What elementary schools will Taylor be closing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cold Spring is 100% closing

I feel bad for Cold Spring but the writing is on the wall. If we don't have the money for all the schools that need it, we shouldn't spend 60M-ish on an elementary school redo if they can fit somewhere else.

Seems they are (mostly?) fine to go to Churchill though so I hope at least they can limit the change to just another Churchill feeder though for stability reasons. My guess is that's exactly the path they are trying to follow so they are just fine switching to Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's be so for real right now... Wootton, with yard signs, campaigns, tons of people at their rally, more testimony slots than any other speakers plus a politician (maybe more than one), plus some building organization, plus their PTA prez, think that DuFief, a tiny ass elementary school within the same Wootton cluster with a few parents, was so powerful that DuFief is the reason that the Superintendent's recommendation is going through? And you continue to attack one school, when in fact, there are some people at other schools within the cluster (Stone Mill, Travilah, probably parents at other schools too afraid to say a damn thing) and other schools not within the cluster (Crown), besides DuFief, that feel the same? And now Wootton teachers (some, not all) are coming out and saying the same - that they want to move?

Wootton - you've done everything you can do to advocate - and MCPS still isn't going to cave to you. They literally can't. But if we put ourselves in MCPS shoes for one second and guess what they are thinking, it might be something like this... Wootton has been advocating for over a decade that their school is in disrepair and even though this new school was meant for other things (overcrowding at other schools?), things have changed (no money, declining enrollment) and we need to address this hazardous situation (current Wootton) so here is a BRAND NEW SCHOOL and we are doing our best to serve the community it was originally meant for (Crown) at the same time. And we still need money to do more for other schools because we aren't doing enough. It's not perfect.

It's not over and they could vote against the recommendation but I guess we will see. But it's not a school within your own cluster that's the problem - they were just the only ones willing to speak up. You are giving way too much credit where credit is not due.

THIS. Dufief is not that powerful to shape this study. Really. The board's gonna do what THE BOARD wants to do.

[phone]

No one is saying Dufief are the real power brokers. Thats a joke. They aren’t. Taylor is just using them for convenience, which is why they can sing Taylor’s praises for now all they want, just don’t cry when he backstabs Dufief like Dufief backstabbed the entire cluster.

The anger isn’t directed at Dufief because they are some influence on Taylor. The anger is there because Dufief is a sell out.

[Anonymous]

All these Dufief apologists going but we so wittle, what influence do we have? Exactly, you are such a small part of the cluster yet you want to drag the other 90% with you to Crown.

You don’t have influence with Taylor, which is exactly why you shouldn’t be surprised when he turns around and screws over Dufief in the long run.

The difference between what happened during A-D and the next time MCPS screws Dufief is even fewer people will be an ally of Dufief. We will all remember how yall backstabbed us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dufief always wants to act like they are magnanimous but their initial reaction was to stay with the Asians and whites at all costs. Then when cornered, they championed going to Crown which would be more diverse, but it was just so they could stay in the cluster and as long as their “friends” at the other Asian and white schools were forced to go as well. And the push to join Stone Mill (very predominantly Asian) is also part of this. Dufief, you think we can’t see you but we SEE you. Your actions are so transparent.

Jumping to conclusions. Dufief did speak up in the first two rounds. Why? In the first round they were being split east and west, with their middle school in one direction and high school in another direction. All they asked was don't mess with the cluster and dont split articulate.

The next round they were the only North Potomac school sent to Gaithersburg region in the regional program. The concern was that Gaithersburg doesn't see that community as part of Gaithersburg. They are charged a non resident fee for all services. All they asked for was staying within North Potomac community. They welcomed FRES and Rosemont communities with open arms, as long as they got to be with at least a few other neighborhood schools like SMES or Travilah. Would honestly even be happy with Marshall, or Carson or Jones Lane, as long as it's the kids that they play soccer, basketball, swimming, karate etc. with.

