Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If the recommendation is to rebuild Damascus on-site, then does Wootton sit empty or does the Magruder renovation get to happen sooner?

Sits empty. Wootton needs to be fixed before it can be a holding school, which isn’t funded yet.

I hadn't heard this. What are the repairs MCPS says need to be made in order for Wootton to be used as a holding school?

Taylor never said this and it can’t sit empty because that would delay the Damascus and Magruder renovations. Taylor has said that he needs a holding school, and he can’t use Woodward for this purpose anymore. So he cooked up Option H to try and scoop up Wootton and transplant its high achieving kids into Crown - a win-win for him, but a lose-lose for Wootton.

Its a win for the high-achieving students to have brand new facilities... especially for stem.

If that’s the case, why are the vast majority of Wootton parents opposed to Option H? Seems line you want something (in a different building miles away) for Wootton that it didn’t ask for. Taylor may agree with you, but Wootton families don’t.

Because...racism. They would rather have their kids in a building with mold, dead rodents, and routine gas leaks than be zoned to go to a brand new school with kids from Gaithersburg. That says...everything.

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Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to build a new HS when enrollment is declining.

Thanks, Captain Obvious. But Crown was built based on growth assumptions that didn’t materialize. Are you suggesting they should have left it half-finished when enrollments started to decline?

It makes sense to close Wootton the building, and move the students to Crown, a brand new school. Makes no sense to have an additional HS when enrollment is down.

It makes sense to use Crown as a holding school instead of closing a high performing school that has been its location for 55 years. MCPS did that with Woodward, so why can’t it do it again?

Most of us see right through this “closing” language you all are insisting on—it’s simply for your legal argument— but no one else buys it. Keeping 4/5 feeder schools together in a new building close by (same zip code as DuFief, SMES and Travilah and closer to all three campuses than current Wootton building!) and moving out only the one (Cold Spring) that specifically asked to be transferred to Churchill if implementing Option H does not constitute a “closing”; this is a move. A move that, by accepting the demand of Cold Spring, also demonstrates community feedback was incorporated.

Woodward was used as a holding school for one specific HS to be renovated. There would be no point in using a new state of the art building as a holding school indefinitely.

At the end of the day, if adding in one new elementary school (FRES) + one of the most affluent places in Gaithersburg (Downtown Crown) constitutes “closing down” a school, that’s really a you problem as opposed to one for the county. And given QO was at 122% capacity and Wootton under capacity, it’s quite conceivable FRES could have been moved to Wootton at some point anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to build a new HS when enrollment is declining.

Thanks, Captain Obvious. But Crown was built based on growth assumptions that didn’t materialize. Are you suggesting they should have left it half-finished when enrollments started to decline?

It makes sense to close Wootton the building, and move the students to Crown, a brand new school. Makes no sense to have an additional HS when enrollment is down.

It makes sense to use Crown as a holding school instead of closing a high performing school that has been its location for 55 years. MCPS did that with Woodward, so why can’t it do it again?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to build a new HS when enrollment is declining.

Thanks, Captain Obvious. But Crown was built based on growth assumptions that didn’t materialize. Are you suggesting they should have left it half-finished when enrollments started to decline?

It makes sense to close Wootton the building, and move the students to Crown, a brand new school. Makes no sense to have an additional HS when enrollment is down.

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Anonymous wrote:If the recommendation is to rebuild Damascus on-site, then does Wootton sit empty or does the Magruder renovation get to happen sooner?

Sits empty. Wootton needs to be fixed before it can be a holding school, which isn’t funded yet.

I hadn't heard this. What are the repairs MCPS says need to be made in order for Wootton to be used as a holding school?

Taylor never said this and it can’t sit empty because that would delay the Damascus and Magruder renovations. Taylor has said that he needs a holding school, and he can’t use Woodward for this purpose anymore. So he cooked up Option H to try and scoop up Wootton and transplant its high achieving kids into Crown - a win-win for him, but a lose-lose for Wootton.

