Emergency Legal Filing Seeks to Halt MCPS Plan to Close Wootton High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

This isn’t really about “wait until it happens to you.” It’s about recognizing that decisions like this set a precedent. If a school can be relocated after years of renovation being deferred, with limited options presented late in the process, that’s a model that can be applied elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

This isn’t really about “wait until it happens to you.” It’s about recognizing that decisions like this set a precedent. If a school can be relocated after years of renovation being deferred, with limited options presented late in the process, that’s a model that can be applied elsewhere.

I would hope so. Getting a new building is a good outcome for most. You're just salty your kids school will say Gaithersburg, kind of hard to humble drop Potomac when you kids go to school in North North North Potomac

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope out of all of this, comes the realization to Taylor that he needs to actually talk with communities, not just talk at them, after the fact. But, he isn't a listener, so I am guessing that this lesson will be lost upon him.

It is apparent that nothing could have been said to satisfy certain parts of this community. Hopefully this is dismissed quickly and we can all move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

I’m a Cold Spring mom and fully expect to have our school closed in the next round. I am grateful because the school isn’t up to modern standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Copilot says:

Under Maryland state law, the process for closing a public school involves several steps to ensure that the decision is made fairly and transparently. The local board of education must consider various factors before making a decision to close a school. These factors include student enrollment trends, the age or condition of school buildings, transportation, educational programs, racial composition of the student body, financial considerations, student relocation, and the impact on the community in the geographic attendance area for the school proposed to be closed and the schools to which students will be relocating.

The process includes a public hearing to allow citizens to submit their views, adequate notice to parents and guardians of students in attendance at all schools being considered for closure, and a final decision announced at a public session. The final decision must include the rationale for the school closing and address the impact on the factors set forth in the regulation. Additionally, the decision must be announced to the community in the geographic attendance area of the school proposed to be closed and the schools to which students will be relocating.

It feels like they have done all this except they didn't use the word closure, which makes sense since they are opening the school in a different building.

The Save Wootton people are wasting their money but at least they are helping some lawyers make a nice living.

No, they are wasting our tax dollars because MCPS will have to defend this frivolous law suit. I hope for a SLAP response (where lovers have to pay winners legal fees)

Were you equally upset when MCPS decided to go all the way to SCOTUS in Mahmoud v. Taylor?

Dad's.

Oh, not this irrelevant stuff again.

Also, SLAPP doesn't apply and it probably won't be too expensive to litigate because it goes to administrative judges.

Mahmoud was litigated by MCPS on ideological grounds. It had an easy off ramp, but it refused to take it.

Prime example of wasted litigation funds by MCPS.

And is the boundary study somehow ideological? They moved a high school because enrollment didn't support opening a new one and they even kept the majority of the boundary together.

The references to Mahmoud are irrelevant.

So it is ok to waste taxpayer money on trendy ideological cases but not on boring procedural cases. Is that your point?

Not PP but actually, yes. I am proud to be part of a system that fights to ensure that religious fanatics don't overtake our schools and that all humans are seen as equal and worthy of inclusion in our curriculum. Although it was a lot of money to spend, it was money spent on an important principle. This will be money spent (wasted) because Wootton parents are big mad about getting bad real estate advice which is not a principle or ethical issue to defend.

Do people who make this argument ever read their own sentences? So all humans are equal and worthy… except for the “religious fanatics?”

There is no humility that government mandated attendance means that schools should try to appeal to and respect the entire community. And respect doesn’t mean espousing beliefs of all parts of the community; it means doing its best to not offend parts of the diverse community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Copilot says:

Under Maryland state law, the process for closing a public school involves several steps to ensure that the decision is made fairly and transparently. The local board of education must consider various factors before making a decision to close a school. These factors include student enrollment trends, the age or condition of school buildings, transportation, educational programs, racial composition of the student body, financial considerations, student relocation, and the impact on the community in the geographic attendance area for the school proposed to be closed and the schools to which students will be relocating.

The process includes a public hearing to allow citizens to submit their views, adequate notice to parents and guardians of students in attendance at all schools being considered for closure, and a final decision announced at a public session. The final decision must include the rationale for the school closing and address the impact on the factors set forth in the regulation. Additionally, the decision must be announced to the community in the geographic attendance area of the school proposed to be closed and the schools to which students will be relocating.

It feels like they have done all this except they didn't use the word closure, which makes sense since they are opening the school in a different building.

The Save Wootton people are wasting their money but at least they are helping some lawyers make a nice living.

No, they are wasting our tax dollars because MCPS will have to defend this frivolous law suit. I hope for a SLAP response (where lovers have to pay winners legal fees)

Were you equally upset when MCPS decided to go all the way to SCOTUS in Mahmoud v. Taylor?

Dad's.

Oh, not this irrelevant stuff again.

Also, SLAPP doesn't apply and it probably won't be too expensive to litigate because it goes to administrative judges.

