Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unbelievable that OP feels it’s their duty and job to beg the public to not be critical of the superintendent of our school system who is deciding how to use our tax dollars to educate our kids.

Are you insane?

Furthermore, if Taylor cannot defend his plans or ideas to the public, then they’re probably not sound.

He can’t defend them, but he doesn’t have to because he has the BOE votes in hand before he makes a move. The community is irrelevant unless they speak through the BOE.

Taylor listens to no one. He is always right, didn't you know? I'll be interested to see if he feels shaky ground under a new BOE. If he isn't gone voluntarily by SY 2027, they will take care of that matter for him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, OP. He is trying and we should give it a chance. MCPS employee and MCPS parent here.

+1. He's not been perfect by any means, but he's overall been a change for the better from the previous regime.

McKnight was an incredibly low bar. Try again.

Anonymous wrote:Our schools are a complete mess. For the first time, we have a Superintendent interested in shining a light in dark places and actively working for transparency while trying to make the schools better. Let's give him a chance.

Oh stop it, Essie. Get off DCUM. Taylor set up a bad game of dominoes with his CIP budget. Read Mark Elrich's remarks about the MCPS to gain a rational sense of where Taylor went wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

I don't know why you think that's the quiet part. Of course a holding school brings the least benefit to the surrounding community.

I thought the pro H crowd on this board said the community was irrelevant? Or is it only the Wootton community that is irrelevant. Gaithersburg community is very relevant if it has something to gain.

I didn't say it was a good basis for a decision impacting the entire county. It is just a very natural position for a mayor of Gaithersburg to take. Kind of like if a white supremacist living in the current service area were to speak out against any boundary change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

There are multiple issues and I doubt parents are exaggerating as many of the schools have serous issues. However, who would send their kids to Wootton after all the problems?

So if many schools have the same issues (or are worse off) why aren’t those schools closed or being moved? Wootton parents are oissed at not getting a renovation many years at their current site. Wootton shouldn’t have to be closed, have its boundaries changed, and be moved to a new city in order to eventually get a new building.

This is all to cover for MCPS’ screw up and its desire not to use a shiny new building as a holding school.

It's common for schools- especially high schools- to have their boundaries changed as part of building a new building. Why should Wootton be an exception to that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

I don't know why you think that's the quiet part. Of course a holding school brings the least benefit to the surrounding community.

I thought the pro H crowd on this board said the community was irrelevant? Or is it only the Wootton community that is irrelevant. Gaithersburg community is very relevant if it has something to gain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

I don't know why you think that's the quiet part. Of course a holding school brings the least benefit to the surrounding community.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

There are multiple issues and I doubt parents are exaggerating as many of the schools have serous issues. However, who would send their kids to Wootton after all the problems?

So if many schools have the same issues (or are worse off) why aren’t those schools closed or being moved? Wootton parents are oissed at not getting a renovation many years at their current site. Wootton shouldn’t have to be closed, have its boundaries changed, and be moved to a new city in order to eventually get a new building.

This is all to cover for MCPS’ screw up and its desire not to use a shiny new building as a holding school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

There are multiple issues and I doubt parents are exaggerating as many of the schools have serous issues. However, who would send their kids to Wootton after all the problems?

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Some parents exaggerated. If it was so unsafe (beyond the current news cycle) it would have been closed already. Closing it down and moving kids to Crown only saves MCPS from the embarrassment of building a school based on pre COVID enrollment projections and having to use it as a holding school. The Gaithersburg mayor said the quiet part out loud when he opposed using Crown as a holding school. That won’t attract high income earners to his city, so naturally he wants to transplant the Wootton kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im willing to give it a shot, the hysterics on here might not but forever will be the case. Its "not a home run of what I want", isn't the sound argument you think it is. Saying that every poor kid isn't better off the way you think they should be isn't a management plan either. Balancing modernization at the schools that are working and empowering programs that allow load balancing long term is putting tools in place that can be used going forward is a better plan than currently exists to incorperate flexiblity and student choices

Do you work for MCPS? Cause this was a bunch of word salad.

