Woodward Auditorium Construction Advocacy Ahead of Monday County Council Meeting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happened at the hearing today?

Evan Glass was the only one to suggest the funding be used for school construction. He was outvoted.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

This is pretty disingenuous when you are asking for advocacy for an auditorium and other communities are advocating for space to relieve overcrowding in school or to fix mold or provide ADA accommodation.

Make the case for why this auditorium is more important than all those other needs and more important Thant what the council is already proposing.

DP. Why is it disingenuous? If Northwood families don't advocate for themselves, who will advocate for them?

Because it said “Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.” The reality is that no one in another cluster or another school for that matter is an interested party in getting the auditorium. Particular if it means that other equally or more needed projects continue to get delayed

Any of the clusters included in the Woodward study might have an interest.

The Woodward Study should be renamed. This is really a realignment of several middle school and high school boundaries - it's just not about Woodward. The DCC needs to be part of the name of the study. That current name is intentional, so DCC families don't realize they need to pay attention to it. This has been going on for five years now.

It’s doubtful that it will really impact DCC. So, why would they care. It may pull from Rockville but that’s it.

Stop spreading misinformation.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

Not that PP.

Great. Now let's see all clusters, especially W's, from where, presumably, the necessary tax revenue would disproportionately come on a per-household basis, advocate for that very much needed, inside-the-beltway/east of Rock Creek high school that was strawmanned down to clear the way for capital to be spent on the Woodward reopening.

Which high school is that?

The one that they knew was needed, but, because of a lack of consideration, planning for which was abandoned with justification from poor mock-ups and land acquisition cost estimates to pave the way for alternate use of the capital for Wooodward.

Are you talking about the hospital site in Takoma Park? I think it would be a great site for a new HS.

Which money would MCPS buy it with?

I know! All the money should go to Bethesda because they pay the most taxes.

Nobody said that. Which money would MCPS buy the former Adventist hospital site in Takoma Park with?

Whether that or some other site, it would be the same funds used for other capital improvements. Immaterial are the facts that MoCo doesn't pony up enough to cover the need and that the metric for meeting the need is not how much money is spent for an area but how well the system provides public facilities for an area relative to the other areas served. Some places cost more than others to provide similar service levels.

Well, no, it wouldn't. Because MCPS doesn't need to buy property it already owns.

Well, sure. Then a zero cost (other than the admin work involved in the transfer) would come from the same capital improvements budget. MCPS didn't own the hospital site, though. Or the Discovery site. And each had drawbacks.

There were others they might have considered, or considered differently, but thinking about those may have been limited if the purpose of the study was simply to show how difficult it would be so that focus could shift to Woodward.

Such as?

Jessup Blair Park was one.

Owned by M-NCPPC, therefore not legally possible. What other sites?

You haven't seen them use park land before???

No. Please provide an example of M-NCPPC-owned park land converted to a MCPS school that isn't Rock Creek Hills Local Park, which was transferred from MCPS with the provision that MCPS could reclaim it if the land was ever needed for a school. For reference, Kelley Park is owned by the City of Gaithersburg, not M-NCPPC.

[Anonymous]

Unless they cut CO bloat. I cannot support these expenditures.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

This is pretty disingenuous when you are asking for advocacy for an auditorium and other communities are advocating for space to relieve overcrowding in school or to fix mold or provide ADA accommodation.

Make the case for why this auditorium is more important than all those other needs and more important Thant what the council is already proposing.

DP. Why is it disingenuous? If Northwood families don't advocate for themselves, who will advocate for them?

Because it said “Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.” The reality is that no one in another cluster or another school for that matter is an interested party in getting the auditorium. Particular if it means that other equally or more needed projects continue to get delayed

Any of the clusters included in the Woodward study might have an interest.

The Woodward Study should be renamed. This is really a realignment of several middle school and high school boundaries - it's just not about Woodward. The DCC needs to be part of the name of the study. That current name is intentional, so DCC families don't realize they need to pay attention to it. This has been going on for five years now.

