Option H is permanent and the old Wootton HS campus will be closed for good?

[Anonymous]

I'm taking bits and pieces from multiple threads but I'm confused on what's going on.

It sounds like Option H is the main plan that MCPS and the County Council is pushing for.

The Damascus HS renovation is definitely going to happen. But I'm not clear if the students there will be moved to a holding school or they will build another building on site, I think like what they did with Richard Montgomery. Originally in another post someone said they will be another building on site. But some of these recent posts from Damascus families sound like they thought they'd be going to Crown as a holding school.

Then Magruder isn't even on the CIP at all? It's one of the oldest high school buildings in MCPS that had to close due to facilities issues in the last couple of years:
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2019/12/03/after-water-main-break-magruder-high-closes-for-second-time-in-a-month/
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/06/01/magruder-high-closes-early-wednesday-due-to-broken-air-conditioning-unit/

And from what I heard their systems are archaic and hard to fix.

So is it MCPS has no money to renovate the current Wootton building AND Magruder. Or is it they can just have cost savings by not renovating Wootton.

But then if they're not going to be able to renovate Wootton to be adequate to use, they will be sending Magruder students here as a holding school while their school is being renovated? So there will be some money that needs to be put in the Wootton building either way right?

In the CIP, it says that buildings should be torn down to the studs or completely rebuilt by fifty years and have some maintenance in between. But looking at this list, it looks like several schools jumped spots in the list:

Whetstone ES Facility Opened: 1968
Col. Zadok Magruder HS Facility Opened: 1970
Greenwood ES Facility Opened: 1970
Strathmore ES Facility Opened: 1970
Thomas S. Wootton HS Facility Opened: 1970
Watkins Mill ES Facility Opened: 1970
John T. Baker MS Facility Opened: 1971
Redland MS Facility Opened: 1971
Robert Frost MS Facility Opened: 1971
Summit Hall ES Facility Opened: 1971
Cold Spring ES Facility Opened: 1972 ***On CIP for August 2031 Replacement
Fields Road ES Facility Opened: 1973
Piney Branch ES Facility Opened: 1973 ***On CIP for August 2031 Replacement
Belmont ES Facility Opened: 1974
Benjamin Banneker MS Facility Opened: 1974
Fallsmead ES Facility Opened: 1974
Fox Chapel ES Facility Opened: 1974
JoAnn Leleck ES at Broad Acres ES Revitalized/Modernized: 1974 ***On CIP for August 2026 Replacement
Stedwick ES Facility Opened: 1974
Diamond ES Facility Opened: 1975
DuFief ES Facility Opened: 1975
East Silver Spring ES Revitalized/Modernized: 1975
Ridgeview MS Facility Opened: 1975
Eastern MS Revitalized/Modernized: 1976 ***On CIP for August 2030 Replacement

And one could argue that High Schools would have higher priority because they serve a larger number of students. Not to throw other schools under the bus but it looks like Cold Spring has seats available and that's with out of the area students coming in for the CES programs. Where in the CIP the projected numbers for Cold Spring are:
2025-2026: Capacity: 481 Enrollment 367 Available space: 114
2026-2027: Capacity: 481 Enrollment 371 Available space: 110
2027-2028: Capacity: 481 Enrollment 365 Available space: 116
2028-2029: Capacity: 481 Enrollment 356 Available space: 125
2029-2030: Capacity: 481 Enrollment 362 Available space: 119
2030-2031: Capacity: 481 Enrollment 353 Available space: 128
After the renovation:
2031-2032: Capacity: 465 Enrollment 349 Available space: 116

Are they not only spending money on the school but also decreasing the spaces available in it? And couldn't that money have been put towards a high school (either Magruder or Wootton) that would've served a larger group of students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People affected by this who currently are zoned for Wootton will lose a considerable amount of their property value I would assume? So they will just sell, move to much cheaper areas and then send to private (which they will now be able to afford since they are no longer paying for a house in the Wootton district). That’s how I see this playing out if H goes forward.

Selling at a loss, people are going to go bankrupt.

