Crown boundary study Option H

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has no money for another boundary study, not in near future like 2031. They already have the high school boundary study and regional program study which cost a lot to chew.

They have money for anything important to them.

Equity is more important to them than fixing up a HS that needs repair and has a brand new HS a couple of miles away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

Many of us do realize the commute. At least you’d get a bus, many of our kids don’t and we have to drive. Plus mcps and outside activities. Your comments are our reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has no money for another boundary study, not in near future like 2031. They already have the high school boundary study and regional program study which cost a lot to chew.

They have money for anything important to them.

Equity is more important to them than fixing up a HS that needs repair and has a brand new HS a couple of miles away.

There isn't a brand-new high school. It is only starting to be built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has no money for another boundary study, not in near future like 2031. They already have the high school boundary study and regional program study which cost a lot to chew.

They have money for anything important to them.

Equity is more important to them than fixing up a HS that needs repair and has a brand new HS a couple of miles away.

There isn't a brand-new high school. It is only starting to be built.

Construction is 40% complete.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand what Wootton parents are so upset about. This seems like a great option for everyone. All of Wootton moves to Crown with a handful of kids from walk zone. Wootton gets a great new building, community stays intact, new school is just as strong as old one and it saves the county money.

I get the reaction to adding 1000 G-burg kids but that doesn’t seem to be realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

But right now many current Wootton students are bussed from Dufief, Stone Mill and Travilah areas. I dont understand the difference it would just mean current walkers are no longer walkers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand what Wootton parents are so upset about. This seems like a great option for everyone. All of Wootton moves to Crown with a handful of kids from walk zone. Wootton gets a great new building, community stays intact, new school is just as strong as old one and it saves the county money.

I get the reaction to adding 1000 G-burg kids but that doesn’t seem to be realistic.

They would redistrict it and kids would move around. They don't want to be associated with Gaithersburg. They want to be called Rockville or "North" Potomac (really Gaithersburg).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand what Wootton parents are so upset about. This seems like a great option for everyone. All of Wootton moves to Crown with a handful of kids from walk zone. Wootton gets a great new building, community stays intact, new school is just as strong as old one and it saves the county money.

I get the reaction to adding 1000 G-burg kids but that doesn’t seem to be realistic.

Try 50% of the student population are in that walk zone. Much, much more than a "handful".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

But right now many current Wootton students are bussed from Dufief, Stone Mill and Travilah areas. I dont understand the difference it would just mean current walkers are no longer walkers.

So you want to go from 50% walkers to 0% walkers. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

Many of us do realize the commute. At least you’d get a bus, many of our kids don’t and we have to drive. Plus mcps and outside activities. Your comments are our reality.

But the 50% of walkers don't want to ride bus, and for them, there won't be busses for after school activities.

If you're going to take away something (walkability), you have to give something (busses).

And for the "we need to save the environment crowd", I guess you don't care about the effect that increased traffic will have on it....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

Their “demands” were heard and people who have to take a multitude of things into consideration offered a viable alternative that fulfills the true need, a new safe school. Now Wooten parents can throw temper tantrums if they wish or they can grow up and understand compromise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

But right now many current Wootton students are bussed from Dufief, Stone Mill and Travilah areas. I dont understand the difference it would just mean current walkers are no longer walkers.

So you want to go from 50% walkers to 0% walkers. Got it.

Are you dense? It will not be 0% walkers. It will be a new set of walkers - too bad if it isn't your neighborhood that gets to walk. That is the reality in other parts of the county.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

But right now many current Wootton students are bussed from Dufief, Stone Mill and Travilah areas. I dont understand the difference it would just mean current walkers are no longer walkers.

So you want to go from 50% walkers to 0% walkers. Got it.

Are you dense? It will not be 0% walkers. It will be a new set of walkers - too bad if it isn't your neighborhood that gets to walk. That is the reality in other parts of the county.

Not dense at all. There aren't any walkers to Crown - because Crown doesn't yet exist. But you don't care about the kids who can currently walk to Wootton. I'll bet you don't even have kids that go there, but wish they did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are questions I have for people opposing Option H:

1) If MCPS could guarantee (I know they can't/won't) that the current building wouldn't be neglected and would be upkept to the extent it current is so it wouldn't be an eyesore, would you feel as strongly?

2) If MCPS could guarantee (I know they can't/won't) that the entirety of the current cluster would go to the new school and only be joined by the 500 Gaithersburg residents the documents show rather than the rumored 1000, would you feel as strongly?

I think there is a big faction that would get behind Option H, if you could just guarantee #2 with one major caveat. Crown doesn’t have capacity to enroll all of Wootton and 500 kids from Rosemont and Fields Road. That, plus Taylor’s recent comments that “the majority of Wootton” would be enrolled at Crown has parents anxious that they would be the ones pushed out (especially at Cold Spring and Fallsmead, but to a growing extent at Dufief and Travilah too). If the statement was modified to - the entirety of the current cluster will go to Crown and the rest of the school capacity will be filled with students in the walking zone (which I’m guessing would be closer to 300 kids max), then I think Option H would have wider spread Wootton support - though it’s maybe net neutral movement in terms of support because you’d then lose Gaithersburg support due to the inequities on their side.

I also think there’s a growing and vocal faction of both Fallsmead parents and parents with kids who are currently in Frost/Wootton that these conditions won’t satisfy. These are people who feel Wootton is an important community hub and that the proximity of Frost and Wootton enables a lot of the rigorous programming and school climate that they value and that contribute to the quality of the school. For this group, there isn’t a pathway to make Option H attractive.