It’s doubtful that it will really impact DCC. So, why would they care. It may pull from Rockville but that’s it.

Stop spreading misinformation.

Okay, let's be honest. Nobody cares about the DCC. It's an afterthought. That's why DCC schools are so overcrowded whereas Bethesda schools get build or renovated so much sooner.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

This is pretty disingenuous when you are asking for advocacy for an auditorium and other communities are advocating for space to relieve overcrowding in school or to fix mold or provide ADA accommodation.

Make the case for why this auditorium is more important than all those other needs and more important Thant what the council is already proposing.

DP. Why is it disingenuous? If Northwood families don't advocate for themselves, who will advocate for them?

Because it said “Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.” The reality is that no one in another cluster or another school for that matter is an interested party in getting the auditorium. Particular if it means that other equally or more needed projects continue to get delayed

Any of the clusters included in the Woodward study might have an interest.

The Woodward Study should be renamed. This is really a realignment of several middle school and high school boundaries - it's just not about Woodward. The DCC needs to be part of the name of the study. That current name is intentional, so DCC families don't realize they need to pay attention to it. This has been going on for five years now.

It’s doubtful that it will really impact DCC. So, why would they care. It may pull from Rockville but that’s it.

Stop spreading misinformation.

Okay, let's be honest. Nobody cares about the DCC. It's an afterthought. That's why DCC schools are so overcrowded whereas Bethesda schools get build or renovated so much sooner.

And how does that explain Bethesda school WJ having to wait for relief from their absurd overcrowding until after DCC school Northwood has been rebuilt?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

Not that PP.

Great. Now let's see all clusters, especially W's, from where, presumably, the necessary tax revenue would disproportionately come on a per-household basis, advocate for that very much needed, inside-the-beltway/east of Rock Creek high school that was strawmanned down to clear the way for capital to be spent on the Woodward reopening.

Which high school is that?

The one that they knew was needed, but, because of a lack of consideration, planning for which was abandoned with justification from poor mock-ups and land acquisition cost estimates to pave the way for alternate use of the capital for Wooodward.

Are you talking about the hospital site in Takoma Park? I think it would be a great site for a new HS.

Which money would MCPS buy it with?

I know! All the money should go to Bethesda because they pay the most taxes.

Nobody said that. Which money would MCPS buy the former Adventist hospital site in Takoma Park with?

Whether that or some other site, it would be the same funds used for other capital improvements. Immaterial are the facts that MoCo doesn't pony up enough to cover the need and that the metric for meeting the need is not how much money is spent for an area but how well the system provides public facilities for an area relative to the other areas served. Some places cost more than others to provide similar service levels.

Well, no, it wouldn't. Because MCPS doesn't need to buy property it already owns.

Well, sure. Then a zero cost (other than the admin work involved in the transfer) would come from the same capital improvements budget. MCPS didn't own the hospital site, though. Or the Discovery site. And each had drawbacks.

There were others they might have considered, or considered differently, but thinking about those may have been limited if the purpose of the study was simply to show how difficult it would be so that focus could shift to Woodward.

Such as?

Jessup Blair Park was one.

Jesup Blair Park was considered during an elementary school site selection process, but not for a holding school for Northwood/new high school.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/AWNNJB60226E/$file/SSAC%20Report%20New%20Downcounty%20ES.pdf

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BAEVW7736805/$file/Northwood%20HS%20Holding%20Ctr%20Eval%20MGT%20Consulting%20Grp%20190314%20PPT.pdf

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

Not that PP.

Great. Now let's see all clusters, especially W's, from where, presumably, the necessary tax revenue would disproportionately come on a per-household basis, advocate for that very much needed, inside-the-beltway/east of Rock Creek high school that was strawmanned down to clear the way for capital to be spent on the Woodward reopening.

Which high school is that?

The one that they knew was needed, but, because of a lack of consideration, planning for which was abandoned with justification from poor mock-ups and land acquisition cost estimates to pave the way for alternate use of the capital for Wooodward.

