Last night, I testified before the Montgomery County Board of Education about regional school capacity, deteriorating buildings, and Wootton Parkway’s permanent future. I spoke personally as an MCPS graduate, MCPS parent, and son of an MCPS elementary school teacher.     

Thank you to FOX 5 for covering the hearing and my concerns about repair priorities, and Moderately MOCO for publishing my prepared testimony and supporting data. I also greatly especially appreciate the Wootton, Magruder, and Rockville community members who attended, testified, and supported their neighbors. Your continued participation keeps these concerns before the Board.

New Data Reinforce the Concerns I Raised This Spring

MCPS projects that enrollment at our four Central Region high schools, Richard Montgomery, Wootton, Churchill, and Rockville, will increase from 7,612 this school year to 7,838 by 2030–2031, approximately 3%. Its regional summary projects 101% utilization. Richard Montgomery already relies on 9 portable classrooms!    

Before the March Wootton decision, I argued that countywide enrollment declines did not justify giving up comprehensive high school capacity without adequately considering regional growth. These new projections reinforce that concern: our region is projected to be virtually full or over capacity within four years.

Development planning matters here. I am not asking MCPS to give projects before site-plan approval the same weight as projects after approval. I am asking that they count for something in long-term planning. Municipal approvals and development plans provide relevant information. Uncertainty should determine how we weigh that information, not whether we consider it at all.

Documented Building Needs Require a Funded Response

Taking the five worst-conditioned elementary schools and five worst-conditioned secondary schools together, seven, or 70%, are in or serve the greater Rockville–Gaithersburg area. In the combined countywide ranking, 14 of the 26 worst-conditioned schools, approximately 54%, qualify using mailing addresses and current Wootton feeder relationships. These are building-condition rankings, not academic rankings.     

None of the seven existing buildings in the first comparison has a funded major renovation or replacement in the proposal. Among the broader group of 14, only Cold Spring has an approved replacement, delayed until 2034. Magruder receives a feasibility study without a construction commitment.    

A Permanent Wootton High School on Wootton Parkway

My position remains clear: our region needs Wootton High School permanently on Wootton Parkway, operating separately from Crown and Churchill.

Preserving the property is not enough. I am seeking a funded pathway to rebuild or comprehensively renovate Wootton, return its students, and preserve comprehensive high school capacity for future generations. The Board’s March decision did not resolve those long-term needs.     

I also asked what funded repairs will address Wootton’s “Poor”-rated HVAC and plumbing before it houses Springbrook and Sherwood students, whose home-school systems are rated “Fair.”     

Three Commitments and a Path Forward

Last night, I specifically asked the Board for three commitments:

1. Plan for growth through a comprehensive Central Region capacity analysis accounting for reasonable future residential development.

2. Fund school improvements through a transparent investment plan prioritizing deteriorating facilities and addressing geographic concerns.

3. Restore a permanent comprehensive high school on Wootton Parkway, beginning with a feasibility study, funding pathway, and plan to return Wootton students.     

I recognize the funding constraints and remain ready to work with Board members and MCPS staff. Our communities need clear answers, specific next steps, and a timetable for action.

As I told the Board last night "Plan for the growth. Fund the repairs. And rebuild Wootton on Wootton Parkway."

Full Prepared Testimony and Supporting Appendices

The complete testimony follows, including the enrollment calculations, school-condition rankings, and MCPS source references.

Prepared Testimony of Adam Van Grack

Montgomery County Board of Education, October 26, 2026

FY2028 Capital Budget and FY2027–2032 CIP Amendments

Good evening, Madam President, Members of the Board, and Dr. Taylor. I am Rockville City Councilmember Adam Van Grack, and I am speaking today personally and from my heart as an MCPS graduate, MCPS parent, and son of an MCPS educator.

Tonight, I want to raise three interconnected concerns: (1) where and how MCPS plans for and preserves student capacity, (2) where and how MCPS addresses its deteriorating school buildings, and (3) the future of Wootton High School on Wootton Parkway.

