hillwood schools in this district becoming neighborhood schools is the sheer lack of children. The population is older. Many people are affluent enough to afford private schools. There are a number of strong church based schools in the area. We could very well be looking at school closings if we don't see a shift in the local demographics.Isn’t it lovely for our Hillwood children that they won't have to trouble themselves with all the clutter of crowded schools? There’ll be so much room that they can probably put their stuff on one desk and sit in another one.
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Emily Evans only speaks for her district. Those of us in district 35 (Bo Mitchell) can tell you that Bellevue is full of high school age kids whose parents may or may not reconsider Hillwood as a viable option, especially if leadership changes within the school occur. No one can see the future with certainty, but it is likely that more families will at least try Hillwood in future years.
Also, as to capacity, I am not going to argue with projected numbers. But I would like to point out that if you knew the crazy mathematics that MNPS uses to ascertain capacity in schools, you would know that Hillwood can in no way fit 1700+ kids. It doesn't have the restrooms, the cafeteria space or the actual classroom space for that many children. Somewhere between 1300-1400 kids is a far more accurate figure for true capacity.
I agree with Emily Evans that West Meade has an older population, but Bellevue has a young family demographic for the most part.
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Jeff, would you please quit writing about the kids in the Hillwood schools like they and their families are wealthy, entitled elites? When the school year starts, you should go visit these schools and get a clue who you are writing about before you keep popping off these missives that make it clear you have zero idea what you're talking about.