Its a win for the high-achieving students to have brand new facilities... especially for stem.

If that’s the case, why are the vast majority of Wootton parents opposed to Option H? Seems line you want something (in a different building miles away) for Wootton that it didn’t ask for. Taylor may agree with you, but Wootton families don’t.

No community facing disruption through this process would have been happy, but there are basically no rational reasons to oppose this for the rest of us, and we outnumber you.

Well, you got the “no rational reasons” part right, but that applies to Option H. What you’re saying is that you don’t care what the people most affected think because “we outnumber you” (ie mob mentality and “might makes right”).

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the recommendation is to rebuild Damascus on-site, then does Wootton sit empty or does the Magruder renovation get to happen sooner?

Sits empty. Wootton needs to be fixed before it can be a holding school, which isn’t funded yet.

I hadn't heard this. What are the repairs MCPS says need to be made in order for Wootton to be used as a holding school?

Taylor never said this and it can’t sit empty because that would delay the Damascus and Magruder renovations. Taylor has said that he needs a holding school, and he can’t use Woodward for this purpose anymore. So he cooked up Option H to try and scoop up Wootton and transplant its high achieving kids into Crown - a win-win for him, but a lose-lose for Wootton.

Its a win for the high-achieving students to have brand new facilities... especially for stem.

If that’s the case, why are the vast majority of Wootton parents opposed to Option H? Seems line you want something (in a different building miles away) for Wootton that it didn’t ask for. Taylor may agree with you, but Wootton families don’t.

No community facing disruption through this process would have been happy, but there are basically no rational reasons to oppose this for the rest of us, and we outnumber you.

My man over here bakin' up truthcakes. SALUTE

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the recommendation is to rebuild Damascus on-site, then does Wootton sit empty or does the Magruder renovation get to happen sooner?

Sits empty. Wootton needs to be fixed before it can be a holding school, which isn’t funded yet.

I hadn't heard this. What are the repairs MCPS says need to be made in order for Wootton to be used as a holding school?

Taylor never said this and it can’t sit empty because that would delay the Damascus and Magruder renovations. Taylor has said that he needs a holding school, and he can’t use Woodward for this purpose anymore. So he cooked up Option H to try and scoop up Wootton and transplant its high achieving kids into Crown - a win-win for him, but a lose-lose for Wootton.

Its a win for the high-achieving students to have brand new facilities... especially for stem.

If that’s the case, why are the vast majority of Wootton parents opposed to Option H? Seems line you want something (in a different building miles away) for Wootton that it didn’t ask for. Taylor may agree with you, but Wootton families don’t.

No community facing disruption through this process would have been happy, but there are basically no rational reasons to oppose this for the rest of us, and we outnumber you.

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Anonymous wrote:The Rockville Mayor and City Counsil are advocating for a "Modified Recommendation" where the superintendant's recommendation is implemented (moving Cold Spring to Churchill, sending Fields Roads + Rosemont to Crown) but the rest of Crown will be filled as a temporary holding school for Wootton and Magruder kids. Then a boundary study can be done to fill the remainder of Crown once Wootton and Magruder are done being renovated.

If they care about keeping the school in Rockville they should not advocate for this extremely unlikely option and instead support Taylor's second option (modified D). That plan only moves DuFief out of Wootton while keeping the Rockville feeder schools together @ Wootton in 20850. Given DuFief is the only current Wootton ES in that plan that is 100% in the 20878 zip code (ie not Rockville), this should be no issue for them. Why bend over backwards for DuFief when they are not even in Rockville/20850?

Because D would open a completely new school and cost more money than Option H; you have to staff the teachers, admins, grounds staff, everything to create a brand new high school. Given the budget constraints on MCPS, that's less of a likely scenario.

