By Adam Pagnucco.
Just when you thought this issue could not get any hotter, a parents group is preparing to file a federal civil rights complaint against MCPS over its potential relocation of Wootton High School to Gaithersburg’s Crown site. But that’s not all: the group claims to have “discovered internal communications” revealing that MCPS has already directed Wootton staff to prepare to move to Gaithersburg.
Yesterday, the Save Wootton Committee sent out a press release stating that it is preparing to file a Title VI Civil Rights complaint against MCPS over Wootton’s potential relocation due to “systematic language exclusion and major procedural irregularities” in its boundary study. The group notes Wootton’s large Asian student body and alleges, “By providing Spanish translations but excluding Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the district has engaged in selective incomprehensible bias and illegal discrimination.”
MCPS is no stranger to complaints and litigation and has always had plenty of resources to respond. What makes this complaint a bit different from others is that the Save Wootton Committee claims to have evidence that Wootton’s move is a predetermined outcome even before a school board vote.
The group wrote the following in its press release.
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Raising alarming concerns of a predetermined outcome, SaveWootton has discovered internal communications disclosing that – even before the BoE has voted on ANY proposal – Wootton staff have already been directed to prepare for a 2026 move to Gaithersburg. “This is weeks before the public has even had the opportunity to testify at the mandated February 23rd hearing and ahead of the BOE’s final vote in March,” said [advocate Peng] Li.
Dr. Peter O. Moran, Chief of Division of School Leadership and Improvement, met on February 5th with Wootton staff following the Superintendent’s announced recommendation of Option H.
“We were told that we will move to [the] new school in summer 2027…the directives coming from MCPS leadership to Wootton staff makes it sound like this is a ‘decision,’ not a recommendation,” said a Wootton staff member who requested anonymity.
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I asked committee contact Claire Matta how the group obtained the communications it cites. She replied, “The information about the Wootton staff came from a staff member on the condition of anonymity. Wootton teachers were called to an emergency meeting Thursday evening following the superintendent’s recommendation.”
I forwarded the group’s press release to MCPS and asked if they had a comment regarding the specific allegations about a predetermined outcome cited above. If I receive a response, I will print it.
Federal complaint or not, I can see MANY Maryland Public Information Act requests headed to MCPS headquarters seeking records about the recommended move. If there turns out to be any truth to the allegation that staff has already been told to prepare for a move, the heat around this issue will melt Antarctica.
The Save Wootton Committee’s press release is printed below.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: February 10, 2026
CONTACT: SaveWootton Committee | savewoottonhs@gmail.com
Civil Rights Challenge Looms: MCPS Moving to Close MOCO’s Only Asian-Plurality High School
ROCKVILLE, MD — In a fierce reaction to the sudden county plan to close one of Montgomery County’s top high schools, residents of the Wootton/Frost cluster are preparing a Title VI Civil Rights complaint against the Board of Education (BOE). The complaint follows revelations of systematic language exclusion and major procedural irregularities in the ongoing MCPS Crown/Damascus Boundary Study that resulted in this historic move with little notice to the affected community.
On February 5th, Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor gave his recommendation for a radical proposal known as “Option H,” the controversial plan that would shutter Rockville’s Wootton High School, and send virtually all of its current student population to Crown High School in Gaithersburg – miles away. This plan – without proper community input and associated irregularities – has prompted a passionate outcry throughout Rockville itself. Voices expressing alarm include: Mayor Monique Ashton, County Councilmember Andrew Friedson, the Rockville City Council, the Wootton PTSA, and the SaveWootton community.
“This whole process has lacked transparency, and the Asian community has been left out of the conversation at critical moments in a flawed process ,” said Peng Li, a SaveWootton spokesperson. “MCPS has – through sleight of hand – conflated a boundary study with a facilities backlog to uproot a thriving high school cluster. Not only that, MCPS claims ‘Equity’ is the driver of this move, yet they have effectively erased the voices of the very community they are proposing to relocate. By providing Spanish translations but excluding Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the district has engaged in selective incomprehensible bias and illegal discrimination.”
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, public school systems receiving federal funding may not adopt policies that create an unjustified disparate impact on the basis of race, even absent discriminatory intent. Community members state that the proposed restructuring warrants careful review under this standard given its potential impact on Asian-American families.
“When a decision dismantles a functioning neighborhood school serving a distinct community, the process must demonstrate fairness, transparency, and full evaluation of alternatives,” said Li. “Families are seeking assurance that preservation-oriented solutions were seriously considered before advancing a plan with closure-level consequences.”
The Wootton cluster is the only majority-minority high school in the county where the Asian-American community is the primary plurality (~40%), Li observed. He says MCPS failed to provide mandatory translations of boundary surveys or information sessions in any Asian language. “This stands in direct violation of MCPS Regulation KBA-RC and the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates meaningful access for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) populations,” he concluded.
Raising alarming concerns of a predetermined outcome, SaveWootton has discovered internal communications disclosing that – even before the BoE has voted on ANY proposal – Wootton staff have already been directed to prepare for a 2026 move to Gaithersburg. “This is weeks before the public has even had the opportunity to testify at the mandated February 23rd hearing and ahead of the BOE’s final vote in March,” said Li.
Dr. Peter O. Moran, Chief of Division of School Leadership and Improvement, met on February 5th with Wootton staff following the Superintendent’s announced recommendation of Option H.
“We were told that we will move to [the] new school in summer 2027…the directives coming from MCPS leadership to Wootton staff makes it sound like this is a “decision,” not a recommendation,” said a Wootton staff member who requested anonymity.
Members of the SaveWootton community are outraged. “So much for the democratic process,” said Claire Matta, a community spokesperson. “The county needs a Board of Education that takes its responsibilities to engage affected communities with genuine communications and meaningful exchange of views – not one that engages in backroom politics and non-transparent decision-making. It feels like an entire community is being ambushed. The Board of Education should not rubber stamp an unwise recommendation from the Superintendent without far more study of available options. We expect effective leadership from this board; not a bunch of empty suits with no real power,” said Matta.
Community members are calling for an immediate Stay of Vote until the district complies with federal language access laws and releases the withheld survey data for “Options E-G,” the popular alternatives that preserves Wootton as a neighborhood school.
Residents from the affected Asian communities state that if MCPS proceeds with Modified Option H without resolving the documented civil rights concerns, this community is prepared to pursue all available remedies. These include formal federal civil rights review, administrative complaints, and other lawful avenues to challenge a decision that carries closure-level consequences for a neighborhood high school.
Community members emphasize that this is not a symbolic objection. Families are actively reviewing legal, regulatory, and procedural options should the Board move forward in a manner they believe disregards equity obligations, meaningful participation, and the disproportionate impact on affected students.