[Petrushka]

PG County is Maryland, not DC. It's the county that wraps around the eastern side of the District, and includes the University of Maryland. The rules of the District don't apply to what they're trying to do. I think the author mentioned them (and those of Montgomery County, PG's far wealthier and higher performing neighbor) to show that the idea wouldn't be possible in those school districts.

Notably, PG County has an awfully run government that presides over a relatively low-income population generally composed of Latino immigrants and African-Americans pushed out of the District itself by rising home prices. I've seen a picture before of the average income levels in the counties surrounding DC. Montgomery, Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties are all top 10 in the nation. PG sticks out like a sore thumb. Adding to that, they have by far the most racist police force you'll find. A friend of mine has been pulled over and searched multiple times there solely because he is a young black driving a car that doesn't look like it got pulled off the scrap heap. The last thing that county needs is something that stifles the abilities of its younger residents to try and create something new and interesting for their local community and at-large.

[Anechoic]

Notably, PG County has [..] a relatively low-income population

Really? According to wiki, the median household income is over $71,000 and 38% of households earned over $100,000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Georges_County,_Maryland...

edit: okay, I suppose PG county is lower income than Montgomery, Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties, but the population is certainly not "low income" even for a high-cost-of-living region.

[doktrin]

PG is a relatively large place, and county-wide statistics hide some very real poverty.

It also bears mention that, while not directly correlated, PG county has at times had a murder rate on par with Baltimore.

[dpearson]

Compare that to other DC-area counties, though. Per the Washington Post [1], Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington all have median household incomes over $100,000. Montgomery sits at almost $93,000. So in comparison, $71,000 per year is low.

[1]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/local/highest-i...

[alistairSH]

Correct. PG County is only "low income" relative to its neighbors.

If memory serves, it's the wealthiest majority minority county in the nation.

[SeanLuke]

PG County has wide variance in income. Further out in the county there are fairly well-off people. But there is a dense population of urban poor near the DC border.