Two new MCPS HSs with no auditoriums

[Anonymous]

Why is no one talking about this?

The Board of Education has decided to save money by building 2 new High Schools, Crown and Woodward with no auditorium (they claim to just be moving it to phase 3, but it may never happen and it means how many kids won't have an auditorium throughout their 4 years?).

At my oldest child's HS, the auditorium holds more than just drama productions. I am concerned that my younger child's school my be one of these two without the auditorium

[Anonymous]

That is strange. But they could use the gym like kid’s middle school does. It’s not the same but it suffices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is no one talking about this?

The Board of Education has decided to save money by building 2 new High Schools, Crown and Woodward with no auditorium (they claim to just be moving it to phase 3, but it may never happen and it means how many kids won't have an auditorium throughout their 4 years?).

At my oldest child's HS, the auditorium holds more than just drama productions. I am concerned that my younger child's school my be one of these two without the auditorium

Sounds like you're just jumping to conclusions. They said phase 3. Stop inventing problems where none exist.

[Anonymous]

Citation?

I agree that you are creating problems. These are massive construction projects and take time. MCPS is NOT planning to have two high schools permanently without an auditorium.

[Anonymous]

MCPS is not planning to build schools without auditoriums. They are DELAYING the build to a later phase and not FUNDING the construction of said auditoriums with this fiscal year’s budget.

You can be skeptical that it will be funded in future years, but that is just skepticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not planning to build schools without auditoriums. They are DELAYING the build to a later phase and not FUNDING the construction of said auditoriums with this fiscal year’s budget.

You can be skeptical that it will be funded in future years, but that is just skepticism.

Yes, this. They are staging the projects in phases due to the capital budget situation. They have every intention of building the auditoriums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not planning to build schools without auditoriums. They are DELAYING the build to a later phase and not FUNDING the construction of said auditoriums with this fiscal year’s budget.

You can be skeptical that it will be funded in future years, but that is just skepticism.

Yes, this. They are staging the projects in phases due to the capital budget situation. They have every intention of building the auditoriums.

I guess due to budget constraints, the phase 3 could be another 10 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is strange. But they could use the gym like kid’s middle school does. It’s not the same but it suffices.

Most MS gyms can’t hold the whole school and they have no HVAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is strange. But they could use the gym like kid’s middle school does. It’s not the same but it suffices.

Most MS gyms can’t hold the whole school and they have no HVAC.

HS auditoriums can't hold the whole school either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not planning to build schools without auditoriums. They are DELAYING the build to a later phase and not FUNDING the construction of said auditoriums with this fiscal year’s budget.

You can be skeptical that it will be funded in future years, but that is just skepticism.

Yes, this. They are staging the projects in phases due to the capital budget situation. They have every intention of building the auditoriums.

If they have every intention of building the auditoriums, then they would have a budget and timeline for phase 3. I wrote to each of the board members about this and the only response I got was from Julie Yang. It was a very dissatisfying response where she said she would "urge the system to engage with staff and the community ... to work on a mitigation plan"

So her plan is to tell the community that will get a school without the standard amenities of all other high schools to... figure it out themselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is not planning to build schools without auditoriums. They are DELAYING the build to a later phase and not FUNDING the construction of said auditoriums with this fiscal year’s budget.

You can be skeptical that it will be funded in future years, but that is just skepticism.

Yes, this. They are staging the projects in phases due to the capital budget situation. They have every intention of building the auditoriums.

I guess due to budget constraints, the phase 3 could be another 10 years

There's no reason to expect that. At the board meeting yesterday, they were talking about a one or two year delay.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

It was proposed at yesterday's Board of Education meeting, you can Google it and find it youself

That you all seem ok that there will be many kids who go through years of HS with no auditorium tells me you either don't have kids, or have ES kids.

Every other high school in the county has an auditorium. It's where community meetings are held, parent grade level meetings are held, school assemblies are held, drama productions are performed, band, choir and orchestra concerts are performed, MS promotions are held and so much more.

These 2 HSs should not have their auditoriums delayed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is strange. But they could use the gym like kid’s middle school does. It’s not the same but it suffices.

The middle school gyms or cafeterias are designed to hold these types of events and performances, usually with some type of stage built in. I'm pretty sure these two high school gyms are not, since the original plans were to have an actual auditorium.

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify: the Woodward auditorium is in phase 3. The Crown auditorium is in phase 2.