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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What did everyone think of the speeches today? [/quote]

I learned a lot actually. It does sound like MCPS jumped the gun and there's too many unanswered questions. Why did they go back and amend the scope of the boundary study for EFG and not H? Feels like H was a last minute add, and I'm not comfortable going forward with it was so many unanswered questions.

I also really really appreciated Magruder's testimony. It was powerful. 
There's no conceivable argument I can come up with for why Magruder or any other school would want Wootton over Crown.

Here's a copy and paste:

Good afternoon Dr. Taylor, President Rivera-Oven, and Members of the Board,
My name is Kim Glassman. I am the Magruder PTSA President, and parent of two MCPS
students. I am testifying today to encourage the Board to reject Option H, and reject using the
current Wootton as a holding school. In the current plan, despite having the worst Facility
Condition Index of all MCPS high schools, Magruder may finally reach the front of the line to be
renovated around 2031, assuming there are no further delays between now and then. Option H
makes more delays even more likely.
I have spent years hearing about the dilapidated conditions at Wootton. Though our FCI is
worse, I’m told Wootton appears worse. If the Wootton facility is so bad that Wootton must move
into Crown right away, then it is not good enough for our less connected, quieter, and less
wealthy community to be used as a holding school. If the mold, mildew, rat infestation, gas
leaks, HVAC, and plumbing issues are too much, then it is certainly not going to be better 5
years from now when it is finally Magruder’s turn. Preparing Wootton to be a holding school
would take more time and more money, which only pushes Magruder’s long overdue renovation
out even further. Magruder does not have more time to wait.
Our cluster is divided between three BOE districts. Flower Hill, Mill Creek and Resnik ES are in
district one. Shady Grove is in district two, and Magruder, Redland, and its feeder elementary
schools are in district 5. We are a community with a high percentage of FARMS, ever FARMS,
and EML families.
There are already significant transportation barriers in our community. There is no bus that runs
down Snouffer School to Magruder, which makes it challenging for district 1 families to access
Magruder. The shortest route from Flower Hill to Wootton requires a bus to the metro, a metro
ride to Rockville, and then another bus to Wootton. The high school is often used as a larger
space for events for the cluster and by feeder schools, such as for concerts or promotion
ceremonies. It takes twice as long to get from the District 1 area to Wootton as it does to get to
the Crown area. Making Wootton our "home" for years adds a layer of inaccessibility for our
families.
I support having a holding school. I do not support Wootton being our holding school. Magruder
needs to be renovated as quickly as possible. We cannot afford more delays by first preparing a
facility we know is almost as bad as ours to be a holding school. What will it take to prioritize
Magruder? Is it another ceiling falling during a show, perhaps landing on the audience? More
days of missed instruction due to lack of A/C? We were told that the order of renovation and
construction is decided based on math. Mathematically, Magruder is the next high school after
Damascus and 7th on the overall list of schools prioritized for major construction projects. In
Option H, Wootton jumps the line, and Magruder has to wait even longer. Please reject Option
H.
Thank you,
Kim Glassman[/quote]

I don't get this. What does she want? I think I get her concern, but I don't see how any of the plausible alternatives to H create a better situation. Not going with H means there won't be a holding school and there will be less money for capital improvements elsewhere.[/quote]

You forgot that crown as holding school has three options on the table. If there has to be a holding school, then it has to be crown. Even Magruder and Damascus do not want Wootton to be holding school. Why you want to force three clusters to accept something they don’t want?

[/quote]

She didn't say what she wants. She suggests Crown would be better for them, although I think she's exaggerating the difference, but she never says she wants a particular option. Or even clearly that she want Crown to be a holding school.

Besides H, the other holding school options look exceedingly unlikely. So playing this out, MCPS would have more schools to operate, maintain and renovate, ultimately slowing down things for Magruder. Surely she knows that. What's her objective here?[/quote]

I’m very confused. Why is having crown as the holding school less likely when that’s literally what three other options (EFG) is about? If you didn’t know that, you are obviously not following this. Her point is using Wootton makes no sense. Using Wootton means Wootton does jump the line to get renovated first, which will take another 3-4 years, then Damascus and Magruder get to use it as a holding school.