Instead, Rockville City Council and mayor are bowing to the most likely scenario that Wootton students will have to go to the Crown building in 2027, regardless of if it's a temporary move or a permanent move, simply because the Crown building is opening and the current Wootton site needs repairs. What they're hoping by proposing this modified recommendation is the promise / funding of the Wootton site re-opening as a school later, rather than leaving the current Wootton site status up in the air.

You are not "bowing" to the idea of going to Crown in 2027 for a potential renovation when your school is not even on the CIP right now. There's no reason to believe enrollment will recover with the current birth rate and out migration. If it doesn't make sense to open HS 27 right now, there's no indication it will in the future. Let alone fund another boundary study, confirm funding for building a new Wootton etc. Also, the former plans for Wootton rennovation were NOT a new building and did NOT suggest need to use a holding school. They suggested building a new wing in one of the parking lots...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Rockville Mayor and City Counsil are advocating for a "Modified Recommendation" where the superintendant's recommendation is implemented (moving Cold Spring to Churchill, sending Fields Roads + Rosemont to Crown) but the rest of Crown will be filled as a temporary holding school for Wootton and Magruder kids. Then a boundary study can be done to fill the remainder of Crown once Wootton and Magruder are done being renovated.

If they care about keeping the school in Rockville they should not advocate for this extremely unlikely option and instead support Taylor's second option (modified D). That plan only moves DuFief out of Wootton while keeping the Rockville feeder schools together @ Wootton in 20850. Given DuFief is the only current Wootton ES in that plan that is 100% in the 20878 zip code (ie not Rockville), this should be no issue for them. Why bend over backwards for DuFief when they are not even in Rockville/20850?

Because D would open a completely new school and cost more money than Option H; you have to staff the teachers, admins, grounds staff, everything to create a brand new high school. Given the budget constraints on MCPS, that's less of a likely scenario.

Instead, Rockville City Council and mayor are bowing to the most likely scenario that Wootton students will have to go to the Crown building in 2027, regardless of if it's a temporary move or a permanent move, simply because the Crown building is opening and the current Wootton site needs repairs. What they're hoping by proposing this modified recommendation is the promise / funding of the Wootton site re-opening as a school later, rather than leaving the current Wootton site status up in the air.

Anonymous wrote:The Rockville Mayor and City Counsil are advocating for a "Modified Recommendation" where the superintendant's recommendation is implemented (moving Cold Spring to Churchill, sending Fields Roads + Rosemont to Crown) but the rest of Crown will be filled as a temporary holding school for Wootton and Magruder kids. Then a boundary study can be done to fill the remainder of Crown once Wootton and Magruder are done being renovated.

If they care about keeping the school in Rockville they should not advocate for this extremely unlikely option and instead support Taylor's second option (modified D). That plan only moves DuFief out of Wootton while keeping the Rockville feeder schools together @ Wootton in 20850. Given DuFief is the only current Wootton ES in that plan that is 100% in the 20878 zip code (ie not Rockville), this should be no issue for them. Why bend over backwards for DuFief when they are not even in Rockville/20850?

Anonymous wrote:Makes zero sense to build a new HS when enrollment is declining.

Thanks, Captain Obvious. But Crown was built based on growth assumptions that didn’t materialize. Are you suggesting they should have left it half-finished when enrollments started to decline?

Makes zero sense to build a new HS when enrollment is declining.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:At a minimum, Crown should be used as a holding school for Magruder. It would allow the Magruder repairs to be completed much quicker than if they have to wait to fix Wootton before they can use that as their holding school.

And if Taylor wants to use Wootton as a holding school, then there is no reason to move Wootton to Crown unless it is declared unfit for human habitation - which means that MCPS is officially closing Wootton. In that case, MCPS must comply with COMAR regulations, which it hasn’t. Taylor is trying to get around this failure by moving the boundary at the same time he moves Wootton’s kids over to Crown (but not all Wootton kids).

The parents and kids are saying its unfit...

