Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Wootton is unsafe. Staff there don't want to remain at Wootton without major issues being fixed.

I can't believe parents would prioritize perceived prestige over keeping the environment where their kids are there for six hours, five days a week safe. You guys are basically prestige whores.

If Wootton is unsafe for Wootton, why is it safe for Magruder?

If Wootton is only safe for Magruder when it gets $100 million for renovations, why is $100 million available for it to be has a holding school for Magruder kids but not available for it to be used as a permanent school for its own kids?

And where is that $100 million coming from? And when? Why isn’t that on CIP? Why isn’t Magruder on CIP?

Minimum renovations can be done in several years, and Macgruder wouldn't go there until then. Also, Macgruder doesn't have a brand new HS next door.

I wonder if they are strategizing to spread out the renovations over a few years to help the budget be more feasible. Not that it helps Magruder now but could help for things to actually get done at Wootton and they won't be contending with students being in the building.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Wootton is unsafe. Staff there don't want to remain at Wootton without major issues being fixed.

I can't believe parents would prioritize perceived prestige over keeping the environment where their kids are there for six hours, five days a week safe. You guys are basically prestige whores.

If Wootton is unsafe for Wootton, why is it safe for Magruder?

If Wootton is only safe for Magruder when it gets $100 million for renovations, why is $100 million available for it to be has a holding school for Magruder kids but not available for it to be used as a permanent school for its own kids?

And where is that $100 million coming from? And when? Why isn’t that on CIP? Why isn’t Magruder on CIP?

Minimum renovations can be done in several years, and Macgruder wouldn't go there until then. Also, Macgruder doesn't have a brand new HS next door.

Anonymous wrote:^ Wootton is unsafe. Staff there don't want to remain at Wootton without major issues being fixed.

I can't believe parents would prioritize perceived prestige over keeping the environment where their kids are there for six hours, five days a week safe. You guys are basically prestige whores.

If Wootton is unsafe for Wootton, why is it safe for Magruder?

If Wootton is only safe for Magruder when it gets $100 million for renovations, why is $100 million available for it to be has a holding school for Magruder kids but not available for it to be used as a permanent school for its own kids?

And where is that $100 million coming from? And when? Why isn’t that on CIP? Why isn’t Magruder on CIP?

^ Wootton is unsafe. Staff there don't want to remain at Wootton without major issues being fixed.

I can't believe parents would prioritize perceived prestige over keeping the environment where their kids are there for six hours, five days a week safe. You guys are basically prestige whores.

I’m copying this from the Magruder thread and would love to hear thoughts:

Essentially, if money isn’t there for 27th school or for Wootton renovations to be turned into a holding school, why not let Magruder use Crown first and then decide what to do? It buys an extra 2-3 years and perhaps we will see an enrollment and funding difference, perhaps we won’t. But what is the harm in postponing for a few years to allow Magruder to finally get some priority?


That’s exactly the problem. Everything for Magruder is hypothetical, and we’ve been pushed back and ignored year after year.

If Crown was to be a holding school, Magruder will have a higher chance of seeing something happen, as MCPS wouldn’t want a brand new school just to sit there empty. Crown as a holding school is the fastest option for Magruder. Whereas with the current recommendation, who knows when Wootton will ever be ready as a holding school and who knows when Magruder will ever see renovations. Not to mention Crown is a much more accessible school location wise.

Let Magruder use Crown, then Wootton. Then revisit the boundary study 5 years or so from now. By then, enrollment may be in a completely different place as international students and federal jobs come back, and all the housing developments continue to boom in that area. You don’t have to operate a 27th school if you deem it to be unnecessary then. You can still move Wootton to Crown, in fact, Wootton would already be at Crown if Crown is a holding school. Just make a plan for Magruder

Magruder has been patient.
Magruder has been polite.

The time for all that is over.
Magruder can’t wait any longer.
Magruder is one of the highest FARMS schools in all of the county. Is this why the Board thinks it can ignore us time and time again?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Wootton parent and this whole freak out about the prospect of kids taking a bus or driving a few miles away like every other kid in America is absolutely absurd. Wootton kids currently ride their ebikes to Crown for fun! And no one takes 270 to do so.

