by Genevieve Demos Kelley

It was standing room only at last night’s public hearing on the proposed boundary changes, school closings, and grade reorganizations. At three and a half hours, the meeting lasted so long that video of the proceedings was posted in two separate parts on PGCPS’s Youtube channel.

You may watch Part 1 here (the first three hours) and Part 2 (the last thirty minutes) here.

After nearly two hours of testimony, Board Member Verjeana Jacobs (District 5) made a motion to postpone the voting on the boundary changes — originally scheduled for February 25th — until this time next year. (Watch Ms. Jacobs’s motion and the ensuing discussion beginning at 1:51 in Part 1 of the video.) The motion was met with loud, sustained applause from the audience, with many in the crowd rising from their seats. Though opposed by Board Chair Segun Eubanks, the motion carried with a near-consensus. The item appears to have been removed from the agenda for the February 25th meeting. After the vote on the motion to postpone the meeting, public testimony continued for the next one and a half hours.