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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

The land available from tearing down Wootton would not result in a "massive new residential development". I drive down that road often as I live very close to it. But people are happy to create traffic in my neighborhood as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

I generally bristle at the use of this word, but the bolded is...unhinged.

Do you really think it is more likely that this poster has some sort of deep animosity for the amorphous "Wootton" that they are motivated from spite, or is it possible more likely that they evaluated the option and arrive at a different conclusion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

You want a new school and are offered one. Stop complaining. Many schools are worse off.

Wootton families don't want a new school 3 miles away. How many times has that been said and countless other threads? You're so desperate to sell Wootton families a new school building they never asked for and don't want. Sounds like you have something significant to gain from a Wootton move. Why don't you tell us all what that is?

Then deal with what you have like the rest of us do. What would you suggest cutting to build you a new school?

Tell me where I asked for for MCPS to build a brand new school and cut in front of other schools. I'll wait....

Oh wait, you can't. The ask of Wootton families is clear. Don't move Wootton to Crown. Remediate the pressing issues at Wootton and they will wait their turn - for the third time - until 2035. Wootton families will deal with what we have to "like the rest of us."

As a PP indicated, the quoted amount on the CIP sheet for Wootton is likely for a full renovation, not remediation. If MCPS can find the money to move Wootton to Crown (there are costs involved in a move), and then remediate Wootton to make it a holding school (whether immediately or in 2027 when Crown opens), then it can remediate Wootton now and let it stay where it is.

Why are you pushing for a move so badly? What's in it for you? Come on, you can tell us....

Just because MCPS built a school that will now allegedly be under enrolled (which I doubt) doesn't mean it should compound its mistake by destroying Wootton as it is today.

MCPS would have to find the funds to do both: finish building Crown and renovate Wootton. And no, they cannot stop building Crown. They would lose the land, and that would be a waste of the millions they already spent on the construction to date.

What's in it for taxpayers? Not wasting more money, especially money the county doesn't have. Have you not heard? MoCo revenue will be short by hundreds of millions.

All of these CIPs were planned when MoCo anticipated positive revenue growth. Things have drastically changed, in case you haven't noticed. More than likely, they will want to increase taxes to fill the gaps. I'm sick of paying more in taxes for less services.

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2025/12/montgomery-county-projects-854-million-less-in-revenues-over-6-years/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

I generally bristle at the use of this word, but the bolded is...unhinged.

Do you really think it is more likely that this poster has some sort of deep animosity for the amorphous "Wootton" that they are motivated from spite, or is it possible more likely that they evaluated the option and arrive at a different conclusion?

You must be new here. There is an ongoing animosity by many loud trolls on DCUM towards the "W schools" in MoCo (Wootton, Churchill, Whitman, Walter Johnson). It generally stems from the perception that the kids going to "W" schools are white, rich, privileged, and treat those schools as their own private schools, keeping out anyone who doesn't live in Potomac, Bethesda, and North Bethesda. This feeling was exacerbated by the numerous failed boundary studies over the past several years. Option H gives these haters the perfect opportunity to destroy one of the "W" schools. This is why they oppose even a bare minimum remediation of the problems with the current Wootton building - and yet are perfectly happy to remediate the building as a holding school or for other uses - just not for Wootton to remain there.

Hopefully now you understand that the bolded above is not an unhinged perception, particularly where remediation of Wootton would be the least disruptive option, and where other schools could very easily fill Crown. Also, let's not forget what Option H would cheat many Gaithersburg families out of a new school building that they were expecting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

You want a new school and are offered one. Stop complaining. Many schools are worse off.

Wootton families don't want a new school 3 miles away. How many times has that been said and countless other threads? You're so desperate to sell Wootton families a new school building they never asked for and don't want. Sounds like you have something significant to gain from a Wootton move. Why don't you tell us all what that is?

Then deal with what you have like the rest of us do. What would you suggest cutting to build you a new school?

Tell me where I asked for for MCPS to build a brand new school and cut in front of other schools. I'll wait....

Oh wait, you can't. The ask of Wootton families is clear. Don't move Wootton to Crown. Remediate the pressing issues at Wootton and they will wait their turn - for the third time - until 2035. Wootton families will deal with what we have to "like the rest of us."

As a PP indicated, the quoted amount on the CIP sheet for Wootton is likely for a full renovation, not remediation. If MCPS can find the money to move Wootton to Crown (there are costs involved in a move), and then remediate Wootton to make it a holding school (whether immediately or in 2027 when Crown opens), then it can remediate Wootton now and let it stay where it is.

