My concerns about Stephen Austin: a thread.

Thank you to the two people who reached out to engage in heated but civil debate over Mr. Austin and his positions. For those dozen or so whose reaction was insults and possibly veiled threats, this thread's for you:

(1)

Redistricting schools is a hard conversation. It affects property values and kids and education and a lot of our deep seated values. It's natural for people to have concerns about it.

(2)

But it is also a vital conversation to have. One reason - because we have overcrowded schools next to under enrolled schools and taxpayers are being asked to pony up to build new schools when we don't have to.

(3)

Another reason - one that concerns me deeply. Like it or not, MCPS is deeply segregated. And like it or not, boundaries have reinforced segregation. And research is clear clear that segregation is bad for all kids regardless of race or class.

(4)

Let me repeat that: segregation harms educational outcomes for kids in the Wootton and Churchill and Whitman clusters, and clusters with similar demographics.

(5)

We should be concerned about that impact. We should be willing to have tough but civil conversations about addressing it. There are solutions. Some of them might involve changes to school boundaries. Those should only happen after extensive and transparent public processes.

(6)

There are other solutions too. I taught for a decade at @LMSARTS, which was created to desegregate pockets of poverty. It involves creating high quality voluntary programs to attract kids into LMS and two nearby schools. We should do more of that.

(7)

It can also involve local, logical boundary changes. My oldest son went to Greencastle ES. Many students there live in a concentrated set of high poverty neighborhoods in and around Castle Blvd. Students from those neighborhoods go to 3 different local schools.

(8)

Some students who live there don't walk 10 minutes to Greencastle on streets that are sometimes dangerous bc of speeding cars. They ride a bus 10 minutes to Fairland or Burtonsville. Desegregation without long distance bus rides.

(9)

Taken to its logical conclusion, Mr. Austin's preference that kids always go to their closest school would INCREASE segregation in the Burtonsville area.

(10)

So what does all this have to do with Austin? Well, look, I've never met the guy. But I'm a former MCPS student and teacher. And a current parent. And I help write education law for the state. So I follow MCPS and local education debates closely.

(11)

And here are some of the things that concern me. First, I believe leaders should take responsibility. Mr. Austin was one of the primary organizers of efforts to oppose the boundary study and MCPS redistricting policy. Many opponents are reasonable people. Some are not. (12)

Heckling and shouting down people at public meetings is not ok. Engaging in patterns of personal attacks is not ok. Some opponents have engaged in these behaviors. And Mr. Austin has not taken responsibility for calling that bad behavior out.

(13)

I always respected John McCain, even though I disagreed with him. But the moment that to me most proved his leadership was when he publicly called out one of his own supporters for a racist attack on President Obama. THAT'S leadership.

(14)

That aside, the concerns raised in the article I posted on Friday are serious. The one that most concerns me: Austin's largest contribution is from a PAC chaired by a major Trump supporter who als ok runs an anti-undocumented immigrant group.

(15)

My first year teaching at LMS, I went to pick up my students from lunch and found an entire table of them crying. Terrified. Why? Because the parents of one of their classmates had been picked up by ICE while they were at school.

(16)

Some of my students were undocumented. Some were documented immigrants. All were scared at the idea that the government would come and without warning take away their parents. Policies that terrorize children are NOT OK.

(17)

MCPS is an immigrant heavy system. It's a non-starter for me to have any member of the Board who doesn't advocate for all MCPS students, including the undocumented ones. If Mr. Austin plans to do so, he should return that contribution and reject that endorsement.

(18)

Finally, Mr. Austin has repeatedly dismissed student activists and the website of the group he founded seems to argue against having a student member of the Board. Board members should be encouraging the civic involvement of students.

(19)

That any candidate for Board of Education to be so dismissive of high school kids engaging in democracy in deeply concerning.

(20)

Anyway, I have other concerns but this thread is too long already. Anyone who wants to have a civil discussion about all this, feel free to email or call. Happy to talk.

(21)

But to those whose support of Mr. Austin has manifested in trolling and attacks: congratulations. I had planned to post one tweet and move on. And I hadn't planned to endorse in the primary because there are multiple good candidates.

(22)

You have convinced me otherwise. I will continue to speak out against Mr. Austin. I will announce an endorsement later this week. And I will put my time, energy, and money behind the candidate of my choice. Because these tactics deserve to be rejected.

(FIN)