Parents and kids say that about a dozen schools in MCPS. Do they all get new buildings for complaining? Is that the new standard? Wootton families did complain and were on the CIP 3 different times. Today they’re not asking for renovation anymore- just fix a few immediate problems (like many other schools).

No, our kids aren’t getting new schools. They asked for it and got it. We get nothing.

Wootton didn’t ask for Crown, nor was it built for Wootton. It was built for Gaithersburg, with many families getting screwed by Option H because their kids now can’t go to Crown.

Try again.

Right, the issue is that Crown was built with some assumptions in mind: high school enrollment would go up, Gaithersburg high schools would be overcrowded, a new high school would be needed.

Those assumptions are no longer valid, but the high school is built. So, MCPS and us as a community have to pivot and answer a different question: what is the best use of this new building given the reality now?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:At a minimum, Crown should be used as a holding school for Magruder. It would allow the Magruder repairs to be completed much quicker than if they have to wait to fix Wootton before they can use that as their holding school.

And if Taylor wants to use Wootton as a holding school, then there is no reason to move Wootton to Crown unless it is declared unfit for human habitation - which means that MCPS is officially closing Wootton. In that case, MCPS must comply with COMAR regulations, which it hasn’t. Taylor is trying to get around this failure by moving the boundary at the same time he moves Wootton’s kids over to Crown (but not all Wootton kids).

This isn't true. No evidence that a rebuild is a closure. And in fact buildings have been rebuilt on several occasions without it triggering closure requirements.

If Wootton is going to be used as a holding school, there is no reason to close it, move the Wootton boundary to encompass Crown, and transplant the Wootton kids into Crown.

If Taylor officially condemns Wootton’s building, slates it for demolition, and agrees NEVER to use the current building as a holding school, then Option H would make a bit more sense. If he won’t, then this is all a charade to cover up his incompetence or intentional plan to avoid using Crown as a holding school.

Option H does make sense given timing. The Crown building is slated to open in 2027, the need for a holding school will be sometime in the future after 2027, and current enrollment doesn't require a 27th high school.

The current Wootton site is probably going to sit empty for a couple years after Wootton moves to Crown until the holding school is needed.

The point is that if Wootton will be used as the holding school, then it can be operated where it is right now. Crown can be used as a holding school because that gives MCPS the flexibility it needs - just like Woodward is today. Instead, Option H closes a high performing school.

Option H moves Wootton; 5 out of 6 of the elementary schools are staying in the boundary, all the administrators and teachers are moving to the new location. If it was a closure, the admins and teachers would be dispersed among other schools in MCPS.

The current Wootton site as a holding school is the most flexible, since MCPS doesn't have plans to use a holding school by 2027. The needed renovations for Wootton can be delayed until money is budgeted and a holding school is actually needed.

The Crown site will be ready for students by 2027, so either it sits empty waiting for MCPS to need a holding school or it's used for its intended purpose as a high school. Moving Wootton to Crown just makes the most sense given the situation.

Crown won’t sit empty if it’s filled with the Gaithersburg kids for which it was originally built. Any excess can be used as a holding school for phased renovation of Damascus and Magruder.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the recommendation is to rebuild Damascus on-site, then does Wootton sit empty or does the Magruder renovation get to happen sooner?

Sits empty. Wootton needs to be fixed before it can be a holding school, which isn’t funded yet.

I hadn't heard this. What are the repairs MCPS says need to be made in order for Wootton to be used as a holding school?

Taylor never said this and it can’t sit empty because that would delay the Damascus and Magruder renovations. Taylor has said that he needs a holding school, and he can’t use Woodward for this purpose anymore. So he cooked up Option H to try and scoop up Wootton and transplant its high achieving kids into Crown - a win-win for him, but a lose-lose for Wootton.

Its a win for the high-achieving students to have brand new facilities... especially for stem.

If that’s the case, why are the vast majority of Wootton parents opposed to Option H? Seems line you want something (in a different building miles away) for Wootton that it didn’t ask for. Taylor may agree with you, but Wootton families don’t.