Why are you pushing for a move so badly? What's in it for you? Come on, you can tell us....

Just because MCPS built a school that will now allegedly be under enrolled (which I doubt) doesn't mean it should compound its mistake by destroying Wootton as it is today.

MCPS would have to find the funds to do both: finish building Crown and renovate Wootton. And no, they cannot stop building Crown. They would lose the land, and that would be a waste of the millions they already spent on the construction to date.

What's in it for taxpayers? Not wasting more money, especially money the county doesn't have. Have you not heard? MoCo revenue will be short by hundreds of millions.

All of these CIPs were planned when MoCo anticipated positive revenue growth. Things have drastically changed, in case you haven't noticed. More than likely, they will want to increase taxes to fill the gaps. I'm sick of paying more in taxes for less services.

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2025/12/montgomery-county-projects-854-million-less-in-revenues-over-6-years/

Nobody is asking for the bolded - to renovate Wootton. Remediate the urgent issues, but not a full renovation.

They can also slow down (not stop) building Crown and open it a year or two later. This would seem prudent if there aren't enough students to fill it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

The land available from tearing down Wootton would not result in a "massive new residential development". I drive down that road often as I live very close to it. But people are happy to create traffic in my neighborhood as well.

You do realize that Wootton sits of a fairly large piece of real estate? Also, there is a significant push to build more dense housing near major roadways. This means townhouses (just like down the street from Wootton) or even 3-story apartment buildings. It's too valuable a piece of property for MCPS if it currently faces budget shortfalls, and it may have already been promised to a developer if Option H goes through....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wootton does not have to sit empty with the neighborhood losing a school.

Move Wootton to Crown.

MCPS should make the current Wootton building (after renovations) a central location for all special needs programs from PEP to 12th grade or more. It is easier to get to Wootton since it is centrally located.

As it is all schools are having issues with SES kids, so having a school for them with dedicated resources will be a good thing for them as well as the NT kids.

And what better location than Wootton?

Are you kidding me? Crown is way more centrally located and easier to access. Wootton is farther away from most schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

I generally bristle at the use of this word, but the bolded is...unhinged.

Do you really think it is more likely that this poster has some sort of deep animosity for the amorphous "Wootton" that they are motivated from spite, or is it possible more likely that they evaluated the option and arrive at a different conclusion?

You must be new here. There is an ongoing animosity by many loud trolls on DCUM towards the "W schools" in MoCo (Wootton, Churchill, Whitman, Walter Johnson). It generally stems from the perception that the kids going to "W" schools are white, rich, privileged, and treat those schools as their own private schools, keeping out anyone who doesn't live in Potomac, Bethesda, and North Bethesda. This feeling was exacerbated by the numerous failed boundary studies over the past several years. Option H gives these haters the perfect opportunity to destroy one of the "W" schools. This is why they oppose even a bare minimum remediation of the problems with the current Wootton building - and yet are perfectly happy to remediate the building as a holding school or for other uses - just not for Wootton to remain there.

Hopefully now you understand that the bolded above is not an unhinged perception, particularly where remediation of Wootton would be the least disruptive option, and where other schools could very easily fill Crown. Also, let's not forget what Option H would cheat many Gaithersburg families out of a new school building that they were expecting.

DP. What are you talking about? There have not been numerous failed boundary studies over the past several years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

I generally bristle at the use of this word, but the bolded is...unhinged.

Do you really think it is more likely that this poster has some sort of deep animosity for the amorphous "Wootton" that they are motivated from spite, or is it possible more likely that they evaluated the option and arrive at a different conclusion?

You must be new here. There is an ongoing animosity by many loud trolls on DCUM towards the "W schools" in MoCo (Wootton, Churchill, Whitman, Walter Johnson). It generally stems from the perception that the kids going to "W" schools are white, rich, privileged, and treat those schools as their own private schools, keeping out anyone who doesn't live in Potomac, Bethesda, and North Bethesda. This feeling was exacerbated by the numerous failed boundary studies over the past several years. Option H gives these haters the perfect opportunity to destroy one of the "W" schools. This is why they oppose even a bare minimum remediation of the problems with the current Wootton building - and yet are perfectly happy to remediate the building as a holding school or for other uses - just not for Wootton to remain there.