Mahmoud was litigated by MCPS on ideological grounds. It had an easy off ramp, but it refused to take it.

Prime example of wasted litigation funds by MCPS.

And is the boundary study somehow ideological? They moved a high school because enrollment didn't support opening a new one and they even kept the majority of the boundary together.

The references to Mahmoud are irrelevant.

So it is ok to waste taxpayer money on trendy ideological cases but not on boring procedural cases. Is that your point?

Not PP but actually, yes. I am proud to be part of a system that fights to ensure that religious fanatics don't overtake our schools and that all humans are seen as equal and worthy of inclusion in our curriculum. Although it was a lot of money to spend, it was money spent on an important principle. This will be money spent (wasted) because Wootton parents are big mad about getting bad real estate advice which is not a principle or ethical issue to defend.

Do people who make this argument ever read their own sentences? So all humans are equal and worthy… except for the “religious fanatics?”

There is no humility that government mandated attendance means that schools should try to appeal to and respect the entire community. And respect doesn’t mean espousing beliefs of all parts of the community; it means doing its best to not offend parts of the diverse community.

DP

If one part of the community is offended by the literal existence of another part of the community, the solution does not involve banning books that include the part of the community that the other part of the community objects to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Copilot says:

Under Maryland state law, the process for closing a public school involves several steps to ensure that the decision is made fairly and transparently. The local board of education must consider various factors before making a decision to close a school. These factors include student enrollment trends, the age or condition of school buildings, transportation, educational programs, racial composition of the student body, financial considerations, student relocation, and the impact on the community in the geographic attendance area for the school proposed to be closed and the schools to which students will be relocating.

The process includes a public hearing to allow citizens to submit their views, adequate notice to parents and guardians of students in attendance at all schools being considered for closure, and a final decision announced at a public session. The final decision must include the rationale for the school closing and address the impact on the factors set forth in the regulation. Additionally, the decision must be announced to the community in the geographic attendance area of the school proposed to be closed and the schools to which students will be relocating.

It feels like they have done all this except they didn't use the word closure, which makes sense since they are opening the school in a different building.

The Save Wootton people are wasting their money but at least they are helping some lawyers make a nice living.

No, they are wasting our tax dollars because MCPS will have to defend this frivolous law suit. I hope for a SLAP response (where lovers have to pay winners legal fees)

Were you equally upset when MCPS decided to go all the way to SCOTUS in Mahmoud v. Taylor?

Dad's.

Oh, not this irrelevant stuff again.

Also, SLAPP doesn't apply and it probably won't be too expensive to litigate because it goes to administrative judges.

Mahmoud was litigated by MCPS on ideological grounds. It had an easy off ramp, but it refused to take it.

Prime example of wasted litigation funds by MCPS.

And is the boundary study somehow ideological? They moved a high school because enrollment didn't support opening a new one and they even kept the majority of the boundary together.

The references to Mahmoud are irrelevant.

So it is ok to waste taxpayer money on trendy ideological cases but not on boring procedural cases. Is that your point?

Not PP but actually, yes. I am proud to be part of a system that fights to ensure that religious fanatics don't overtake our schools and that all humans are seen as equal and worthy of inclusion in our curriculum. Although it was a lot of money to spend, it was money spent on an important principle. This will be money spent (wasted) because Wootton parents are big mad about getting bad real estate advice which is not a principle or ethical issue to defend.

Do people who make this argument ever read their own sentences? So all humans are equal and worthy… except for the “religious fanatics?”

There is no humility that government mandated attendance means that schools should try to appeal to and respect the entire community. And respect doesn’t mean espousing beliefs of all parts of the community; it means doing its best to not offend parts of the diverse community.

Your kids have a right to attend the public school assigned to them. You are never guaranteed a specific school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

I’m a Cold Spring mom and fully expect to have our school closed in the next round. I am grateful because the school isn’t up to modern standards.

Unlikely. Julie Yang cut a deal to preserve Cold Spring, which is also on the CIP for renovation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

I’m a Cold Spring mom and fully expect to have our school closed in the next round. I am grateful because the school isn’t up to modern standards.

Be careful what you wish for. When cold spring closes, I don’t think yall are staying with Churchill… JY won’t be on the board anymore to cut backroom deals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

This isn’t really about “wait until it happens to you.” It’s about recognizing that decisions like this set a precedent. If a school can be relocated after years of renovation being deferred, with limited options presented late in the process, that’s a model that can be applied elsewhere.

I would hope so. Getting a new building is a good outcome for most. You're just salty your kids school will say Gaithersburg, kind of hard to humble drop Potomac when you kids go to school in North North North Potomac

Getting a new building several miles away in a high traffic area was never the plan—people asked for Wootton to be renovated where it is.

This only became about relocation after MCPS deferred renovation multiple times and created a situation where moving the school now solves its own poor planning problems. That may be convenient for MCPS, but it comes at the cost of disrupting an entire established community.

