By Adam Pagnucco.
Recently, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor floated the idea of relocating Wootton High School from its current decrepit building to a new building at the Crown High School site in Gaithersburg. The current Wootton building might then be used as a temporary holding school for other schools undergoing renovations or construction.
The physical condition of Wootton HS ranks it as one of the worst facilities in all of MCPS. It was built in 1970 and has never been comprehensively renovated or modernized since then. Its current Facility Condition Assessment, completed in August, contains the phrase “poor condition” no fewer than 40 times. Students have complained about an “unhygienic environment,” “crumbling infrastructure” and “putrid toilets, unusable sinks, large stall gaps and decaying floors” in the bathrooms. The community has set up a petition in favor of a renovation. Last month, the school was evacuated after a gas leak.
Many in the community support renovating Wootton HS but not relocating it. They include Rockville City Council Member Adam Van Grack, whose son attends the school. This is what Van Grack had to say about Wootton HS on Facebook last month.
Van Grack discusses Wootton HS on Facebook.
Van Grack has also written MCPS and county officials about the relocation proposal. His comments are among the most comprehensive I have seen and his letter is reprinted below.
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December 15, 2025
Montgomery County Board of Education
Dr. Thomas Taylor, Ed.D, MBA
Superintendent of MCPS
Montgomery County Public Schools (“MCPS”) Rockville, MD 20850
15 West Gude Drive
Rockville MD 20850
Marc B. Elrich
Montgomery County Executive
101 Monroe Street
Rockville, MD 20850
Montgomery County Councilmembers
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Dear County Colleagues:
As you are all likely aware, for many years, I have been a strong advocate for either serious renovations or a complete rebuild of Wootton High School considering the serious health and safety problems which exist within the current building. Having grown up less than a ¼ mile from Wootton High School and now raising a son attending school there, Wootton High School and the surrounding community are extremely important to me.
For this reason, I am extremely pleased to see that serious attention is being given to the problematic conditions at Wootton High School. Given the fact that Wootton High School renovations or rebuilds have been placed into the Montgomery County budget and removed several times in the past decade, it is refreshing to see proposals being offered to address the school’s current conditions. Change is needed. Our children need to attend school in a safe and secure environment.
However, I feel that it is also extremely important to directly address one of the proposals being offered for our Wootton Community. Wootton High School must stay on Wootton Parkway. While I understand the cost benefit of the unique proposal to dismantle the current Wootton High School campus and move all students from the entire Wootton Cluster to the new high school campus in the Crown Community (currently labeled as “Option H”), such an action would have significant devastating impacts to our Rockville community. While this proposal will certainly solve the problem of safety for our students, it will also create a series of additional casualties. So that you understand the effect of such a mistake, I would like to highlight some of the more important concerns.
Community Center. The Wootton High School Campus – located on Wootton Parkway – is the center of the Fallsmead, Fallsbend, Scott Drive, Rockshire, Lakewood, Hurley, and Glenora neighborhoods. As there is no nearby community center, shopping center, or other gathering place, families and organizations in our community use the Wootton Campus as a central hub. For example, Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops use the campus (including my own troop from 30-35 years ago). Wootton and Frost students have also organized stream clean-ups of the neighboring Watts Branch stream in coordination with the City of Rockville. Community organizations often meet on the Wootton Campus (inside and outside the building). Local religious communities have also rented the Wootton High School auditorium for larger congregation events as there are no other similar large gathering areas in our community. Wootton High School has also served as a walkable and nearby election site for our community in State and Federal Elections since its inception. Frankly, without this active campus, our community and the City of Rockville would lose this valuable resource. This scenario is a significant negative problem with any decision to close the campus. MCPS should not destroy our community hub.
Middle School Collaboration. Frost Middle School and Wootton High School are directly adjacent, and for this reason, the two schools have collaborated regularly for decades. When my son and I each attended Frost Middle School (33 years apart), we both interacted with students from “down the hill” at Wootton High School. For example, Wootton students regularly tutor Frost students after school and assist with the middle school athletic teams. Additionally, Wootton Students regularly assist at Frost programs throughout the school year, such as the Annual STEM and Culture Event at Frost Middle School. Frost and Wootton students also hold events together, such as the Annual Turkey Trot on the Wootton Campus before Thanksgiving. This incredible collaboration will be destroyed if the high schoolers are located 3.5 miles away instead of “down the hill” next door. MCPS should not destroy this wonderful collaboration.
Future Use Is Problematic. As it has been explained to me, either (1) the Wootton Campus would become a holding school for other schools once it can be renovated (if renovation funds are ever provided) or (2) the Wootton Campus will remain vacant. First, if the Wootton Campus is to be used at all, it should be used by the local students. Busing students from throughout the County to the Wootton Campus is a poor use of resources, especially when the local students could attend their own neighborhood school if renovations occur. Second, I am adamantly against the Wootton Campus becoming a vacant lot. Our community suffered from a vacant lot across from the Wootton Campus (the former Rockshire Village Center) for over a decade, and this derelict lot created many problems in our community (including crime, accidents, and arson). Additionally, the City of Rockville already has one vacant MCPS location (the former Rock Terrace School). MCPS should not allow another lot to become a hazard to the local community. Simply stated, MCPS should not just “give up” on our neighborhood school and transfer students to a further-away school; such actions are wasteful and ignore the benefits of having students as close as possible to their school.
Casualty of Past Neglect. As you are aware, for many years, Montgomery County has ignored the entire Wootton Community’s pleas (including my own) for renovations or a rebuild – even going so far as to “jump” renovations/rebuilds of other schools ahead of Wootton High School when Wootton High School renovations were scheduled to occur. The Wootton Community should not become a casualty of the County’s mistakes through a closure simply because of MCPS’s poor decisions to neglect our school’s conditions.
In conclusion, I am truly thrilled that almost everyone in the County appears to finally agree that the existing Wootton High School building needs serious safety improvements. This realization is a victory for our high school. However, the solution to this problem is not to close the Wootton Campus on Wootton Parkway. If MCPS cannot afford a rebuild of Wootton High School, then the proper solution is to perform safety renovations of the existing building and keep the community on the existing campus. The Wootton High School campus on Wootton Parkway is a critically important community center, and I am hopeful that you will work to ensure that (1) our Wootton students are safe and (2) Wootton High School remains on Wootton Parkway.
Best regards,
Adam Van Grack
Councilmember, City of Rockville