How entitled! You welcomed WHO into a high school that was never built for you and your cluster in the first place??? And how insane and entitled that you’re fine moving provided you can be with the same white and Asian dominated populations you’ve always been with all along. And you want us to believe the sole reason is because of a City of Gaithersburg fee? Do you think we are dumb and can’t see through you?

Lol not Dufief acting like they are so welcoming and kind by advocating for the steal of an entire school that wasn’t meant for Wootton in the first place.

“Ooo but we don’t even pay Gaithersburg fees” are you dumb? You don’t pay Rockville fees either. By that logic, you also don’t belong at Wootton. And you know who doesn’t pay Gaithersburg fees? Umm… every Rockville family that attends Wootton? In fact, most of us have to pay City of Rockville fees.

The city fees argument may be actually the dumbest argument coming from Dufief, and that’s saying along considering all the dumb arguments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll take a stab at this. I'm focusing on Whitman, Churchill, WJ, Wootton, QO and RM clusters given I have more familiarity with these. However I've taken a stab at some other clusters too:

WHITMAN CLUSTER:
Maybe-Less likely:
- Burning Tree ES: yes it's on CIP and has a high FCI, but the entire Whitman cluster has 340 seats available at the five elementary schools. Bradley Hills (193), Carderock (80) and Wood Acres (162) could almost fully absorb all of Burning Tree (469), however of course geography would need to be majorly changed. I'd also think it could need to involve creating a split articulation or redistricting kids from Burning Tree to a WJ ES or Seven Locks ES

CHURCHILL CLUSTER: NONE

WOOTTON CLUSTER:
This cluster is interesting given there are six elementary schools and all except one were last renovated/built prior to 2000. Cold Spring (1972), Dufief (1975), Fallsmead (1974), Stone Mill (1988), Travilah (1960 major reno in 1992), and Lakewood (1968 major reno 2003). Every school has excess capacity. Seems foolish to renovate the three oldest schools given that.
Very Likely:
- Cold Spring: I'd consider this almost 80-100%, I was shocked it was on the CIP given this, it's resident population is super tiny, the CES can be relocated to a diff Churchill or Wootton ES. I'd expect the resident students to be rezoned to one or more of either Beverly Farms - 181 seats available or Wayside - 170 seats available (both in Churchill cluster) or Ritchie Park - 66 seats available (RM cluster)
- Dufief ES: I think odds of this are lower than Cold Spring, but it too has a high FCI (.58), has a small enrollment (~260 students) and can be easily absorbed by two nearby schools (Stone Mill - 157 seats available and Travilah ES - 157 seats available

WJ CLUSTER: NONE
QO CLUSTER: NONE
RM CLUSTER: NONE - however Beall and College Gardens could each absorb 150-200 students, geographically not sure from where since Ritchie Park is too far away. Twinbrook ES was removed from CIP, but has .55 FCI, just not sure where they are absorbed

DAMASCUS AND CLARKSBURG CLUSTERS:
Maybes:
- Clarksburg ES - built 1952 major improvement in 1993 - FCI ~.5, small school could be absorbed by Snowden Farm and Wims ES
- Woodfield ES - built 1962 last reno 1985, small school - could be absorbed by Cedar Grove & Lois P Rockwell with shifts
Less Likely but possible:
- Fox Chapel ES - built 1974 ~.5 FCI, not sure if these students could be absorbed elsewhere or not.
- Damascus ES - built 1934 last renovated in 1980 - removed from CIP ~.5 FCI

In the Poolesville Cluster - Monocacy ES - 167 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these Dufief apologists going but we so wittle, what influence do we have? Exactly, you are such a small part of the cluster yet you want to drag the other 90% with you to Crown.

You don’t have influence with Taylor, which is exactly why you shouldn’t be surprised when he turns around and screws over Dufief in the long run.