Reducing it to “people just don’t like the label” completely misses that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

This isn’t really about “wait until it happens to you.” It’s about recognizing that decisions like this set a precedent. If a school can be relocated after years of renovation being deferred, with limited options presented late in the process, that’s a model that can be applied elsewhere.

I would hope so. Getting a new building is a good outcome for most. You're just salty your kids school will say Gaithersburg, kind of hard to humble drop Potomac when you kids go to school in North North North Potomac

Getting a new building several miles away in a high traffic area was never the plan—people asked for Wootton to be renovated where it is.

This only became about relocation after MCPS deferred renovation multiple times and created a situation where moving the school now solves its own poor planning problems. That may be convenient for MCPS, but it comes at the cost of disrupting an entire established community.

Reducing it to “people just don’t like the label” completely misses that point.

Sorry you want us all to pay to fix an extra moldy building that isn't needed right now. Not going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

This isn’t really about “wait until it happens to you.” It’s about recognizing that decisions like this set a precedent. If a school can be relocated after years of renovation being deferred, with limited options presented late in the process, that’s a model that can be applied elsewhere.

I would hope so. Getting a new building is a good outcome for most. You're just salty your kids school will say Gaithersburg, kind of hard to humble drop Potomac when you kids go to school in North North North Potomac

Getting a new building several miles away in a high traffic area was never the plan—people asked for Wootton to be renovated where it is.

This only became about relocation after MCPS deferred renovation multiple times and created a situation where moving the school now solves its own poor planning problems. That may be convenient for MCPS, but it comes at the cost of disrupting an entire established community.

Reducing it to “people just don’t like the label” completely misses that point.

It’s a reasonable solution. Lots of kids commute several mikes away. Should we not bus any kids and build more neighborhood schools by your logic? Who pays for that. The school was deferred because other schools needed it more. You lobbied for a solution and got one.

Most of the community is fine with Crown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying all your high taxes for decades, only to have your local school closed down and your students bussed miles away to another community. Like putting away money for a new car, only to have it given to your neighbors on the next block over, who offer to let you come and use it instead of getting your own.
I hope they prevail.

Did you just figure out you live in a society? Taxes fund public schools, but they are not tuition payments. You pay them even if you don’t have kids. And kids who live in cheap apartments and pay very little taxes still get to go to the same school. You pay taxes to the county, and the county decides how to spend it based on who we all vote for. Just like you don’t get better postal service or trash collection or national defense based on how much you pay in taxes, you also don’t get better schools.

I don’t think anyone is confused about how taxes work. No one is saying taxes are tuition or that paying more should get you a better school.

The issue is simpler than that. People expect a public system to plan responsibly and follow through on what it said it was going to do. When that doesn’t happen—and the solution ends up being something much more disruptive—it’s fair to question it.

“You live in a society” doesn’t really answer that. Of course decisions are collective and resources are shared. But that doesn’t mean every decision is automatically the right one, or that communities shouldn’t push back when something doesn’t make sense to them.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about wanting more than anyone else. It’s about expecting consistency and reasonable planning from the system everyone is paying into.

Exactly! Which is why the same people who are bashing Wootton are going to be screaming when their school gets closed in the next round. If it happens to Wootton and you didn’t care, don’t be crying when it happens to you.

This isn’t really about “wait until it happens to you.” It’s about recognizing that decisions like this set a precedent. If a school can be relocated after years of renovation being deferred, with limited options presented late in the process, that’s a model that can be applied elsewhere.

I would hope so. Getting a new building is a good outcome for most. You're just salty your kids school will say Gaithersburg, kind of hard to humble drop Potomac when you kids go to school in North North North Potomac

Getting a new building several miles away in a high traffic area was never the plan—people asked for Wootton to be renovated where it is.

This only became about relocation after MCPS deferred renovation multiple times and created a situation where moving the school now solves its own poor planning problems. That may be convenient for MCPS, but it comes at the cost of disrupting an entire established community.

Reducing it to “people just don’t like the label” completely misses that point.

It’s a reasonable solution. Lots of kids commute several mikes away. Should we not bus any kids and build more neighborhood schools by your logic? Who pays for that. The school was deferred because other schools needed it more. You lobbied for a solution and got one.

Most of the community is fine with Crown.

It’s not really about whether kids can or can’t commute a few miles—of course they do all over the county. The question is whether relocating an entire established school is the best solution compared to other options that were originally on the table.

No one is arguing against shared resources or against prioritization across the CIP. The concern is that Wootton was repeatedly deferred, and then relocation becomes the “solution” that also conveniently resolves a separate capacity issue.

And on “you lobbied for a solution and got one”—that’s exactly the disagreement. People asked for renovation at Wootton. What’s been decided now is not that request being fulfilled in a delayed way, but a fundamentally different decision that comes with much larger community disruption.

As for support in the community, there are clearly a range of views—but disagreement isn’t the same as opposition to Crown itself. The issue for many isn’t the building, it’s the decision to relocate an existing school to fill it.