The bottom line is neither Wootton nor Magruder have any money budgeted to them in this CIP through 2032. They’re not even planning to renovate Wootton before it’s a holding school in 2033! (which is awful but the money isn’t there). If the antiH get their way, Wootton kids will languish in that building until after Magruder is renovated in 2033. Many of the teachers will leave. How will Wootton remain competitive if its best teachers leave? We all know from reading antiH these past few months that most would choose to stay on the Parkway without renovations than go to Crown. We have the receipts of parents warning others not to mention safety issues. — to just stay at Wootton at all costs and not worry about there being no money for renovations. We have the receipts of parents even saying the safety issues were made up! Lies spread by MCPS! A conspiracy to have pretext to “steal” Wootton’s prestige for DEI. Totally insane stuff. The silent majority of Wootton parents (who are fine with the recommendation which is why most didn’t complete the survey obvs) are afraid to speak out because of the vicious attacks of antiH. The loudest voices are hellbent at staying on the Parkway regardless of the reality that the school won’t be renovated until after 2033. It’s shameful how this small minority is willing to put the school and safety of the kids and teachers below their unfounded property value fears.

While I think there's merit to what you're saying, and probably many Wootton parents are ok with moving to Crown (not sure if it's the majority though), I think one of the things you have to know about MCPS is that the money isn't available until suddenly MCPS and the County decide that it is.

The reality is both Wootton and Magruder are CRUMBLING and falling apart. If these buildings continue to degrade, and they will, MCPS and the state will find the money. That's what they always do.

In terms of your questioning of Anti-H's advocacy tactics, you should look back in 2018, when then-Councilmember Nancy Navarro opposed the proposed CIP and insisted Col E. Brooke Lee Middle School (now Odessa Shannon) no longer be delayed and instead MOVED FORWARD in the CIP for a brand-new building: https://www.facebook.com/councilmembernavarro/posts/during-todays-council-session-i-raised-the-serious-health-and-safety-concerns-at/1773408612750969/

She did so because the school is in her district and constituents were complaining about the poor state of the building, which included "a poor HVAC system, leaky roof, pipes that cause decay in ceiling tiles, locker rooms in disrepair, no fire sprinklers, and more."

Sound familiar?

You might not like how anti-H Magruder and Wootton parents are moving, but that's precisely how school buildings get funded via the CIP: Through political and community pressure. So Wootton and Magruder advocates are playing the game exactly as it's always been played in Montgomery County.

And don't be a fool and believe that everything MCPS is telling you is the truth. They lie routinely.

Was that school offered a brand new building and then everyone continued to complain? Genuinely curious... because this really amped up after H came out.

+1 Different situation. It would be fiscally irresponsible to keep both Crown and Wootton with major renovations given the declining enrollments.

Very different, especially the declining enrollment piece

"irreparable harm" you've got to be kidding me. The harm is forcing your kids to stay in the shitty school for the sake of a name.

Anonymous wrote:Recognizing some of these names on the petition to move Wootton:
https://www.change.org/p/move-wootton-high-school

These families are from the Dufief and Stone Mill areas.

MCPS really should have just made it easy and have Crown High School pull from it's immediate area and North Potomac area and then also make it a third county wide magnet type of program. So have three regions instead of six for the regional programs.

Then they could have moved Wayside to Wootton and maybe Ritchie Park, regardless of what families there want, to help with the portables issue at RM.

Both of those were presented as options in the original proposals, but Wootton families complained. RM was moved to Frost and Wootton in one of the original options and DuFief and Stone Mill were moved to Crown. But at that time Wootton families said their cluster was special and they wanted all of the cturrent Wootton schools to stay together AND they wanted a new/safe school. So then Option H came along that gave Wootton families a brand new school AND kept the cluster together at the new school, but sudddently Wootton families did n't like that either? Why didn't they advocate for staying in the same building and switching boundaries with other non-Wootton cluster schools that was proposed in the original options.

It seems like families want everything EXACTLY how they want it but don't like it when they get most of what they want with slight tweaks. That is not setting a good precedent for your children to be so inflexible and regimented.

Anonymous wrote:Recognizing some of these names on the petition to move Wootton:
https://www.change.org/p/move-wootton-high-school

These families are from the Dufief and Stone Mill areas.

MCPS really should have just made it easy and have Crown High School pull from its immediate area and North Potomac area and then also make it a third county wide magnet type of program. So have three regions instead of six for the regional programs.

Then they could have moved Wayside to Wootton and maybe Ritchie Park, regardless of what families there want, to help with the portables issue at RM.

This was proposed as an earlier option, but Churchill parents complained, threatened to sue, and Taylor caved in short order. Didn’t hear anyone on DCUM saying that was inappropriate, but when Wootton parents do the same thing they’re wrong?

Guess what? MCPS is subject to political pressure from anyone who can successfully bring it to bear. If that doesn’t work, then litigation is often the next step. People here may think it’s a waste, but from everything I’ve read, the case has some merits - perhaps enough to get a preliminary injunction before any irreparable harm is caused to the Wootton community. Since Taylor already proposed using Crown as a holding school, he can’t complain that doing so temporarily would cause MCPS any irreparable harm while the litigation proceeds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Wootton parent and this whole freak out about the prospect of kids taking a bus or driving a few miles away like every other kid in America is absolutely absurd. Wootton kids currently ride their ebikes to Crown for fun! And no one takes 270 to do so.