Are you talking about the hospital site in Takoma Park? I think it would be a great site for a new HS.

Which money would MCPS buy it with?

I know! All the money should go to Bethesda because they pay the most taxes.

Nobody said that. Which money would MCPS buy the former Adventist hospital site in Takoma Park with?

Whether that or some other site, it would be the same funds used for other capital improvements. Immaterial are the facts that MoCo doesn't pony up enough to cover the need and that the metric for meeting the need is not how much money is spent for an area but how well the system provides public facilities for an area relative to the other areas served. Some places cost more than others to provide similar service levels.

Well, no, it wouldn't. Because MCPS doesn't need to buy property it already owns.

Well, sure. Then a zero cost (other than the admin work involved in the transfer) would come from the same capital improvements budget. MCPS didn't own the hospital site, though. Or the Discovery site. And each had drawbacks.

There were others they might have considered, or considered differently, but thinking about those may have been limited if the purpose of the study was simply to show how difficult it would be so that focus could shift to Woodward.

Such as?

Jessup Blair Park was one.

Jesup Blair Park was considered during an elementary school site selection process, but not for a holding school for Northwood/new high school.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/AWNNJB60226E/$file/SSAC%20Report%20New%20Downcounty%20ES.pdf

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BAEVW7736805/$file/Northwood%20HS%20Holding%20Ctr%20Eval%20MGT%20Consulting%20Grp%20190314%20PPT.pdf

The site selection committees really need to stop including MNCPPC-owned park land when they evaluate possible sites - except for ones that MCPS used to own. MNCPPC-owned park land is not a possible site.

[Anonymous]

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MoCo Council’s Joint Operating Committee for Government Opportunities and Economic Development will be meeting at 9am Monday morning (4/29). Several councilmembers have put forward bills and are requesting to fund them using the County’s reserves. The merits of these bills notwithstanding, they should be funded through the regular budget as operating expenses. Reserves are intended for special, one-time cases like the auditorium at Woodward High School. The Northwood community is asking for parents to contact the County Council prior to the meeting tomorrow (4/29) to express concern and ask that these funds be used for the auditorium.

In the case of many Northwood families, please email: [e-mail]

Here's a sample letter that you can use:
***
Dear [Councilmember Stewart],

My name is ___________ and I live in ____________. I/my child(ren) attend/graduated Northwood High School and they will attend Northwood@Woodward, also known as NorthWoodward.

After decades of fighting for a new high school and being promised that our holding facility would provide the full range of academic and programmatic infrastructure, it is egregious that construction of the auditorium at Woodward is being delayed to Phase III. I am requesting that the County Council allocate $20 million from its reserves for this one-time, non-recurring expense to keep the auditorium’s construction on schedule and part of Phase II.

I am disappointed that there are several bills currently under consideration that would tap into the reserves. Those proposals should be funded through the budget as operating expenses. I urge you and your colleagues to instead use reserve funds to ensure students in the Down County Consortium have equitable access to high school programming.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Street Address
City State
Email

If this is meant for Northwood stakeholders, it'd better say "to ensure the auditorium is completed by this summer" instead of "part of Phase II." Phase II is whst helps the WJ folks -- construction while Northwood temporarily occupies Phase I.

It's not that I don't think the students/community that ultimately occupies a completed Woodward shouldn't have an auditorium, but let's not co-opt Northwood folks to advocate for anything less than having access to an on-campus auditorium themselves.

Completing the auditorium by this summer is not on the table. Northwood families knew their first year at Woodward would be without an auditorium. But they were expecting it to be available for the second (and now, third) year. That can still happen if funding is secured.

Then they should be getting Woodward families to advocate for its completion by next summer at the latest. Asking Northwood families to advocate for something that would only benefit them for a single year if it doesn't slip again (as many of these things do) is asking DCC to carry the W's water.

It's pretty bad, no matter how you look at it, but, without getting something more substantive, the political capital is better spent elsewhere.