So much hysteria. Why would the value of your house go precipitously down when your high school changes from a crumbling building 1 mile from your house to a new building 3 miles from your house, with all of the same students?

Have you not been reading? Its not going to be all the same students. It will pull from Gaithersburg HS feeding schools with option H. It shows one in the initial option but plans include pulling around 1000 student from Gaithersburg HS zones.

Can you post a link to the plan that proposes adding 1000 Gaithersburg students + all of Wootton to Crown?

There is no link for adding the 1000 students yet but that was discussed by one of the school board members at a local HOS meeting last night. That being said just look up option H and you will see Rosemont Elementary is listed as being part of the plan. That’s a Gaithersburg HS feeder elementary. Then the plan is to increase from there. But it doesn’t matter, even the one school being in the plan will cause the problems.

So Wootton is so high and mighty that a poor school cannot join them? GTFO.

I really hope Fields Rd, Rosemont and maybe part of Brown Station also goes to Crown along with Wootton. They deserve a good learning environment too.

How is that a good learning environment when the school is overcrowded from the beginning and will only get worse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to put it simply. School performance will go down. School ratings will go down. This directly affects property values. It always has and always will. I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand about this?

When you take a low performing school and just move the students to a different school it doesn’t actually change the way those students perform in any way shape or form.

But when you mix them with high performing students it can help

The biggest issue these kids face is lack of parent involvement. It’s the literal number 1 reason these kids fail. Their parents are working sometimes multiple jobs and they are often home alone for extended periods of time. School is simply not the priority. This will not change when their school changes-their family stays the same. I work in a MS in the Gaithersburg district.

ok - I understand that - but what do you care if some of those kids are in the same school as your kid - you realize Wootton already has kids like that right? - you realize that your kid will still be in the AP course without that kid right? High schools have tons of cohorts and your kids cohort and that kids cohort will likely avoid each other - no need for you to worry -

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People affected by this who currently are zoned for Wootton will lose a considerable amount of their property value I would assume? So they will just sell, move to much cheaper areas and then send to private (which they will now be able to afford since they are no longer paying for a house in the Wootton district). That’s how I see this playing out if H goes forward.

Selling at a loss, people are going to go bankrupt.

So much hysteria. Why would the value of your house go precipitously down when your high school changes from a crumbling building 1 mile from your house to a new building 3 miles from your house, with all of the same students?

Have you not been reading? Its not going to be all the same students. It will pull from Gaithersburg HS feeding schools with option H. It shows one in the initial option but plans include pulling around 1000 student from Gaithersburg HS zones.

Can you post a link to the plan that proposes adding 1000 Gaithersburg students + all of Wootton to Crown?

There is no link for adding the 1000 students yet but that was discussed by one of the school board members at a local HOS meeting last night. That being said just look up option H and you will see Rosemont Elementary is listed as being part of the plan. That’s a Gaithersburg HS feeder elementary. Then the plan is to increase from there. But it doesn’t matter, even the one school being in the plan will cause the problems.

So Wootton is so high and mighty that a poor school cannot join them? GTFO.

I really hope Fields Rd, Rosemont and maybe part of Brown Station also goes to Crown along with Wootton. They deserve a good learning environment too.

How is that a good learning environment when the school is overcrowded from the beginning and will only get worse?

What are you talking about? What school is overcrowded? Crown? They haven't even decided the boundaries yet? How is it overcrowded??? More hysteria....smh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to put it simply. School performance will go down. School ratings will go down. This directly affects property values. It always has and always will. I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand about this?

When you take a low performing school and just move the students to a different school it doesn’t actually change the way those students perform in any way shape or form.

But when you mix them with high performing students it can help

The biggest issue these kids face is lack of parent involvement. It’s the literal number 1 reason these kids fail. Their parents are working sometimes multiple jobs and they are often home alone for extended periods of time. School is simply not the priority. This will not change when their school changes-their family stays the same. I work in a MS in the Gaithersburg district.

ok - I understand that - but what do you care if some of those kids are in the same school as your kid - you realize Wootton already has kids like that right? - you realize that your kid will still be in the AP course without that kid right? High schools have tons of cohorts and your kids cohort and that kids cohort will likely avoid each other - no need for you to worry -

Sure the kid will be fine. How about their parent’s house value?

