Bethesda Magazine: There Is a Better Path for Wootton and Crown
February 6, 2026
Bethesda Magazine relayed yesterday that MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor has formally recommended permanently moving Wootton High School from its longtime campus on Wootton Parkway to the new Crown High School building in Gaithersburg. I strongly disagree with this recommendation.
For months, I have urged MCPS to pursue a better path... (1) open Crown as the new high school it was built to be, (2) invest in the modernization or rebuilding of Wootton on Wootton Parkway, and (3) use Crown to address the very real enrollment and facility needs elsewhere in this part of Montgomery County.
Wootton's aging building unquestionably needs major investment. I have advocated for that investment for years. However, decades of delayed modernization should not now become the justification for permanently removing Wootton from the community it has served for more than five decades.
There are also broader planning questions that remain unresolved. Rockville continues to grow, Richard Montgomery High School is overcrowded, major residential development is planned throughout this region, and Magruder High School also needs a path toward comprehensive modernization. Giving up a comprehensive high school site in Rockville while our communities continue to grow is a decision with consequences far beyond the next few years. In fact, the Maryland Building Industry Association has also relayed serious concern about removing Wootton High School as a permanent, comprehensive high school on Wootton Parkway.
The Superintendent has made his recommendation, but the Board of Education has not yet made its decision. I will continue working with the Wootton community, the City of Rockville, and leaders throughout the region to advocate for a solution that recognizes both the need for Crown and the continuing need for Wootton High School on Wootton Parkway.
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