The release of a mid-study report from consultants analyzing Montgomery County school boundaries has been delayed two weeks, the school district announced Friday afternoon.
Consultants with WXY Architecture + Urban Design, the firm hired for $475,000, need more time to finalize their report, which will include data and a summary of community engagement efforts over the past year.
The interim report was scheduled to be released by Friday. In a message to community members on Friday afternoon, MCPS said “given the work remaining at this juncture,” the report will be released on March 13.
“WXY has been working closely with MCPS staff to ensure the report presents complex layers of data in a way that is understandable to the community,” the message says.
The Montgomery County Board of Education voted in January 2019 to hire a consultant to conduct a review of all MCPS school boundaries. The goal, board members say, is to evaluate how current boundaries “support or impede” students’ access to diverse schools, schools that aren’t crowded and schools within walking distance of their homes.
The school board will receive a briefing about the analysis and the interim report at one of its meetings. A date for that briefing has not been set.
Simultaneously, WXY has moved into the second phase of the project, holding small-scale meetings with “hard to reach” groups who generally can’t or don’t attend large public meetings.
In Phase 2 meetings, community members can test an “interactive tool” that the consultants developed. It will allow community members to visualize how potential boundary changes might look and how those changes might affect a school.
A school district spokeswoman said the deadline for the final report — expected to be released in June — is unchanged.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@bethesdda-remix.newspackstaging.com