By Adam Pagnucco.
One of the biggest fights in MCPS’s ongoing school boundary review concerns Option H, which would relocate Wootton High School to the new Crown High School campus in Gaithersburg and use the existing Wootton building as a holding school. This site has printed guest columns on this subject by Rockville Council Member Adam Van Grack (who opposes Option H) and Gaithersburg City Council Member Yamil Hernandez (who believes it should be considered). Now, the Maryland Building Industry Association (MBIA) has come out against Option H, claiming that it “would permanently reduce high school capacity in a designated growth area and disrupt the alignment between school infrastructure and planned residential development.”
I have seen real estate groups weigh in on school-related policies before, such as when they opposed county housing moratoriums near crowded schools. However, I don’t recall such an organization commenting on a specific boundary change before. Whether the superintendent and the school board would pay as much attention to MBIA as county government officials might is an open question. But MBIA’s entry into the discussion and its raising of concerns related to housing and growth management is noteworthy.
MBIA’s letter to the superintendent and the school board is printed below.
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Monday, January 26, 2026
Montgomery County Public Schools
15 W Gude Drive, Suite 100
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Re: Opposition to MCPS Option H
Dear President Rivera-Oven, Members of the Board, and Dr. Taylor:
On behalf of the Maryland Building Industry Association (“MBIA”), which represents companies engaged in residential construction, land development, and related industries throughout Montgomery County and the State of Maryland, we respectfully urge the Board of Education to reject Option H in the current boundary and capital planning process. MBIA’s interest in this matter is grounded in long -range growth planning, infrastructure coordination, and the relationship between school capacity and housing delivery. After reviewing MCPS capacity, adopted master plans, and planned residential development in the Rockville–Gaithersburg corridor, we are concerned that Option H would permanently reduce high school capacity in a designated growth area and disrupt the alignment between school infrastructure and planned residential development.
The areas surrounding Wootton High School and Crown High School are among Montgomery County’s fastest-growing residential areas, with thousands of approved and planned housing units supported by adopted master plans and transit-oriented development policies. Converting Wootton High School into a long-term holding facility would remove durable, permanent capacity from this area, especially at a time when demand is expected to increase. From a growth-management perspective, reducing long-term school capacity in a high-growth area is inconsistent with sound planning principles and creates avoidable constraints on future housing delivery.
Option H also introduces a structural mismatch between school capacity planning and housing growth sequencing. School capacity assumptions are foundational to master plans, Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (“APFO”) analyses, and development staging. When long-term capacity is removed from a growth corridor, projects planned and approved under existing assumptions face increased uncertainty, potential delay, and additional regulatory friction. These effects directly undermine Montgomery County’s stated goals of increasing housing supply and improving affordability.
From a capital planning standpoint, Option H represents an inefficient allocation of limited public investment. Converting Wootton High School into a long-term holding facility requires additional capital expenditures while sidelining a permanent instructional asset and simultaneously reducing long-term capacity where growth is occurring. By contrast, alternatives that utilize Crown High School as a temporary holding facility better align capital sequencing with projected enrollment needs and preserve permanent capacity in growth areas. Efficient use of public capital is essential to sustaining both school infrastructure and the County’s broader growth strategy.
Finally, Option H introduces uncertainty into the long-range planning framework relied upon by local governments, families, and the development community. Predictability in school capacity planning is critical to coordinating infrastructure investment, housing delivery, and public services. When long-term capacity assumptions can be altered to address short-term constraints, it becomes more difficult to plan and deliver housing in an orderly and timely manner in designated growth areas.
For these reasons, MBIA respectfully urges the Board of Education to reject Option H and pursue alternatives that preserve long-term school capacity, align with adopted growth plans, and support Montgomery County’s shared objectives of housing supply, affordability, fiscal responsibility, and sustainable development.
We appreciate the Board’s consideration and stand ready to serve as a resource as MCPS evaluates solutions that better integrate school planning with the County’s long-term growth strategy.
Sincerely,
Griffin Benton, Vice President
Maryland Building Industry Association