Hopefully now you understand that the bolded above is not an unhinged perception, particularly where remediation of Wootton would be the least disruptive option, and where other schools could very easily fill Crown. Also, let's not forget what Option H would cheat many Gaithersburg families out of a new school building that they were expecting.

PP here. Still don’t get it.

For starters, I don’t see how this plan would “destroy” Wootton. I don’t see how you conclude that a significant portion, or any, poster has “opposed bare minimum remediation” at the current Wootton building. And it seems that you define “least disruptive option” to be very narrowly focused on students who are currently zoned to attend Wootton in the next handful of years, as opposed to “in the best interest of all of MCPS” which should be the goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

I generally bristle at the use of this word, but the bolded is...unhinged.

Do you really think it is more likely that this poster has some sort of deep animosity for the amorphous "Wootton" that they are motivated from spite, or is it possible more likely that they evaluated the option and arrive at a different conclusion?

You must be new here. There is an ongoing animosity by many loud trolls on DCUM towards the "W schools" in MoCo (Wootton, Churchill, Whitman, Walter Johnson). It generally stems from the perception that the kids going to "W" schools are white, rich, privileged, and treat those schools as their own private schools, keeping out anyone who doesn't live in Potomac, Bethesda, and North Bethesda. This feeling was exacerbated by the numerous failed boundary studies over the past several years. Option H gives these haters the perfect opportunity to destroy one of the "W" schools. This is why they oppose even a bare minimum remediation of the problems with the current Wootton building - and yet are perfectly happy to remediate the building as a holding school or for other uses - just not for Wootton to remain there.

Hopefully now you understand that the bolded above is not an unhinged perception, particularly where remediation of Wootton would be the least disruptive option, and where other schools could very easily fill Crown. Also, let's not forget what Option H would cheat many Gaithersburg families out of a new school building that they were expecting.

PP here. Still don’t get it.

For starters, I don’t see how this plan would “destroy” Wootton. I don’t see how you conclude that a significant portion, or any, poster has “opposed bare minimum remediation” at the current Wootton building. And it seems that you define “least disruptive option” to be very narrowly focused on students who are currently zoned to attend Wootton in the next handful of years, as opposed to “in the best interest of all of MCPS” which should be the goal.

I guess you haven't read this thread or the other one discussing Option H then. You'll see quite a few posts pushing Option H and opposing any other option. Then again, you could be right and all those posts are from the same troll.

Yes, it's the "least disruptive option" for Wootton families, namely, thousands of families whose lives would be disrupted by moving to Crown. This direct impact is and should be the foremost consideration. An amorphous claim that closure of Wootton and moving to Crown is the only option that is in the best interests of all of MCPS doesn't come close to outweighing this impact.

Please explain how a bare minimum remediation of Wootton and allowing it to stay in its current location would be against the best interests of MCPS. Make sure to also include how a forced move of Wootton to Crown would negatively affect other families who are not zoned to attend Wootton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

The land available from tearing down Wootton would not result in a "massive new residential development". I drive down that road often as I live very close to it. But people are happy to create traffic in my neighborhood as well.

Why do you think that? It could easily fit a couple hundred townhouses and we need more housing. The county could give the developers the land at a reduced price so there’s more affordable housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning Wootton HS as a holding school is just an option for future projects which won't happen probably at the earliest until Damascus HS is fully renovated/rebuilt. It all depends on the mcps enrollment numbers and money fund. If there is not enough mcps enrollment and no money, they may not need a holding school or push the idea of turning Wootton HS as a holding school more later like a decade or two later. It is just my thoughts. We don't need a holding school or permanent Crown HS when mcps is currently underenrolled.

Yeah definitely better to have a huge abandoned building right on Wootton pkwy for the foreseeable future. Also if you have ever talked to anyone in construction-the longer a building sits empty like that, its condition just gets considerably worse.

You must be new around here. The Wootton building won't be abandoned. MCPS will sell the land to a developer for cheap to build new housing that will then feed into Crown. Maybe even a townhouse development that will vastly increase traffic on Wootton Parkway.

Keeping Wootton where it is controls traffic speeds and increases safety along Wootton Parkway.

You will make up anything to keep your school where it is, won't you?

A townhouse development would not add more traffic than your existing school. But if it did, how is that different than development in any other part of county?

What are you talking about? It's a narrow, 2-lane road surrounded by exercise trails and residential neighborhoods. A massive new residential development is guaranteed to increase traffic, just like building a brand new school in an already traffic congested area. Oh wait, MCPS already did that - and you want to make traffic around Crown even worse?

