From: Catherine Muzzatti
To: Vicky Cutroneo; Antonia Watts; Christina Delmont-Small; Yun Lu; Jennifer Mallo; Jolene Mosley; Chao Wu
Subject: [External] Redistricting 2023 Re: Owen Brown Community
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 4:31:51 PM
Some people who received this message don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn
why this is important
! CAUTION: This email originated from outside of HCPSS. Do not click links or
open attachments, unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hello Board Members,
I am finally getting around to watching the board meeting from September 21st, and am
extremely frustrated to hear Ms. Mosley has proposed to possibly move the Owen Brown
community that was JUST redistricted to Athloton in 2019 (after being a polygon that was not
even originally on the plans to be moved) to be moved AGAIN back to Oakland Mills. The
community does NOT want to be moved again, not to High School 13 (which seems
ridiculous considering in relation to HS 13) or back to Oakland Mills.
What was so frustrating with the last round of redistricting were all the last minute changes
that weren't even provided in the feasibility study, and were just thrown in there last minute.
With Ms. Mosley's suggestion, this would be occurring AGAIN. The community has spoken,
and they do NOT want to have a major redistricting happen again. If moving this polygon is
going to be proposed, I would suggest getting community feedback. All of the neighbors I
know, from to the families I know who live in the Hopewell
community, are all happy to be attending Atholton High School and do not want to move.
I can see how the Elkridge Community would not want to move to HS 13 as the commute is
long - but please, consider moving a separate neighborhood that was not redistricted in 2019
into Oakland Mills.
Thank you,
Catherine Muzzatti
From: manager owenbrownvillage.org
To: BoE Email
Subject: [External] Written Testimony for Attendance Area Adjustment Proposal
Date: Wednesday, September 7, 2022 10:49:46 AM
Attachments: BOE Testimony on Attendance Adjustment.pdf
Some people who received this message don't often get email from
[email protected]. Learn why this is important
! CAUTION: This email originated from outside of HCPSS. Do not click links or
open attachments, unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Board Member,
Attached please find the Owen Brown Village Board testimony regarding the Attendance Area
Adjustment Plans.
Thank you,
Craig Barton
Village Manager
Owen Brown Community Association, Inc.
6800 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, MD 21045
T 410.381.0202
F 410.381.0235
www.owenbrownvillage.org
OWEN BROWN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC
6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, Maryland 21045-4809
Phone 410-381-0202 Fax 410-381-0235
WEB Page: www.owenbrownvillage.org
September 7, 2022
Howard County Board of Education
RE: Attendance Area Adjustment Plans
Dear Board Member:
As you discuss the options for attendance area adjustments to accommodate the opening of High School
13, we ask that you consider input from Owen Brown. Specifically, we ask that you do not make any
changes to the school’s our children are currently assigned to.
Owen Brown is one of the ten villages that make up Columbia and has a population of roughly 12,000
people. We are in southeast Columbia, roughly between Farewell Lane on the north, Oakland Mills Road
on the east, Snowden River Parkway on the south, and Broken Land parkway on the west. Our village is
divided into three neighborhoods: Dasher Green, north of Cradlerock Way; Elkhorn, between Lake
Elkhorn and Cradlerock; and Hopewell, south of Lake Elkhorn. For most of the last thirty years, our
entire village attended Oakland Mills High School but our Elkhorn and Hopewell neighborhoods were
recently reassigned to Atholton.
As you choose how to adjust attendance area boundaries for the next school year, we ask that you make
no changes to Owen Brown’s assignments, keeping Dasher Green assigned to Oakland Mills and Elkhorn
and Hopewell assigned to Atholton. This would mean that you not select one of the four scenarios
(option C) made available for public consideration. We have several reasons for this:
• Our neighborhood, village, and Columbia community is important to us. We want our children
to attend Columbia schools. Atholton and Oakland Mills are Columbia schools. High School 13 is
not.
• While walking or biking to Atholton from our village is impractical on a daily basis, it is possible.
Walking or biking to High School 13 would be impossible.
• These neighborhoods were recently reassigned and should not have any more changes to their
school assignments.
Importantly, we want to ensure our community is not broken into small fragments. We are disappointed
that all three of our neighborhoods do not attend the same high school; however, we are at least unified
at the neighborhood level. Some scenarios proposed during the last redistricting effort would have
broken Owen Brown into multiple tiny fragments. We are opposed to any plan that breaks our
community into small fragments.
Thank you for your consideration,
Owen Brown Village Board of Directors
