North Lake School Task Force

 
Introducing the North Lake Task Force
 
Residents of Manor Lake and Flower Valley have established the “Northlake Task Force” to serve as a community-of-interest to engage Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the Board of Education (BOE), the County and the State for both short-term and long-term use of the North Lake Elementary School “Holding Facility” on Bauer Drive, and to be an effective and efficient point of contact between in-residence school programs and our neighborhood.[1]
 
Here is where we are: 
  • We have established an email for the North Lake Task Force. (northlaketaskforce@gmail.com) We will use this email address to provide information to the community and to receive comments or concerns.
  • We will engage the Blair Ewing Program (the current occupant) directly to try and improve day-to-day communication, gain a better understanding of how the community should report concerns, and work with the program while it is here.
  • We will engage MCPS, the BOE, the County, and the State to advocate for the planning, budgeting, and execution of an appropriate, permanent facility or facilities for the Blair Ewing Program.
  • We will continue to serve as a point of contact and advocate for the Northlake Elementary School for all future uses.
 
We welcome constructive comments and concerns from our communities.  Further we are looking for additional community support and participation. Please feel free to send an email to northlaketaskforce@gmail.com.
 
 
Background
 
In June, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) informed our community that they would be relocating part of the Blair Ewing Alternative Education Program from a commercial facility in Silver Spring (the “Plum Orchard” Facility) into the Northlake Elementary School on Bauer Drive. For those that are not familiar with the Blair Ewing Program, MCPS describes it as an “Alternative education” program for 6-12th grade students with “behavior and/or attendance problems, as well as involvement in a serious disciplinary action that warrants a recommendation for expulsion”[2]  This may involve students placed because of their “involvement with controlled substances, serious bodily injury, and/or weapons.”
 
Through several Maryland Public Information Act requests, residents have learned MCPS made this decision last February, and the relocation is expected to be a minimum of two years, and possible up to five years while a permanent facility is identified. MCPS began working on Northlake Elementary School for the relocation in March, and an internal email on March 7th suggested informing the community then. The Board of Education toured Northlake Elementary School on or about March 13th, and, according to internal MCPS emails, oversaw the relocation themselves. However, no one from MCPS or the BOE informed our communities of the relocation for three more months, reaching out to neighbors with a letter in June stating the program was coming in August. 
 
Gathering as an informal group, residents of the community surrounding the Northlake Elementary School met following MCPS’s virtual meeting on June 12 to discuss a way forward. To gauge the Manor Lake community’s position on the relocation, this group distributed an ad hoc poll. With single mailing during a holiday week, a third of Manor Lake responded. Of those that responded, 95% (over 100 households) stated they were not in favor of the program’s relocation to the Northlake School.  Three percent said they were neutral, and two percent said they supported the relocation. 
 
Though they have agreed to pass information to the community, the majority of the Manor Lake Civic Association board members have voted to remain neutral and not represent any particular group of residents. Accordingly, to represent the significant number of households with concerns, residents of Manor Lake and Flower Valley have established the Northlake Task Force to work with MCPS and the BOE to find a better solution for the Blair Ewing Program as soon as possible, and to represent community interest with the current occupant and for future Northlake School uses. 
 
(We would like to thank those that responded to the poll and encourage those that did not to respond and make their opinion known, even if that opinion is neutrality. Some have argued that a non-response should be interpreted as a “neutral.” Those that have not responded can send an email to northlaketaskforce@gmail.com with your name and address and we will add you to the poll. We will protect the privacy of all that respond, and no personally identifiable information will used or passed to a third party without your express permission.)
 
 
Northlake Task Force interests of common concern
 
Through several community engagements, discussions with MCPS, BOE staff, and County and State representatives, several issues have emerged that the Northlake Task Force will address:
 
  1. Strategic communication and engagement:  MCPS and the BOE have not been transparent with the community. Through Maryland Public Information Act requests, we have learned MCPS knew they were not going to extend the Plum Orchard lease over a year ago. They made the decision to move the program here last February. The BOE toured the Northlake Elementary School in March and oversaw the relocation. Yet they did not tell the community it was coming until June. We need to greatly improve communication and engagement MCPS, the BOE, and the current tenant, the Blair Ewing Program. (We are happy to provide the supporting documents we received through MPIA.) 
  2. Planning, budgeting, and execution of a permanent facility for Blair Ewing: The current use of the facility by the Blair Ewing Alternative Education Program is inappropriate for all parties involved. The Northlake Elementary School is not designed for 6-12th graders. It has shortened toilets for small children, external doors on all classrooms, no fencing, and no resources of a traditional middle or high school. It presents safety concerns for the students, the staff, and the neighborhood. Further, as noted by MCPS staff during a community walkthrough, the Northlake Elementary School’s geographic placement is a hardship for many Blair Ewing students, requiring multiple transfers on public transportation and then a half-mile, unsupervised walk through the neighborhood from the closest bus stop. (To date, less than 10 students a day have been observed using the MCPS school buses.)  Through our Public Information Act requests, we have learned that neither MCPS nor the BOE have a plan, let alone a budget for a permanent solution. This is a significant departure from the past where facilities improvements were planned, budgeted and in execution for the home schools before the programs were temporarily located to Northlake Elementary School. MCPS has moved the program in with no exit plan. It is in the interest of all parties involved to advocate for the planning, budgeting, and execution of an appropriate facility as soon as possible.
  3. Day-to-day communication and engagement: Further, on a tactical level, the Blair Ewing Program itself has no official engagement plan for the community and there is no touch point for concerns in either direction. Through discussions with MCPS, the Blair Ewing School, and the Montgomery County Police representative for our community, there is no clear guidance for how the community should appropriately respond to safety concerns (real or perceived) related to Blair Ewing students in the neighborhood. We saw this strained in the first week of school, with many residents observing a concerning incident and reporting it through various means. In the end, the incident was a legitimate concern and the school addressed it.  However, the ad hoc engagement from many touchpoints, highlighting the need for a more coordinated and efficient means of communication and engagement with any current or future program that resides in the Northlake Elementary School.
  4. Advocacy for the facility itself: As a temporary holding school, the Northlake facility itself has had no permanent advocacy, and has sat in disrepair for several years. It’s HVAC and Electrical systems were listed as “end of life” in MCPS’s facilities review back in 2018, and its roofing, and plumbing were also flagged.[3]  The trailers are also in disrepair, and MCPS often neglects the upkeep of the property when it is not in use. Unless we advocate for the school as a community, MCPS will continue to let it decay. 

 
[1] While the North Lake Task Force is recognized by the Manor Lake Civic Association (MLCA), the majority of the MLCA board has voted to remain “neutral.”  MLCA will not represent any position within the community related to the Northlake Elementary School. MLCA has appointed the Association’s Vice President, Lupe Rohrer to the Task Force as a “liaison,” but has not agreed to officially endorse the Task Force or support its efforts.

[2] https://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/MP26_Chapter4OtherEducationalFacilities.pdf
 
[3] https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/kfi/reports/994.pdf
Per conversations with MCPS representatives, the Northlake facility did not receive a review as part of the new MCPS “Facilities Rating” program in FY25. However, the previous year’s review showed many areas in red.