Student Capacity and Future Growth

My first concern is whether MCPS is truly preserving school capacity where students will actually need it, particularly in growing communities like Rockville.

While MCPS projects declining enrollment countywide, MCPS projects that the Central Region enrollment will grow -- increasing from 7,612 students this year to 7,838 in 2030-2031, a 3% increase in just four years. Consequently, MCPS predicts a Central Region 101% utilization by 2030-2031. (See Appendix A). 

In other words, in just four years, MCPS projects that the Central Region will be over capacity. And, as of today, Richard Montgomery High School is already relying on nine (9) portable classrooms! (See Appendix A)

Further, as I have testified before, MCPS’s current projections do not even fully account for all the housing development planned in Rockville or other areas -- development governmentally approved but not yet at the final planning stages. Responsible capital decisions and school closure decisions cannot rest solely on a forecast that excludes significant growth data.

Under MCPS’s current not-counting-all-development approach, a hypothetical 500-unit residential development in Rockville Town Center, already approved overall at but awaiting site-plan approval, is assigned no value whatsoever (the exact same enrollment contribution of an undeveloped cornfield in Poolesville). Those properties should not be treated as having identical growth potential.  While MCPS should certainly not count all stages of development equally, MCPS must incorporate all information available (at least to some degree) to properly evaluate what school capacity is needed in each MCPS Region.

Bottom line, MCPS must address capacity issues in the Central Region and MCPS must make its enrollment projection model realistic before making permanent decisions about school capacity and school closings.

School Conditions and Infrastructure Investment

My second concern is the geographic concentration of MCPS's most deteriorated school buildings and the lack of a funded plan to address them. As you know, MCPS released its independent facility assessments in August. The results are alarming.

Of the five worst-conditioned elementary schools and five worst-conditioned secondary schools in Montgomery County, SEVEN (70%) are located in the greater Rockville and Gaithersburg area. Yet, under the proposed capital budget, NONE (0%) of those seven deteriorating school buildings have a funded major renovation or replacement. (See Appendix B)

Further, of the 26 worst-conditioned schools overall, FOURTEEN (54%) are located in the greater Rockville and Gaithersburg area, including four current Wootton cluster schools and two Richard Montgomery cluster schools.  Of those 14 schools, only one (1), Cold Spring Elementary, has an approved replacement project, and that project has been delayed until 2034. Magruder receives only a feasibility study, with no construction commitment. Wootton High School's existing campus on Wootton Parkway has no funded comprehensive renovation or replacement. (See Appendix B)

MCPS has had these assessments since August. Where are the CIP Amendments to address the worst schools?

The Future of Wootton High School: Capacity Need

Deteriorating infrastructure and uncertain future capacity converge most clearly through Wootton High School on Wootton Parkway. After decades of deferred necessary repairs/rebuilds, this Board voted to close Wootton's operations in Rockville, leaving its permanent future on Wootton Parkway unresolved.

Meanwhile, its deteriorating building, with significant HVAC and plumbing deficiencies, will confusingly serve as a temporary holding school for Springbrook and Sherwood high schools. Yet MCPS has no plan to address the capacity pressures on Rockville, Gaithersburg, and the Central Region by ensuring a permanent high school on Wootton Parkway

With the Central Region projected to reach or exceed capacity by 2030-2031, and significant potential residential development still ahead, we cannot afford to make permanent infrastructure decisions without evaluating our long-term educational needs. Our region needs a funded pathway to rebuild or comprehensively renovate Wootton on Wootton Parkway and return its students to a permanent, modernized comprehensive high school.

The Future of Wootton High School: Holding School Concerns

Additionally, MCPS’s own facility assessments raise a concern about its proposed use of the Wootton Parkway Campus as a holding school. MCPS currently plans to relocate Springbrook students and Sherwood students to Wootton Parkway between 2028 and 2030 to make systemic HVAC improvements at their home campuses. Among 200 schools ranked from worst to best condition, Wootton ranks the 25^th worst conditioned school, compared with Sherwood at 116^th and Springbrook at 139^th.  Additionally, both Sherwood and Springbrook have HVAC and plumbing systems rated “Fair.”  However, Wootton’s HVAC and plumbing systems are both rated “Poor.” Despite rating Wootton Parkway’s HVAC and plumbing systems “Poor,” the proposed CIP does not identify specific funding for replacing those systems before the campus hosts students from other schools.