Obviously purely a thought exercise, since this doesn’t address current trust levels in MCPS which have never been that high, and are currently severely eroded. In a vacuum, I think there would be a world where Wootton parents could be split in their support for Option H - but in our current reality, I think they’re increasingly united against it.

MCPS does not owe Wootton cluster stakeholders anything more than it does stakholders in other clusters. Any relatively bespoke relationship between the next-door schools that enabled curricular options not available across the system would be an exception rather than a rule, even if having such would be great to have for all MCPS students. I'd support the differential cost/taxes to make it so, but not in an "opportunty for me but not for thee" paradigm.

In any event, it is highly likely that any such option existing because, say, an advanced math teacher from Wootton was available via the short walk between there and Frost also would be the case utilizing similar staff from the HS then using the old Wootton as their swing space.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget.

Exactly, and I get frustration, as Taylor said if the decision was made today to build Crown they would not have done so, that money could have gone towards Damascus Wootton and Magruder replacements. However the reason why Wootton has not been touched for 20-25 years (Churchill got a full renovation and major addition back in 2001 and was about 5 years older so Wootton theoretically should been due in 2006) is because its location and site do not allow for a new school to be built on the fields while students attend the current facility and thus needed a holding school. I don’t know what this was never explicitly stated vs constantly jerking the community along like Charlie Brown and the football. Wootton will never be renovated without a holding school period end of story. It’s also very different than Churchill which has a renovation while students were in side, in Churchills case a big addition was done first which allowed several huge sections of the school to be redone after the addition opened. This isn’t really practical at Wootton as there’s no suitable land to add a massive 600-800 seat addition. The site is too small and has problems.

Not only that but then you add the budget woes, how can you in good faith spend money to rebuild a high school when enrollment is declining and there is no need for Wootton and when one was constructed only a few miles away in Crown (I agree ill advised). There is no need for Woottons seats there will still be 3-4 thousand seats open at the high school level without it once Crown Woodward Northwood and Damascus are done (assuming Magruder gets redone too). Unfortunately with just three high schools over 40 years old the most logical one to close is the one pretty much next to Crown.

All the money could be better spent on renovating/replacing two middle schools or 5-6 elementary schools.

This county needs to rethink things in a big way and that’s inevitably going to mean closing more schools and reasoning students vs pooling money into a million schools that quite frankly are not needed.

Why would Wootton need addition? They have 2200 seats already. Not like other schools only have 1500 which need expansion

My comment on addition at Wootton was in regards to doing a renovation on site. The way the current school is sited and the rest of the land on which it sits, it doesn’t permit for a very large addition which would allow them to work on renovating the rest of the school a section at a time and eventually demolishing another area of the school to use as a field. I think when Churchill was renovated in like 1998-2001 they started with a very large addition which held a lot of students. This let them demolish another existing area of the school (became parking lot to replace the parking that existed where the addition was built) and then they worked on wings of the school renovating one section at a time while students used the new addition and other non-renovated areas of the school, then the newly renovated area opened and a non-renovated area closed to be renovated. What I’m saying is that process isn’t possible at Wootton which means a holding school is required in order to renovate the school. This is why it’s never been done.

Then the question becomes does it make sense to spend $400M on a high school nearby a brand new high school when the county wide excess seats will be more than 5000 at the HS level and there are so many other needs in the county. Closing Damascus isn’t an option given its location, Magruder would be a challenge too. So because of the poor decision to build Crown which was made at a time when it seemed it would be needed, unfortunately logically it makes the most sense to close Wootton and add some money to fix some key areas and use it as a holding school.

There are so many secondary schools that need renovations in the coming decade and having a holding school will be essential.

If we had unlimited money and were in a good economic situation sure rebuild Wootton but the reality is we are not.

Wootton had a large addition back in 2000 too. It’s just the original building part which never got any renovation.
You can’t treat Wootton differently from other schools. Damascus Magruder can have a rebuild but Wootton cannot because of economic situation. Why not moving the other two?

Magruder has some far more serious issues as do other schools.

Either way, I don’t think option H is viable for the such strong opposition from Wootton cluster. MCPS will most likely not push against the whole community and force them to relocate with a boundary process which doesn’t have even sound legal.
Let’s focus on other options.

Of course it is. They demanded a new building and are getting it.

They demanded a new building at the current Wootton site. You conveniently left out that part. As another poster mentioned, Wootton is important to the surrounding community. You might not think 3 miles makes a difference, but it does to parents whose kids walk to and from school. Bussing isn't the answer unless MCPS can guarantee busses for ALL after school and weekend activities to replace walk ability, which it can't.

But right now many current Wootton students are bussed from Dufief, Stone Mill and Travilah areas. I dont understand the difference it would just mean current walkers are no longer walkers.

So you want to go from 50% walkers to 0% walkers. Got it.

Are you dense? It will not be 0% walkers. It will be a new set of walkers - too bad if it isn't your neighborhood that gets to walk. That is the reality in other parts of the county.

Not dense at all. There aren't any walkers to Crown - because Crown doesn't yet exist. But you don't care about the kids who can currently walk to Wootton. I'll bet you don't even have kids that go there, but wish they did.

Why should the system prefer one neighborhood (the one right next to Wootton) with regard to walking over another (the one right next to Crown)?