You're so desperate to stick it to Wootton and feel that you're this >< close to achieving your lifelong dream with Option H.

Just admit that you don't live in Wootton and don't care about Wootton families.

I generally bristle at the use of this word, but the bolded is...unhinged.

Do you really think it is more likely that this poster has some sort of deep animosity for the amorphous "Wootton" that they are motivated from spite, or is it possible more likely that they evaluated the option and arrive at a different conclusion?

You must be new here. There is an ongoing animosity by many loud trolls on DCUM towards the "W schools" in MoCo (Wootton, Churchill, Whitman, Walter Johnson). It generally stems from the perception that the kids going to "W" schools are white, rich, privileged, and treat those schools as their own private schools, keeping out anyone who doesn't live in Potomac, Bethesda, and North Bethesda. This feeling was exacerbated by the numerous failed boundary studies over the past several years. Option H gives these haters the perfect opportunity to destroy one of the "W" schools. This is why they oppose even a bare minimum remediation of the problems with the current Wootton building - and yet are perfectly happy to remediate the building as a holding school or for other uses - just not for Wootton to remain there.

Hopefully now you understand that the bolded above is not an unhinged perception, particularly where remediation of Wootton would be the least disruptive option, and where other schools could very easily fill Crown. Also, let's not forget what Option H would cheat many Gaithersburg families out of a new school building that they were expecting.

PP here. Still don’t get it.

For starters, I don’t see how this plan would “destroy” Wootton. I don’t see how you conclude that a significant portion, or any, poster has “opposed bare minimum remediation” at the current Wootton building. And it seems that you define “least disruptive option” to be very narrowly focused on students who are currently zoned to attend Wootton in the next handful of years, as opposed to “in the best interest of all of MCPS” which should be the goal.

I guess you haven't read this thread or the other one discussing Option H then. You'll see quite a few posts pushing Option H and opposing any other option. Then again, you could be right and all those posts are from the same troll.

Yes, it's the "least disruptive option" for Wootton families, namely, thousands of families whose lives would be disrupted by moving to Crown. This direct impact is and should be the foremost consideration. An amorphous claim that closure of Wootton and moving to Crown is the only option that is in the best interests of all of MCPS doesn't come close to outweighing this impact.

Please explain how a bare minimum remediation of Wootton and allowing it to stay in its current location would be against the best interests of MCPS. Make sure to also include how a forced move of Wootton to Crown would negatively affect other families who are not zoned to attend Wootton.

Seems to me that you think that anybody that disagrees with your view is somehow a "troll" with a "lifelong dream" to "destroy Wootton." That is indeed unhinged. Some people may just see it as the best option for all of MCPS. Do you really not think that there is room for logical and rational difference of opinion on this that is not rooted in animus for Wootton students?

Yes, parents and students who live near Wootton and planned to attend that building will be impacted. Travel to school will be more complicated. That is a negative. Positives for those families include a better building sooner. Positives for the entire district include a more even distribution of enrollment based on latest data-driven projections and better use of taxpayer resources.

I honestly see both sides of this one. And I understand why some/many Wootton families would object. It is not what they planned for. I get that. But some of the arguments feel very NIMBY to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton does not have to sit empty with the neighborhood losing a school.

Move Wootton to Crown.

MCPS should make the current Wootton building (after renovations) a central location for all special needs programs from PEP to 12th grade or more. It is easier to get to Wootton since it is centrally located.

As it is all schools are having issues with SES kids, so having a school for them with dedicated resources will be a good thing for them as well as the NT kids.

And what better location than Wootton?

Are you kidding me? Crown is way more centrally located and easier to access. Wootton is farther away from most schools

Looking just now at google maps, the drive times from Damascus, Einstein, Kennedy and Sherwood, four schools mentioned earlier in this thread, are all between 23 and 27 minutes. For some, it is 3 or 4 minutes faster to Wootton. For others, it is 3 or 4 minutes faster to Crown.

Of course, these numbers would go up during the weekday with traffic, but they would remain relatively similar in comparison. Any difference, here, is like the difference in walk zones -- one or other set of neighborhoods might benefit at the expense of the other, but neither holding school option, Wootton or Crown, really presents a significant differential walk zone benefit to the county as a whole, and the same goes for drive-time access by communities needing a holding facility.