+1 the PP reads like a parody of BS consultant talk

Sounds like Dr. Taylor when he recommended Option H - “I can’t please everyone “…. He doesn’t seem to want to please anyone but his political bosses.

I can't even figure out which political bosses he's pleasing though. Because he has pissed off every level of government in Rockville with his Option H decision: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/06/rockville-mayor-city-council-members-disappointed-with-superintendent-on-wootton/

Those bosses would be in Gaithersburg, which stands the most to gain from closing Wootton and moving most of its kids to Crown.

Who knows, maybe the City of Rockville will join in the lawsuit or file a friend of the court brief. If that happens, MCPS will tuck tail and run as far away from Option H as it can.

I don't think so.

Gaithersburg was most concerned about Crown being a holding school. They actually wanted Crown to be a brand-new school. Jud Ashman, the mayor of Gaithersburg, is just settling for Wootton moving there since it's better than it being a holding school. He posted this on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GEzRBQF86/

Correct, and that pits Rockville against MCPS and Gaithersburg. Rockville wants to keep Wootton where it is and use Crown as a holding school. Under Option H, Gaithersburg will get the tax revenue and increased property value around Crown, while Rockville loses them.

This may be bigger than Taylor expected, so the BOE might punt for a couple of years to smooth over any ruffled feathers. The smart move would be to keep Wootton and make Crown very attractive for advanced biotech programs. Each city gets something out of that kind of deal.

I agree the ideal thing would be to rebuild Wootton and open Crown, but MCPS can't find the money for both in the CIP and is struggling with the additional admin expenditures of opening a new high school as enrollment declines from the operating budget.

They're screwed and going to piss people off no matter what route they take.

The ideal thing would be to run Crown at lower capacity (with reduced staffing to match), use it as a holding school, or fill it with the Gaithersburg kids to which it was promised. Wootton only requires some minor remediation to fix some plumbing, mold and HVAC issues- some as many other MCPS schools do every year (yes, there were some vocal parents who exaggerated, but they don’t speak for all Wootton families). Wootton can be put on the CIP for a full renovation in 10 years, by which time the Rockville/Gaithersburg area will have grown significantly (and Crown will likely be overcrowded.

Wootton is unsafe for multiple reasons. Sounds like its a good move to shut it down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im willing to give it a shot, the hysterics on here might not but forever will be the case. Its "not a home run of what I want", isn't the sound argument you think it is. Saying that every poor kid isn't better off the way you think they should be isn't a management plan either. Balancing modernization at the schools that are working and empowering programs that allow load balancing long term is putting tools in place that can be used going forward is a better plan than currently exists to incorperate flexiblity and student choices

Do you work for MCPS? Cause this was a bunch of word salad.

+1 the PP reads like a parody of BS consultant talk

Sounds like Dr. Taylor when he recommended Option H - “I can’t please everyone “…. He doesn’t seem to want to please anyone but his political bosses.

I can't even figure out which political bosses he's pleasing though. Because he has pissed off every level of government in Rockville with his Option H decision: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/06/rockville-mayor-city-council-members-disappointed-with-superintendent-on-wootton/

Those bosses would be in Gaithersburg, which stands the most to gain from closing Wootton and moving most of its kids to Crown.

Who knows, maybe the City of Rockville will join in the lawsuit or file a friend of the court brief. If that happens, MCPS will tuck tail and run as far away from Option H as it can.

I don't think so.

Gaithersburg was most concerned about Crown being a holding school. They actually wanted Crown to be a brand-new school. Jud Ashman, the mayor of Gaithersburg, is just settling for Wootton moving there since it's better than it being a holding school. He posted this on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GEzRBQF86/

Correct, and that pits Rockville against MCPS and Gaithersburg. Rockville wants to keep Wootton where it is and use Crown as a holding school. Under Option H, Gaithersburg will get the tax revenue and increased property value around Crown, while Rockville loses them.

This may be bigger than Taylor expected, so the BOE might punt for a couple of years to smooth over any ruffled feathers. The smart move would be to keep Wootton and make Crown very attractive for advanced biotech programs. Each city gets something out of that kind of deal.