Also, you know what’s crazier? MCPS has done feasibility and cost studies for using crown as a holding school. Its own internal documents say crown would be a great holding school due to its access. It says that it is a great location for the countless schools that need renovations, and how it would save a lot of money and time.

And you know what’s the craziest part? MCPS has never done this feasibility and cost analysis for using Wootton as a holding school.

[/quote]

Are you people ok? To the people going but there’s no other holding school option besides Wootton—are you actually stupid? Crown is the holding school.
Options EFG has this.

On 10/30, BOE voted to expand the scope of the boundary study to allow options that uses crown as a holding school. That’s why there’s feasibility and cost analysis on this.

Funny enough when the amends the scope of the boundary study to include crown as a holding school, they said no other changes to scope will be made.

Then they randomly go and add H anyways. And no studies have been made on wootton’s feasibility or cost as a holding school.

Logic dictates that a new school off 270 is safer and more convenient for everyone to use as a holding school.

If you are still saying but we need a holding school and Wootton is the only option, you either can’t read or don’t care enough to even find out what the other options are.

For the dumbasses who keep saying but what do you want?

Options E F or G[/quote]

Does anyone really think they'd use Crown as a holding school for Damascus? That's the only scenario where people might be coming south on 270.

If they would actually be willing to do that, then I see the logic in Crown as a holding school, but that seems implausible to me.[/quote]

Why is it implausible when that’s what EFG is about? Why is using Wootton better? I’m going to quote MCPS own documents: literally says Crown is the ideal opportunity

“Crown HS’s location in the center of the county offers an ideal opportunity for a secondary swing that can
benefit several secondary schools. Of the initial 50 schools on which MCPS performed FCIs that have
identified capital and infrastructure needs, five are within a 20-minute drive of Crown HS, with others just
outside. The five within the 20-minute drive time include: Gaithersburg MS, Redland MS, Magruder HS,
Wooton HS, and Robert Frost MS. Just outside are Eastern MS, Newport Mill MS, White Oak MS, Sligo
MS, and Damascus HS.”

Don’t take my word. Take MCPS own words.[/quote]

Just because it's an option doesn't mean it's a plausible option. Crown isn't 20 minutes away from Damascus when schools open and close.

I don't think Wootton is a more plausible alternative holding school for Damascus. I think Damascus will do the longer, phased renovation. I think they might not use Wootton as a holding school until and unless there are enrollment projections requiring long-term capacity increases west of 270.[/quote]

Wait I thought it we had a money problem? Doing it onsight means more money.

Again these are Mcps words not mine:

“Across all options, the least expensive capital investment is renewal with
off-site swing, followed by on-site new build, and the costliest being phased-occupation renewal.”

Your phased renovation is the most expensive according—again—to Mcps.
Using crown as a swing school according—again—to Mcps is the cheapest.[/quote]

LOL phased in renovation? Are you lol living in lala land? We’re in this position because Mcps has no money (remember they lost $40 million in state money because they couldn’t submit a few forms properly).

If you think we have money for the most expensive option of phased in renovation, I’m sure that person who keeps trying to sell bridges can sell a bridge to you. [/quote]

No money for you. Plenty for Taylor’s pet projects.  [/quote]

Taylor doesn’t want his shiny new building used as a holding school for Damascus or Magruder . He wants to transplant Wootton into Crown. High performing kids in a state of the art building will cause an influx of families to the new Wootton boundary and dramatically increase real estate values/rents in Crown. He can then arrange for lots of STEM internships at the biotech companies surrounding Crown. Essentially, he wants to turn Crown into the MCPS version of Thomas Jefferson in NoVa. [/quote]

crazy that people really think this is the way it works[/quote]

Hi Dr. Taylor!  Or do you just work for him?

I’d love to hear someone ask him a question based on this premise and see his facial expressions/body language.

Crown High School is a key anchor for the entire Crown area. Billions invested in development. Using it as a holding school will flush these dollars down the toilet. Organic permanent student growth won’t help Crown’s businesses and real estate recover from such a blow. Crown won’t be a shiny new building and the surrounding businesses will have moved on with any further investment. Taylor has to strike now or his backers will lose all confidence in him. [/quote]

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