It would be better to concentrate on other aspects of the options when suggesting there is a relative benefit in one or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton does not have to sit empty with the neighborhood losing a school.

Move Wootton to Crown.

MCPS should make the current Wootton building (after renovations) a central location for all special needs programs from PEP to 12th grade or more. It is easier to get to Wootton since it is centrally located.

As it is all schools are having issues with SES kids, so having a school for them with dedicated resources will be a good thing for them as well as the NT kids.

And what better location than Wootton?

I honestly don’t know if you guys are just being purposely dense at this point or you really don’t see how incredibly stupid it is to keep insisting the school is renovated FOR SOMETHING else but not to stay Wootton. If the school is going to be renovated and not sit empty then it should absolutely be renovated for Wootton. It makes absolutely no sense to have no problem with the school being renovated for literally any other use but have a problem for it to be renovated for the current community.

The renovations that MCPS envisions as being necessary to bring a holding facility up to usability ("anyone can tolerate such conditions for 2 or so years...") are significantly different from those they envision as being necessary when addressing a facility to be occupied long term by a single community. At the same time, the relatively large planning, start-up, etc., costs and financially unaccoun community impacts associated with capital projects mean that they wouldn't engage in a project that only would go that part way (up to holding school usability) to be followed by one that would go the rest of the way (up to lomg-term usability by a single community).

The costs for that holding-school usability project for Wootton, should Wootton move to Crown, would be considerably less than those for the various scopes which would be, or previously have been, considered for Wootton renovation if Wootton were to remain open at its current location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To those in the immediate vicinity of Wootton who are expressing concerns about community use:

Why, aside from walkability to events from your property, would using Crown prevent the same kind of use when the activity would be oriented towards Wootton students? Must you always be able to be the ones walking where others must drive?

Why, when the activity was not Wootton-student-oriented, would continuing to use the old Wootton facility to achieve walkability be any different? Do you think the administration of whichever school occupies that as a holding facility would not afford you the same community use that the county requires each school to provide?

Is it not good enough that you have Frost MS, which would continue operation, right next door?

Well there is a collaboration between Wootton and Frost that would absolutely be lost by changing Wootton’s location. But as a parent who lives very close to Wootton-Having an unused school just right in the center of Wootton parkway is my bigger concern. I’m fine having the kids moved temporarily to Crown while Wootton is at least somewhat remediated-But to just have an empty school indefinitely is not ok.

DP. It's intended to be a holding school, not an empty school indefinitely.

Then as it’s been stated numerous times on this thread-if they can fix it to be a holding school-they can fix it for the current Wootton.

+1 That's all Wootton parents are asking for - they are willing to wait their turn for a full renovation until 2035.

Why are the posters on this thread opposed to that? They keep saying that there are other schools worse off than Wootton. Fine, then bus those kids to Crown to fill it up. But I bet their parents don't want them bussed to Crown any more than Wootton parents want their kids bussed to Crown.

No, they want an immediate replacement or renovation. They are not willing to wait.

This is 100% not true. We want the pressing things fixed asap but we absolutely know we can’t have a full renovation now.

Be real. It cannot be fixed and you want priority ven though other schools are worse.

Of course it can be fixed.

Not without great cost and time. Better to tear it down and replace.

Why in the world would you tear Wootton down? 1/2 the building was added in 2001. What are you talking about. The issues are in the old part of the building. It’s only that part that requires replacement or extensive renovation.

Because it’s cheaper and easier to tear it down with plumbing, electrical and mold. If they got a new half in 2001 they should stop complaining as some schools haven’t been renovated ever or 50+ years. You are offered a new school. Take it or get to the back of the line.

That’s a lie to entice Wootton to accept this deal. How is it cheaper if it costs 400 million? Have some common sense!

How much do you think the repairs will cost?

87 million per last year
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OMB/Resources/Files/omb/pdfs/fy26/ciprec/P652115.pdf

This sounds more like the full-scale renovation being discussed, not remediation of the existing, older part of the facility. The $72M figure is "beyond 6 years", which would correspond to the current plan to renovate in 2035.

The 2035 plan is rebuild. Wootton was on CIP for a long time and they have clear numbers which are not that high.

Indeed. How many millions will it take to move Wootton to Crown? How much will it cost MoCo with increased traffic around Crown from Wootton families moving there? Seems like a bargain to remediate Wootton for its immediate issues, then wait 10 years to spend the projected $72M to do a full renovation.

Short answer: not as much as would be saved by moving it to Crown.