Why is MCPS moving students from buildings with better-rated heating, cooling, and plumbing systems into a building with poorer-rated systems, and what funded improvements will correct those deficiencies before the students arrive when none are listed in the current CIP? 

Sherwood and Springbrook students deserve safe, reliable facilities, as do students throughout Montgomery County.  However, MCPS should explain (1) what, if any, objective criteria are used to select these projects, and (2) whether MCPS’s construction sequence truly addresses schools with the most urgent needs.  The public deserves a clear accounting of how documented building conditions translate into funding decisions, including a specific plan for Wootton Parkway.

Three Commitments for the Future

I am here to ask the Board for the following three commitments:

First, produce a comprehensive Central Region capacity analysis and account for reasonable future residential development, rather than treating approved but not yet site-planned growth as irrelevant.

Second, establish a funded, transparent infrastructure investment plan that addresses geographic concerns and prioritizes our most deteriorated schools.

Third, formally commit to restoring a permanent comprehensive high school on Wootton Parkway, beginning with a feasibility study, a funding pathway, and a plan to return Wootton students to a rebuilt or thoroughly modernized campus.

MCPS has the data. MCPS knows our region is projected to reach or exceed capacity, and MCPS knows that many of our area's schools are among the most deteriorated in the county. We do not need another explanation for why investment must wait. We need a commitment that MCPS will not wait any longer.

Plan for the growth.   Fund the repairs.   And rebuild Wootton on Wootton Parkway. APPENDIX A

Student Capacity and Future Growth

Prepared Testimony of Adam Van Grack | October 26, 2026

Data #1: Countywide Enrollment Decline and Central Region Growth

While MCPS projects declining enrollment countywide, it projects increasing enrollment in the Central Region through the 2030-2031 school year.

Sources: FY2028 CIP, Appendix A, p. A-1, and Central Region, p. 4-31.

Data #2: Central Region Capacity Figures

MCPS reports the Central Region at 101% utilization for 2030-2031.

Source: Central Region, pp. 4-29 and 4-31 

Note: Without explanation, the FY2028 CIP reports three different program capacities for Wootton High School at Crown Farm.

Sources: Central Region, pp. 4-29 and 4-31, Wootton Cluster, p. 4-128, Appendix E, p. E-3

Data #3: Richard Montgomery High School Relocatable (Portable) Classrooms

MCPS's FY2028 CIP confirms that Richard Montgomery High School has nine (9) relocatable classrooms in the 2026-2027 school year.

The FY2028 CIP also reports preliminary enrollment of 2,324 students against program capacity of 2,238, a current deficit of 86 seats.

Sources: FY2028 CIP, Appendix H, p. H-1, FY2028 CIP, Central Region, p. 4-29

APPENDIX B

School Conditions and Infrastructure Investment

Prepared Testimony of Adam Van Grack | October 26, 2026

The comparison includes the 200 regular elementary, middle, and high schools reported in MCPS's independently assessed elementary and secondary Facility Condition Index (FCI) tables. A higher FCI depleted-value score indicates poorer physical building condition.

Finding 1: Seven (70%) of the ten schools selected from the five worst-conditioned elementary schools and five worst-conditioned secondary schools are located in or serve the greater Rockville and Gaithersburg area.

Primary source: MCPS Facility Condition Index, August 2026.

Primary source: MCPS Facility Condition Index, August 2026.

Finding 2: Fourteen of the 26 schools with the highest FCI depleted-value scores overall (53.8%, or approximately 54%) are located in or serve the greater Rockville and Gaithersburg area out of the 200 MCPS active school evaluated.

Primary source: MCPS Facility Condition Index, August 2026.