There are no Woodward families yet.

This. Eventually, Woodward families will come from WJ, DCC, and maybe even Whitman and BCC. But in true MCPS fashion, no one yet knows who will be a Woodward family

Sure, no one knows with absolute certainty until approval, but the writing is on the wall and you have the order a bit out of whack:

WJ, primarily.

Then adjustments to Whitman, BCC, Einstein and Wheaton, but not clearing the projected overcrowding of the latter two. More of Einstein might be sent east to Northwood when it's complete (partially). Blair would see more students passing right by on the way to Northwood, too.

A very small number of DCC students accessing the Woodward magnet program when that can be stood up (? Phase III).

The end result will be relatively comfortable capacity and relatively reasonable catchment boundaries for the Ws/BCC, and continued overcrowding and less reasonable catchment boundaries for the DCC.

What Woodward magnet program? Will Woodward even be in the DCC?

I haven’t seen anything confirming either of those points, just some wishful speculation on this board. Curious whether there’s something more concrete I haven’t heard.

I'm curious about this too. I haven't heard a thing. I wonder if they will decide before or after the boundary study?

The DCC schools are treated as one cluster in terms of capacity planning since there is "school choice." They've created special programs to pull kids to different schools depending on space. Once the Northwood build is done, when Woodward opens, according to mcps projections, it should be able to relieve the overcapacity of WJ and the DCC with a bit of room to spare. It is MCPS's job to puzzle out boundary lines and figure out which cluster to position it in to give them the most flexibility. I'm betting they put it in the DCC for maximum flexibility. I personally don't think it should be its own cluster. Just more administrative bloat and high admin salaries to pay if they do that.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

Not that PP.

Great. Now let's see all clusters, especially W's, from where, presumably, the necessary tax revenue would disproportionately come on a per-household basis, advocate for that very much needed, inside-the-beltway/east of Rock Creek high school that was strawmanned down to clear the way for capital to be spent on the Woodward reopening.

Which high school is that?

The one that they knew was needed, but, because of a lack of consideration, planning for which was abandoned with justification from poor mock-ups and land acquisition cost estimates to pave the way for alternate use of the capital for Wooodward.

Are you talking about the hospital site in Takoma Park? I think it would be a great site for a new HS.

Which money would MCPS buy it with?

I know! All the money should go to Bethesda because they pay the most taxes.

Nobody said that. Which money would MCPS buy the former Adventist hospital site in Takoma Park with?

Whether that or some other site, it would be the same funds used for other capital improvements. Immaterial are the facts that MoCo doesn't pony up enough to cover the need and that the metric for meeting the need is not how much money is spent for an area but how well the system provides public facilities for an area relative to the other areas served. Some places cost more than others to provide similar service levels.

Well, no, it wouldn't. Because MCPS doesn't need to buy property it already owns.

Well, sure. Then a zero cost (other than the admin work involved in the transfer) would come from the same capital improvements budget. MCPS didn't own the hospital site, though. Or the Discovery site. And each had drawbacks.

There were others they might have considered, or considered differently, but thinking about those may have been limited if the purpose of the study was simply to show how difficult it would be so that focus could shift to Woodward.

Such as?

Jessup Blair Park was one.

Interesting site, with a historical house in the middle of it. That park is 15 acres. In contrast, BCC HS is 16 acres and a really tight fit.

You should look at the thoughts they mocked up for use of the Discovery site. Just an office building. No campus.

Even with traditional facilities (ball fields, etc.), you can fit a HS on less if you spend the $ to build up. Happens in some city environments.

Historical structures can be moved. The park goes nearly unused, especially by MoCo residents -- it's closer to many in DC.

Build up - can you cite some examples of high schools that build-up, and have ballfields and other traditional facilities? What are the capacities for these schools?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

This is pretty disingenuous when you are asking for advocacy for an auditorium and other communities are advocating for space to relieve overcrowding in school or to fix mold or provide ADA accommodation.