The bottom line is neither Wootton nor Magruder have any money budgeted to them in this CIP through 2032. They’re not even planning to renovate Wootton before it’s a holding school in 2033! (which is awful but the money isn’t there). If the antiH get their way, Wootton kids will languish in that building until after Magruder is renovated in 2033. Many of the teachers will leave. How will Wootton remain competitive if its best teachers leave? We all know from reading antiH these past few months that most would choose to stay on the Parkway without renovations than go to Crown. We have the receipts of parents warning others not to mention safety issues. — to just stay at Wootton at all costs and not worry about there being no money for renovations. We have the receipts of parents even saying the safety issues were made up! Lies spread by MCPS! A conspiracy to have pretext to “steal” Wootton’s prestige for DEI. Totally insane stuff. The silent majority of Wootton parents (who are fine with the recommendation which is why most didn’t complete the survey obvs) are afraid to speak out because of the vicious attacks of antiH. The loudest voices are hellbent at staying on the Parkway regardless of the reality that the school won’t be renovated until after 2033. It’s shameful how this small minority is willing to put the school and safety of the kids and teachers below their unfounded property value fears.

While I think there's merit to what you're saying, and probably many Wootton parents are ok with moving to Crown (not sure if it's the majority though), I think one of the things you have to know about MCPS is that the money isn't available until suddenly MCPS and the County decide that it is.

The reality is both Wootton and Magruder are CRUMBLING and falling apart. If these buildings continue to degrade, and they will, MCPS and the state will find the money. That's what they always do.

In terms of your questioning of Anti-H's advocacy tactics, you should look back in 2018, when then-Councilmember Nancy Navarro opposed the proposed CIP and insisted Col E. Brooke Lee Middle School (now Odessa Shannon) no longer be delayed and instead MOVED FORWARD in the CIP for a brand-new building: https://www.facebook.com/councilmembernavarro/posts/during-todays-council-session-i-raised-the-serious-health-and-safety-concerns-at/1773408612750969/

She did so because the school is in her district and constituents were complaining about the poor state of the building, which included "a poor HVAC system, leaky roof, pipes that cause decay in ceiling tiles, locker rooms in disrepair, no fire sprinklers, and more."

Sound familiar?

You might not like how anti-H Magruder and Wootton parents are moving, but that's precisely how school buildings get funded via the CIP: Through political and community pressure. So Wootton and Magruder advocates are playing the game exactly as it's always been played in Montgomery County.

And don't be a fool and believe that everything MCPS is telling you is the truth. They lie routinely.

Was that school offered a brand new building and then everyone continued to complain? Genuinely curious... because this really amped up after H came out.

+1 Different situation. It would be fiscally irresponsible to keep both Crown and Wootton with major renovations given the declining enrollments.

Anonymous wrote:Recognizing some of these names on the petition to move Wootton:
https://www.change.org/p/move-wootton-high-school

These families are from the Dufief and Stone Mill areas.

MCPS really should have just made it easy and have Crown High School pull from it's immediate area and North Potomac area and then also make it a third county wide magnet type of program. So have three regions instead of six for the regional programs.

Then they could have moved Wayside to Wootton and maybe Ritchie Park, regardless of what families there want, to help with the portables issue at RM.

RP families don't want to go to a crumbling HS. RMHS Main Street is fantastic. They'd rather live with portables than be forced to a crumbling school.

This is your pipe dream. RP was moved from Wootton to RM. MCPS isn't going to move them back because Parkway families don't want to move to a brand new school.

Anonymous wrote:Recognizing some of these names on the petition to move Wootton:
https://www.change.org/p/move-wootton-high-school

These families are from the Dufief and Stone Mill areas.

MCPS really should have just made it easy and have Crown High School pull from it's immediate area and North Potomac area and then also make it a third county wide magnet type of program. So have three regions instead of six for the regional programs.

Then they could have moved Wayside to Wootton and maybe Ritchie Park, regardless of what families there want, to help with the portables issue at RM.

At least one of the names in the petition is from Washingtonian Woods too. So they stand to gain with option H and that petition isn't entirely of Wootton teachers or members of the Wootton community.

Recognizing some of these names on the petition to move Wootton:
https://www.change.org/p/move-wootton-high-school

These families are from the Dufief and Stone Mill areas.

MCPS really should have just made it easy and have Crown High School pull from it's immediate area and North Potomac area and then also make it a third county wide magnet type of program. So have three regions instead of six for the regional programs.