[Anonymous]

PP, you're right, spending - what is it, $100m?- on a new ES for 350 students is BANANAS. I understand the current Cold Spring building is not viable but there is PLENTY of space in nearby ESs for those students, especially with declining enrollment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to put it simply. School performance will go down. School ratings will go down. This directly affects property values. It always has and always will. I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand about this?

When you take a low performing school and just move the students to a different school it doesn’t actually change the way those students perform in any way shape or form.

But when you mix them with high performing students it can help

The biggest issue these kids face is lack of parent involvement. It’s the literal number 1 reason these kids fail. Their parents are working sometimes multiple jobs and they are often home alone for extended periods of time. School is simply not the priority. This will not change when their school changes-their family stays the same. I work in a MS in the Gaithersburg district.

ok - I understand that - but what do you care if some of those kids are in the same school as your kid - you realize Wootton already has kids like that right? - you realize that your kid will still be in the AP course without that kid right? High schools have tons of cohorts and your kids cohort and that kids cohort will likely avoid each other - no need for you to worry -

Sure the kid will be fine. How about their parent’s house value?

You are again why the rest of us Wootton parents get creamed - the BOE is not responsible for your house value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, you're right, spending - what is it, $100m?- on a new ES for 350 students is BANANAS. I understand the current Cold Spring building is not viable but there is PLENTY of space in nearby ESs for those students, especially with declining enrollment.

I am the Wootton parent posting and am a Cold Spring parent as well. For over a decade, I have advocated to get Cold Spring a new building by opening the boundaries. When Bayard Rustin was built was the perfect time but we were told it was impossible because they were in the RM cluster and the county will not look outside of each cluster. This is exactly why a county wide boundary study was perfect but .....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, you're right, spending - what is it, $100m?- on a new ES for 350 students is BANANAS. I understand the current Cold Spring building is not viable but there is PLENTY of space in nearby ESs for those students, especially with declining enrollment.

I am the Wootton parent posting and am a Cold Spring parent as well. For over a decade, I have advocated to get Cold Spring a new building by opening the boundaries. When Bayard Rustin was built was the perfect time but we were told it was impossible because they were in the RM cluster and the county will not look outside of each cluster. This is exactly why a county wide boundary study was perfect but .....

The reasoning about which schools were included in the study, and which wasn't is very telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People affected by this who currently are zoned for Wootton will lose a considerable amount of their property value I would assume? So they will just sell, move to much cheaper areas and then send to private (which they will now be able to afford since they are no longer paying for a house in the Wootton district). That’s how I see this playing out if H goes forward.

Selling at a loss, people are going to go bankrupt.

So much hysteria. Why would the value of your house go precipitously down when your high school changes from a crumbling building 1 mile from your house to a new building 3 miles from your house, with all of the same students?

Have you not been reading? Its not going to be all the same students. It will pull from Gaithersburg HS feeding schools with option H. It shows one in the initial option but plans include pulling around 1000 student from Gaithersburg HS zones.

Can you post a link to the plan that proposes adding 1000 Gaithersburg students + all of Wootton to Crown?

There is no link for adding the 1000 students yet but that was discussed by one of the school board members at a local HOS meeting last night. That being said just look up option H and you will see Rosemont Elementary is listed as being part of the plan. That’s a Gaithersburg HS feeder elementary. Then the plan is to increase from there. But it doesn’t matter, even the one school being in the plan will cause the problems.

So Wootton is so high and mighty that a poor school cannot join them? GTFO.

I really hope Fields Rd, Rosemont and maybe part of Brown Station also goes to Crown along with Wootton. They deserve a good learning environment too.

How is that a good learning environment when the school is overcrowded from the beginning and will only get worse?