Punt how? There's no good way to keep Wootton where it is for now but also have something like Option H on the table later, is there? Once you assign a full school's worth of kids to Crown, you'd have to close Wootton entirely and reassign those kids to a variety of different schools rather than keep them together as Wootton, right?

Simple. You don’t close Wootton and move its kids to Crown (yet, if at all). MCPS can open Crown at 70% capacity or use it as an holding school until everyone figures things out. Wootton’s immediate issues can be fixed, which would need to happen anyway in order to use the building as a holding school. What’s the rush in moving Wootton to Crown? Taylor proposed Option H in early December and made his recommendation less than 2 months later. Not sure why he needed to do that, especially over the holidays (conveniently when people aren’t paying attention).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im willing to give it a shot, the hysterics on here might not but forever will be the case. Its "not a home run of what I want", isn't the sound argument you think it is. Saying that every poor kid isn't better off the way you think they should be isn't a management plan either. Balancing modernization at the schools that are working and empowering programs that allow load balancing long term is putting tools in place that can be used going forward is a better plan than currently exists to incorperate flexiblity and student choices

Do you work for MCPS? Cause this was a bunch of word salad.

+1 the PP reads like a parody of BS consultant talk

Sounds like Dr. Taylor when he recommended Option H - “I can’t please everyone “…. He doesn’t seem to want to please anyone but his political bosses.

I can't even figure out which political bosses he's pleasing though. Because he has pissed off every level of government in Rockville with his Option H decision: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/06/rockville-mayor-city-council-members-disappointed-with-superintendent-on-wootton/

But that's their City-of-Rockville-centric perspective. The county council isn't going to look at it through that same lens.

What was that about the county council not looking at it through the same lens?

Councilmember Andrew Friedson's statement slamming Option H: https://www.facebook.com/share/17KntB9KTe/

Just as I predicted, Taylor bit off a lot more than he can chew and he's pissing off a lot of people in local government.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im willing to give it a shot, the hysterics on here might not but forever will be the case. Its "not a home run of what I want", isn't the sound argument you think it is. Saying that every poor kid isn't better off the way you think they should be isn't a management plan either. Balancing modernization at the schools that are working and empowering programs that allow load balancing long term is putting tools in place that can be used going forward is a better plan than currently exists to incorperate flexiblity and student choices

Do you work for MCPS? Cause this was a bunch of word salad.

+1 the PP reads like a parody of BS consultant talk

Sounds like Dr. Taylor when he recommended Option H - “I can’t please everyone “…. He doesn’t seem to want to please anyone but his political bosses.

I can't even figure out which political bosses he's pleasing though. Because he has pissed off every level of government in Rockville with his Option H decision: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2026/02/06/rockville-mayor-city-council-members-disappointed-with-superintendent-on-wootton/

Those bosses would be in Gaithersburg, which stands the most to gain from closing Wootton and moving most of its kids to Crown.

Who knows, maybe the City of Rockville will join in the lawsuit or file a friend of the court brief. If that happens, MCPS will tuck tail and run as far away from Option H as it can.

I don't think so.

Gaithersburg was most concerned about Crown being a holding school. They actually wanted Crown to be a brand-new school. Jud Ashman, the mayor of Gaithersburg, is just settling for Wootton moving there since it's better than it being a holding school. He posted this on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GEzRBQF86/

Correct, and that pits Rockville against MCPS and Gaithersburg. Rockville wants to keep Wootton where it is and use Crown as a holding school. Under Option H, Gaithersburg will get the tax revenue and increased property value around Crown, while Rockville loses them.

This may be bigger than Taylor expected, so the BOE might punt for a couple of years to smooth over any ruffled feathers. The smart move would be to keep Wootton and make Crown very attractive for advanced biotech programs. Each city gets something out of that kind of deal.

I agree the ideal thing would be to rebuild Wootton and open Crown, but MCPS can't find the money for both in the CIP and is struggling with the additional admin expenditures of opening a new high school as enrollment declines from the operating budget.

They're screwed and going to piss people off no matter what route they take.