Then they could have moved Wayside to Wootton and maybe Ritchie Park, regardless of what families there want, to help with the portables issue at RM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Wootton parent and this whole freak out about the prospect of kids taking a bus or driving a few miles away like every other kid in America is absolutely absurd. Wootton kids currently ride their ebikes to Crown for fun! And no one takes 270 to do so.

The bottom line is neither Wootton nor Magruder have any money budgeted to them in this CIP through 2032. They’re not even planning to renovate Wootton before it’s a holding school in 2033! (which is awful but the money isn’t there). If the antiH get their way, Wootton kids will languish in that building until after Magruder is renovated in 2033. Many of the teachers will leave. How will Wootton remain competitive if its best teachers leave? We all know from reading antiH these past few months that most would choose to stay on the Parkway without renovations than go to Crown. We have the receipts of parents warning others not to mention safety issues. — to just stay at Wootton at all costs and not worry about there being no money for renovations. We have the receipts of parents even saying the safety issues were made up! Lies spread by MCPS! A conspiracy to have pretext to “steal” Wootton’s prestige for DEI. Totally insane stuff. The silent majority of Wootton parents (who are fine with the recommendation which is why most didn’t complete the survey obvs) are afraid to speak out because of the vicious attacks of antiH. The loudest voices are hellbent at staying on the Parkway regardless of the reality that the school won’t be renovated until after 2033. It’s shameful how this small minority is willing to put the school and safety of the kids and teachers below their unfounded property value fears.

Teachers always come and go.

Arguments were made earlier by anti-H posters that the high caliber and long tenure of Wootton teachers is part of what makes it "high performing." And they argued that they would lose those teachers if the location moves. Now that the teachers themselves have spoken that they prefer to be at Crown, those same teachers are meaningless?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Wootton parent and this whole freak out about the prospect of kids taking a bus or driving a few miles away like every other kid in America is absolutely absurd. Wootton kids currently ride their ebikes to Crown for fun! And no one takes 270 to do so.

The bottom line is neither Wootton nor Magruder have any money budgeted to them in this CIP through 2032. They’re not even planning to renovate Wootton before it’s a holding school in 2033! (which is awful but the money isn’t there). If the antiH get their way, Wootton kids will languish in that building until after Magruder is renovated in 2033. Many of the teachers will leave. How will Wootton remain competitive if its best teachers leave? We all know from reading antiH these past few months that most would choose to stay on the Parkway without renovations than go to Crown. We have the receipts of parents warning others not to mention safety issues. — to just stay at Wootton at all costs and not worry about there being no money for renovations. We have the receipts of parents even saying the safety issues were made up! Lies spread by MCPS! A conspiracy to have pretext to “steal” Wootton’s prestige for DEI. Totally insane stuff. The silent majority of Wootton parents (who are fine with the recommendation which is why most didn’t complete the survey obvs) are afraid to speak out because of the vicious attacks of antiH. The loudest voices are hellbent at staying on the Parkway regardless of the reality that the school won’t be renovated until after 2033. It’s shameful how this small minority is willing to put the school and safety of the kids and teachers below their unfounded property value fears.

While I think there's merit to what you're saying, and probably many Wootton parents are ok with moving to Crown (not sure if it's the majority though), I think one of the things you have to know about MCPS is that the money isn't available until suddenly MCPS and the County decide that it is.

The reality is both Wootton and Magruder are CRUMBLING and falling apart. If these buildings continue to degrade, and they will, MCPS and the state will find the money. That's what they always do.

In terms of your questioning of Anti-H's advocacy tactics, you should look back in 2018, when then-Councilmember Nancy Navarro opposed the proposed CIP and insisted Col E. Brooke Lee Middle School (now Odessa Shannon) no longer be delayed and instead MOVED FORWARD in the CIP for a brand-new building: https://www.facebook.com/councilmembernavarro/posts/during-todays-council-session-i-raised-the-serious-health-and-safety-concerns-at/1773408612750969/

She did so because the school is in her district and constituents were complaining about the poor state of the building, which included "a poor HVAC system, leaky roof, pipes that cause decay in ceiling tiles, locker rooms in disrepair, no fire sprinklers, and more."

Sound familiar?

You might not like how anti-H Magruder and Wootton parents are moving, but that's precisely how school buildings get funded via the CIP: Through political and community pressure. So Wootton and Magruder advocates are playing the game exactly as it's always been played in Montgomery County.

And don't be a fool and believe that everything MCPS is telling you is the truth. They lie routinely.

Was that school offered a brand new building and then everyone continued to complain? Genuinely curious... because this really amped up after H came out.

The school was offered what Anti-H Wootton parents want: A teardown of the old building and a brand-new building stood up in the same site.