Make the case for why this auditorium is more important than all those other needs and more important Thant what the council is already proposing.

DP. Why is it disingenuous? If Northwood families don't advocate for themselves, who will advocate for them?

Because it said “Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.” The reality is that no one in another cluster or another school for that matter is an interested party in getting the auditorium. Particular if it means that other equally or more needed projects continue to get delayed

Any of the clusters included in the Woodward study might have an interest.

The Woodward Study should be renamed. This is really a realignment of several middle school and high school boundaries - it's just not about Woodward. The DCC needs to be part of the name of the study. That current name is intentional, so DCC families don't realize they need to pay attention to it. This has been going on for five years now.

It’s doubtful that it will really impact DCC. So, why would they care. It may pull from Rockville but that’s it.

Stop spreading misinformation.

Given the location, you think they are going to pull from the DCC schools? No, they will shift things around a bit but the bulk will come from WJ.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

Not that PP.

Great. Now let's see all clusters, especially W's, from where, presumably, the necessary tax revenue would disproportionately come on a per-household basis, advocate for that very much needed, inside-the-beltway/east of Rock Creek high school that was strawmanned down to clear the way for capital to be spent on the Woodward reopening.

Which high school is that?

The one that they knew was needed, but, because of a lack of consideration, planning for which was abandoned with justification from poor mock-ups and land acquisition cost estimates to pave the way for alternate use of the capital for Wooodward.

Are you talking about the hospital site in Takoma Park? I think it would be a great site for a new HS.

Which money would MCPS buy it with?

I know! All the money should go to Bethesda because they pay the most taxes.

Nobody said that. Which money would MCPS buy the former Adventist hospital site in Takoma Park with?

Whether that or some other site, it would be the same funds used for other capital improvements. Immaterial are the facts that MoCo doesn't pony up enough to cover the need and that the metric for meeting the need is not how much money is spent for an area but how well the system provides public facilities for an area relative to the other areas served. Some places cost more than others to provide similar service levels.

Well, no, it wouldn't. Because MCPS doesn't need to buy property it already owns.

Well, sure. Then a zero cost (other than the admin work involved in the transfer) would come from the same capital improvements budget. MCPS didn't own the hospital site, though. Or the Discovery site. And each had drawbacks.

There were others they might have considered, or considered differently, but thinking about those may have been limited if the purpose of the study was simply to show how difficult it would be so that focus could shift to Woodward.

Such as?

Jessup Blair Park was one.

Interesting site, with a historical house in the middle of it. That park is 15 acres. In contrast, BCC HS is 16 acres and a really tight fit.

You should look at the thoughts they mocked up for use of the Discovery site. Just an office building. No campus.

Even with traditional facilities (ball fields, etc.), you can fit a HS on less if you spend the $ to build up. Happens in some city environments.

Historical structures can be moved. The park goes nearly unused, especially by MoCo residents -- it's closer to many in DC.

Build up - can you cite some examples of high schools that build-up, and have ballfields and other traditional facilities? What are the capacities for these schools?

Given the consortium, they don't need all schools to have everything DCC. Most kids never use the ball fields and it's only the sports kids. Sports kids could go to other schools or they could do it off campus, like they do for swim.

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MoCo Council’s Joint Operating Committee for Government Opportunities and Economic Development will be meeting at 9am Monday morning (4/29). Several councilmembers have put forward bills and are requesting to fund them using the County’s reserves. The merits of these bills notwithstanding, they should be funded through the regular budget as operating expenses. Reserves are intended for special, one-time cases like the auditorium at Woodward High School. The Northwood community is asking for parents to contact the County Council prior to the meeting tomorrow (4/29) to express concern and ask that these funds be used for the auditorium.

In the case of many Northwood families, please email: [e-mail]

Here's a sample letter that you can use:
***
Dear [Councilmember Stewart],

My name is ___________ and I live in ____________. I/my child(ren) attend/graduated Northwood High School and they will attend Northwood@Woodward, also known as NorthWoodward.