What are you talking about? What school is overcrowded? Crown? They haven't even decided the boundaries yet? How is it overcrowded??? More hysteria....smh

You want to send rosemont fields road and brown station to crown while Wootton moves there. How is that not overcrowded? I guess you have no logic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it’s interesting how some of you seem to think test scores for some of these kids in low performing schools will somehow magically increase in a new building? Some of the lowest performing schools in the county already have the nicest facilities and top of the line equipment. The building makes zero difference for actual performance.

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think that, but I also don't think the high-achieving students' test scores will go town just by having a few more poor kids in their building.

That's not how branding works. It's the average and low performing kids in the Wooton cluster that will no longer be able distinguish themselves with a brand name.

EG the low performing kids in Wooton will still be low performing kids at Crown, but they will be indistinguishable from just poor families.

Valedictorians will also just not have quite the shine that the Churchill ones do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to put it simply. School performance will go down. School ratings will go down. This directly affects property values. It always has and always will. I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand about this?

When you take a low performing school and just move the students to a different school it doesn’t actually change the way those students perform in any way shape or form.

But when you mix them with high performing students it can help

It is not the job of high performing students to pull up the scores of low performing students, that is their job and the job of their parents. All schools have same curriculum, similar facilities, it's up to the student and their families how they perform in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People affected by this who currently are zoned for Wootton will lose a considerable amount of their property value I would assume? So they will just sell, move to much cheaper areas and then send to private (which they will now be able to afford since they are no longer paying for a house in the Wootton district). That’s how I see this playing out if H goes forward.

Selling at a loss, people are going to go bankrupt.

So much hysteria. Why would the value of your house go precipitously down when your high school changes from a crumbling building 1 mile from your house to a new building 3 miles from your house, with all of the same students?

Have you not been reading? Its not going to be all the same students. It will pull from Gaithersburg HS feeding schools with option H. It shows one in the initial option but plans include pulling around 1000 student from Gaithersburg HS zones.

Can you post a link to the plan that proposes adding 1000 Gaithersburg students + all of Wootton to Crown?

There is no link for adding the 1000 students yet but that was discussed by one of the school board members at a local HOS meeting last night. That being said just look up option H and you will see Rosemont Elementary is listed as being part of the plan. That’s a Gaithersburg HS feeder elementary. Then the plan is to increase from there. But it doesn’t matter, even the one school being in the plan will cause the problems.

So Wootton is so high and mighty that a poor school cannot join them? GTFO.

I really hope Fields Rd, Rosemont and maybe part of Brown Station also goes to Crown along with Wootton. They deserve a good learning environment too.

How is that a good learning environment when the school is overcrowded from the beginning and will only get worse?

What are you talking about? What school is overcrowded? Crown? They haven't even decided the boundaries yet? How is it overcrowded??? More hysteria....smh

You want to send rosemont fields road and brown station to crown while Wootton moves there. How is that not overcrowded? I guess you have no logic

I have no logic? You are spewing rumors about what elementary schools are going... the truth is that we do not know that yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to put it simply. School performance will go down. School ratings will go down. This directly affects property values. It always has and always will. I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand about this?

When you take a low performing school and just move the students to a different school it doesn’t actually change the way those students perform in any way shape or form.

But when you mix them with high performing students it can help

It is not the job of high performing students to pull up the scores of low performing students, that is their job and the job of their parents. All schools have same curriculum, similar facilities, it's up to the student and their families how they perform in school.

Perfect! So what difference does it make who else is in school with your high performing kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it’s interesting how some of you seem to think test scores for some of these kids in low performing schools will somehow magically increase in a new building? Some of the lowest performing schools in the county already have the nicest facilities and top of the line equipment. The building makes zero difference for actual performance.

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think that, but I also don't think the high-achieving students' test scores will go town just by having a few more poor kids in their building.

That's not how branding works. It's the average and low performing kids in the Wooton cluster that will no longer be able distinguish themselves with a brand name.

EG the low performing kids in Wooton will still be low performing kids at Crown, but they will be indistinguishable from just poor families.

Valedictorians will also just not have quite the shine that the Churchill ones do.

I don't even know what to say to that. JFC.