A lot of posters on here have no idea what they’re talking about. I hate to get sucked in but my children are having such amazing experiences at Potomac that I hate to see the school trashed here. It’s far from southern. It may be in McLean but as kids come from all over (more so than other schools as the buses are required & go everywhere), the school is very diverse & progressive.

The new facility is a lot more than a gym. Currently there is no facility large enough to house the entire school so, for example, if it rains on May Day, then the lower school has to be uninvited. That’s just one example but there are many events where it will be fabulous when everyone can fit inside. There are going to be all sorts of labs for robotics, a dance studio, yoga studio, etc. Unlike some of these very sporty schools, Potomac students can fulfill their athletic requirements by doing many things other than team sports.

They’re also building a new MS which is really needed. It hasn’t changed since the 50s and has issues, particularly when it rains. For the PP who doubts any of this is happening, they started the field house the week school got out in the spring and will be starting the MS soon.

To the PP who worried about not being able to donate. It’s not an issue at all! The largest donor for the new project had initially been anonymous. Unless you are a freak who wants to poor over the minutiae in the annual report, no one knows or cares. The largest donors are often anonymous, too.

I’d question the motivation behind some of these posters talking about the school being southern, etc. As it’s admissions season, I’d be skeptical about some of these negative/creepy/completely ignorant posts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet, Virginia elects Democratic governors while Maryland elects Republicans...

Hogan isn’t a Trump Republican.

Doesn't matter. He's no Democrat.

Neither was Abraham Lincoln.

$70 million is undoubtedly too much to spend on a new gym.

Andover's endowment is $1.1 billion and they spent $30 million on their new athletics center that opened earlier this year.

Yes, they have the funding. Yes, the construction is underway. You can drive to campus and see for yourself. They are targeting end of 2019 completion.

Anonymous wrote:$43 million actually and it is something the parents have been asking for a decade or more. The school was beginning to lose current students and new recruits because things like girls volleyball conflict with basketball space, as only one example. And it's a 90 acre campus so building has been relatively modest give the potential use of space.

Where's the proof this is happening? They've met the $43mm fundraising goal, breaking ground, completion date?

How can it be southern when it's named for a place in Md and a river owned by Md?

Anonymous wrote:It seems kinda pathetic that people give so much money to a school that already has so much. And for what? So they can buy stupid things like a $70 million gym? What a silly use of money.

The school is so wealthy, and already has so much, that the money people give is used to buy increasingly trivial things.

It seems kinda pathetic that people give so much money to a school that already has so much. And for what? So they can buy stupid things like a $70 million gym? What a silly use of money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet, Virginia elects Democratic governors while Maryland elects Republicans...

Hogan isn’t a Trump Republican.

Doesn't matter. He's no Democrat.

If you “wish you were in Dixie”, Potomac is your school.

Anonymous wrote:And yet, Virginia elects Democratic governors while Maryland elects Republicans...

Hogan isn’t a Trump Republican.

And yet, Virginia elects Democratic governors while Maryland elects Republicans...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eww...the poster makes Potomac sound like southern Republicans. Ewww. just ewww. I prefer to be liberal any day.

It kind of is.

It is VA after all. The confederacy lives in southern states. It does sound bad. How do black kids stand it there?

the seat of the confederacy may have been in Virginia, but Dc and Maryland are the south too

VA is STILL the seat of the confederacy (hello Monument Avenue).

DC was ALWAYS a Union “state,” and Maryland was a border state that fought mostly for the Union during the Civil War. Neither place is southern in the sense that VA is (as well as the rest of the south). However, racists and lost cause sympathizers can be found anywhere.

If you think that NOVA is a hotbed of confederate sympathy, well...

The state itself is the seat of the confederacy. NoVa isn’t big enough to completely mute Richmond and rural areas with strong confederate sympathies. NoVa largely receives DC’s more conservative overflow looking for more house for their money (the more liberal contingent tends to moves to MD). Face it, VA (the entire state) is still Old Dixie.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think this sort of resource allocation sends a good message to kids. Frankly, I think it's obscene.

Yes how dare wealthy people donate money to a private school. Outrageous.

I think it's GREAT people donate. And I respect the right of people to do what they want to with their money.

But I don't like the message this sort of spending on a gym facility sends to kids.

There are a lot of things I could objectively afford to provide to my kids that I don't provide because I don't think it sends the right message about how resources should be used.

So, I can afford to buy each of my kids a BMW for their first car. I don't think that's a good way to spend money, or a good message to send.

I am not on a crusade against schools that do this, but I question the judgement of educators who make these decisions.

A BMW is a very reliable and safe vehicle. Good for a first car if you can afford it.

Thank you troll. BMW is hardly synonymous with reliability, though they do do well on safety tests (though hardly uniquely so).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think this sort of resource allocation sends a good message to kids. Frankly, I think it's obscene.

Yes how dare wealthy people donate money to a private school. Outrageous.

I think it's GREAT people donate. And I respect the right of people to do what they want to with their money.

But I don't like the message this sort of spending on a gym facility sends to kids.

There are a lot of things I could objectively afford to provide to my kids that I don't provide because I don't think it sends the right message about how resources should be used.

So, I can afford to buy each of my kids a BMW for their first car. I don't think that's a good way to spend money, or a good message to send.

I am not on a crusade against schools that do this, but I question the judgement of educators who make these decisions.

A BMW is a very reliable and safe vehicle. Good for a first car if you can afford it.