After decades of fighting for a new high school and being promised that our holding facility would provide the full range of academic and programmatic infrastructure, it is egregious that construction of the auditorium at Woodward is being delayed to Phase III. I am requesting that the County Council allocate $20 million from its reserves for this one-time, non-recurring expense to keep the auditorium’s construction on schedule and part of Phase II.

I am disappointed that there are several bills currently under consideration that would tap into the reserves. Those proposals should be funded through the budget as operating expenses. I urge you and your colleagues to instead use reserve funds to ensure students in the Down County Consortium have equitable access to high school programming.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Street Address
City State
Email

If this is meant for Northwood stakeholders, it'd better say "to ensure the auditorium is completed by this summer" instead of "part of Phase II." Phase II is whst helps the WJ folks -- construction while Northwood temporarily occupies Phase I.

It's not that I don't think the students/community that ultimately occupies a completed Woodward shouldn't have an auditorium, but let's not co-opt Northwood folks to advocate for anything less than having access to an on-campus auditorium themselves.

Completing the auditorium by this summer is not on the table. Northwood families knew their first year at Woodward would be without an auditorium. But they were expecting it to be available for the second (and now, third) year. That can still happen if funding is secured.

Then they should be getting Woodward families to advocate for its completion by next summer at the latest. Asking Northwood families to advocate for something that would only benefit them for a single year if it doesn't slip again (as many of these things do) is asking DCC to carry the W's water.

It's pretty bad, no matter how you look at it, but, without getting something more substantive, the political capital is better spent elsewhere.

There are no Woodward families yet.

This. Eventually, Woodward families will come from WJ, DCC, and maybe even Whitman and BCC. But in true MCPS fashion, no one yet knows who will be a Woodward family

Sure, no one knows with absolute certainty until approval, but the writing is on the wall and you have the order a bit out of whack:

WJ, primarily.

Then adjustments to Whitman, BCC, Einstein and Wheaton, but not clearing the projected overcrowding of the latter two. More of Einstein might be sent east to Northwood when it's complete (partially). Blair would see more students passing right by on the way to Northwood, too.

A very small number of DCC students accessing the Woodward magnet program when that can be stood up (? Phase III).

The end result will be relatively comfortable capacity and relatively reasonable catchment boundaries for the Ws/BCC, and continued overcrowding and less reasonable catchment boundaries for the DCC.

What Woodward magnet program? Will Woodward even be in the DCC?

I haven’t seen anything confirming either of those points, just some wishful speculation on this board. Curious whether there’s something more concrete I haven’t heard.

I'm curious about this too. I haven't heard a thing. I wonder if they will decide before or after the boundary study?

The DCC schools are treated as one cluster in terms of capacity planning since there is "school choice." They've created special programs to pull kids to different schools depending on space. Once the Northwood build is done, when Woodward opens, according to mcps projections, it should be able to relieve the overcapacity of WJ and the DCC with a bit of room to spare. It is MCPS's job to puzzle out boundary lines and figure out which cluster to position it in to give them the most flexibility. I'm betting they put it in the DCC for maximum flexibility. I personally don't think it should be its own cluster. Just more administrative bloat and high admin salaries to pay if they do that.

Given more new condos and apartments on the Pike going in, it's only going to be overcrowded in a matter of time. I don't think they will put it in the DCC because of distance/location and its not easily accessible to most families.

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

Not that PP.

Great. Now let's see all clusters, especially W's, from where, presumably, the necessary tax revenue would disproportionately come on a per-household basis, advocate for that very much needed, inside-the-beltway/east of Rock Creek high school that was strawmanned down to clear the way for capital to be spent on the Woodward reopening.

Which high school is that?

The one that they knew was needed, but, because of a lack of consideration, planning for which was abandoned with justification from poor mock-ups and land acquisition cost estimates to pave the way for alternate use of the capital for Wooodward.

Are you talking about the hospital site in Takoma Park? I think it would be a great site for a new HS.

