By Adam Pagnucco.
Here is today’s question.
The school board has approved the relocation of Wootton High School to the Crown site in Gaithersburg. Will you support the funding necessary to accomplish that move?
Mithun Banerjee (D)
On April 29, Banerjee requested more time to respond due to medical reasons. At that time, he told me, “I was sick & still I am sick. I will try my level best to send them to you at the earliest.”
Andrew Friedson (D)
The Council and Executive don’t have a direct role in funding the decision since the costs were already approved for the Crown site in the CIP. However, I have been outspoken in my deep concerns about abruptly closing a half-century old high school facility in the midst of a pre-established and ongoing discussion of school boundaries. This significantly undermined trust in MCPS’ process. It also threatened the needed partnerships with municipal and county governments as well as businesses whose investments are necessary to fund and operate a world-class school system and provide the housing on which our residents rely.
In an attempt to solve too many challenges in one unrelated process, the school system unnecessarily pitted communities against each other. Any decision to permanently relocate an entire school community in perpetuity or to renege on a longstanding commitment by repurposing a new school as a holding school should have followed its own carefully planned and heavily communicated process guided by data and centered on trust.
These decisions require a comprehensive, strategic, and transparent process – not an ad hoc approach.
Evan Glass (D)
The process for funding our school infrastructure is broken, and as County Executive, I will take a more active role in the MCPS capital budget process to ensure that the proposals reflect long standing community commitments.
As the Council has continued to provide MCPS with record levels of funding, I have demanded records levels of oversight and transparency in return. As County Executive, I won’t rubber stamp school board’s budgets. Rather, I will review them alongside parents, educators, and taxpayers to ensure funding truly reflects our community’s needs and fiscal reality.
Boundary decisions fall under the purview of the Board of Education, not the County Executive or Council. That said, I believe the County Executive must play a more deliberate role in ensuring the decision-making process is transparent, well-communicated to the public, and accessible to all residents.
Given all of this, I will support the funding for the Wootton relocation, but with deep frustration at how the process was conducted. MCPS has an ongoing challenge communicating with and partnering with the communities it serves. That has to change, and as County Executive I will demand it does.
Peter James (D)
I have received a lot of opposition to closing Wootton. My plan for smaller schools will eliminate the need to disrupt the Wootton community. We need to strengthen our communities. Not break them apart for monetary reason.
Will Jawando (D)
Did not answer the questionnaire.
Shelly Skolnick (R)
Did not answer the questionnaire.
Esther Wells (R)
While I personally disagree with the school board’s decision to relocate Wootton High School to the Crown site, as County Executive, I have a legal obligation to ensure our students have access to safe, functional facilities. Ultimately, MCPS and the Board of Education have full authority on this decision. I will support the necessary funding, but I will do so through a lens of strict fiscal accountability.
For 56 years, Wootton has built a legacy of excellence, consistently ranking among the best in the nation with a 98% graduation rate. To protect this legacy and others like it, I will lead a CIP budget reform effort to fix the county’s structural deficit.
By implementing zero-based budgeting and conducting a forensic audit of the operating budget, I will identify waste and mismanagement to enable sustainable, long-term funding for MCPS facility priorities. My leadership is about moving away from “blank check” spending toward a model where every dollar is justified and tied to results. We will build the schools our children deserve without unnecessarily burdening Taxpayers.
I am committed to providing the resources needed for our students’ success while ensuring the government finally lives within its means.