The difference between what happened during A-D and the next time MCPS screws Dufief is even fewer people will be an ally of Dufief. We will all remember how yall backstabbed us.

Dufief mom here again: TBH, we all know that our school is likely to be closed and have made peace with it. What we are not going to do is be 2nd gen Anti H-ers and waste time creating a fake option and hope they like our non-option better than the ones they paid millions for consultants to make. Instead, we are going to do is the same thing we did this time which was work with the options given and advocate from there regarding where we would like to be reassigned. So don't worry about us, we will be just fine.
PS: Please also know our PTA showed the Wootton PTSA and your politician/spokesperson our entire hand two weeks before and they supported it, understanding why we were advocating the way we were. The fact they didn't tell your community is really on them, not us.

[Anonymous]

First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

Hiya Jason! Please don't anonymously promote yourself for something you actually aren't even doing well. This is...gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

Hiya Jason! Please don't anonymously promote yourself for something you actually aren't even doing well. This is...gross.

Hmm I’ve been following for a while now. Where is this moderately moco post showing both sides?

[Anonymous]

It is absolutely wild that our community has to suffer through all of this madness and our teachers have to see so much hate coming from parents because they are so racist they actually believe that adding a few hundred kids from fields Rd ES and part of Rosemont ES will tank property values. Through all of their countless hours working to prevent our kids getting a new building, did it occur to them to talk with real estate experts? This isn’t a situation where the school is charging. All the same courses with the same teachers are coming over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

The first part of your post is super weird and has nothing to do with this thread. I’m so confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

The first part of your post is super weird and has nothing to do with this thread. I’m so confused.

Allow me to explain: Jason Makstein from Moderately MoCo is trying to get people to think his website is a real source for local news so he frequents this board, sometimes anonymously, and sometimes with the MM name attached to it, to try to increase traffic to his site. He is currently attempting to have people work for him for free (when asked on Facebook whether the work he was seeking help for was paid or not, his response was: "hopefully eventually… I gotta get some more posts out to get the better revenue to get that rolling" (March 5, 2026). He also has something happening with Adam Van Grack whose posts he seems to elevate while also arguing with anyone who disagrees with the Councilperson's opinions. All in all, not someone to take seriously or consider a real source of news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

This! Except for the shoutout to moderately MoCo which is biased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

Hiya Jason! Please don't anonymously promote yourself for something you actually aren't even doing well. This is...gross.

Yup Makstein, we are on to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First and foremost, a big thank you to Moderately MOCO for always staying on top of this and sharing views. Second point is that every community wants wootton for the same reason and that is because it keeps property values up to be in that cluster with all of the good schools. Dufief wants to stay with them but so does Stone Mill and Travilah and it’s all for that.

The wootton parents and Rockville politicians clamoring for the school to stay want the same thing for the same reason and don’t want to add the Gaithersburg schools because they think it will hurt their prop values. The Gaithersburg parents and politicians know it will help theirs.

You just aren’t allowed to say that so everyone has to come up with reasons that look better on paper.

The first part of your post is super weird and has nothing to do with this thread. I’m so confused.

Allow me to explain: Jason Makstein from Moderately MoCo is trying to get people to think his website is a real source for local news so he frequents this board, sometimes anonymously, and sometimes with the MM name attached to it, to try to increase traffic to his site. He is currently attempting to have people work for him for free (when asked on Facebook whether the work he was seeking help for was paid or not, his response was: "hopefully eventually… I gotta get some more posts out to get the better revenue to get that rolling" (March 5, 2026). He also has something happening with Adam Van Grack whose posts he seems to elevate while also arguing with anyone who disagrees with the Councilperson's opinions. All in all, not someone to take seriously or consider a real source of news.

Yup, also he CAN’T be impartial because he is zoned for one of schools which is having its boundary changed. He has a dog in this fight. And he’s very open about how being re-boundarized (if that’s a word) when he was in middle school/high school impacted him severely. So no, he is not an unbiased source of news.