Which money would MCPS buy it with?

I know! All the money should go to Bethesda because they pay the most taxes.

Nobody said that. Which money would MCPS buy the former Adventist hospital site in Takoma Park with?

Whether that or some other site, it would be the same funds used for other capital improvements. Immaterial are the facts that MoCo doesn't pony up enough to cover the need and that the metric for meeting the need is not how much money is spent for an area but how well the system provides public facilities for an area relative to the other areas served. Some places cost more than others to provide similar service levels.

Well, no, it wouldn't. Because MCPS doesn't need to buy property it already owns.

Well, sure. Then a zero cost (other than the admin work involved in the transfer) would come from the same capital improvements budget. MCPS didn't own the hospital site, though. Or the Discovery site. And each had drawbacks.

There were others they might have considered, or considered differently, but thinking about those may have been limited if the purpose of the study was simply to show how difficult it would be so that focus could shift to Woodward.

Such as?

Jessup Blair Park was one.

Interesting site, with a historical house in the middle of it. That park is 15 acres. In contrast, BCC HS is 16 acres and a really tight fit.

You should look at the thoughts they mocked up for use of the Discovery site. Just an office building. No campus.

Even with traditional facilities (ball fields, etc.), you can fit a HS on less if you spend the $ to build up. Happens in some city environments.

Historical structures can be moved. The park goes nearly unused, especially by MoCo residents -- it's closer to many in DC.

Build up - can you cite some examples of high schools that build-up, and have ballfields and other traditional facilities? What are the capacities for these schools?

Not the PP, but I wish the Planning and Central Office folks were better at using their imaginations. Not everything needs to be a traditional high school with a football team and pom squad. So, for example, I think MCPS is leasing out a handful of locations in Takoma Park, specifically to Adventist private schools. If MCPS took back those properties when the lease runs out, they could run a bus at lunchtime to bring Blair kids back to the main campus. The magnet classes are "blocked" anyway, so you could have them at the satellite campus for a half day and still be back 45 minutes before the after-lunch classes start.

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Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other capital projects that have been delayed for over a decade? Is the auditorium more important?

Do you have HS students? Ones who perform in school plays or musicals? Ones who play an instrument in the band or orchestra? Ones who sing in a chorus? Do you participate in grade-level meetings for parents? All of these and more take place in the auditorium that every other HS in the county has. This is about access and equity, and yes, it's more important than other capital projects, because you don't build 97% of a new HS, you build 100%

Woodward, rebuilt ahead of multiple other capital projects that were on the list for rebuilding first. Take your 97% of a school and be grateful.

The perennial MCPS Capital projects problem: Overcrowded schools get funded before schools that aren't overcrowded.

The DCC schools were overcrowded before WJ. It's just that westside parents have more influence so you went to the front of the line.

Please stop all this east side/west side stuff. Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.

This is pretty disingenuous when you are asking for advocacy for an auditorium and other communities are advocating for space to relieve overcrowding in school or to fix mold or provide ADA accommodation.

Make the case for why this auditorium is more important than all those other needs and more important Thant what the council is already proposing.

DP. Why is it disingenuous? If Northwood families don't advocate for themselves, who will advocate for them?

Because it said “Interested parties from all clusters should be coming together to advocate for this funding to be restored.” The reality is that no one in another cluster or another school for that matter is an interested party in getting the auditorium. Particular if it means that other equally or more needed projects continue to get delayed

Any of the clusters included in the Woodward study might have an interest.

The Woodward Study should be renamed. This is really a realignment of several middle school and high school boundaries - it's just not about Woodward. The DCC needs to be part of the name of the study. That current name is intentional, so DCC families don't realize they need to pay attention to it. This has been going on for five years now.

It’s doubtful that it will really impact DCC. So, why would they care. It may pull from Rockville but that’s it.

While you might not think DCC will be impacted, the DCC high schools and their feeder MSs are included in the "Woodward" study. Lots of things are in play here.