Montgomery County Public Schools has an unprecedented opportunity to address our most urgent infrastructure needs. The newly constructed Crown High School can serve as a temporary holding facility, enabling long-overdue renovations at aging schools across the county—without the disruption of redrawing attendance boundaries.

Many of our schools are in critical need of repair and modernization, but MCPS lacks the infrastructure to renovate them. Thomas S. Wootton High School, John F. Magruder High School, Damascus High School, and Gaithersburg Middle School have been waiting years—in some cases decades —for essential upgrades that directly impact student health, safety, and learning conditions.

We write the Board of Education today in support of repurposing Crown High School as a holding facility during secondary school renovations. This approach:

• Enables critical renovations at schools that aren't currently on the Capital Improvement Plan due to lack of temporary space
• Minimizes disruption by avoiding large-scale boundary changes that would affect thousands of families
• Addresses equity concerns by prioritizing schools with the most urgent facility needs, regardless of neighborhood
• Uses existing resources efficiently without requiring additional construction or capital investment

Key Supporting Facts:

• MCPS needs $5.5 billion in school repairs and upgrades, but the proposed six-year budget allocates only $2.7 billion—less than half of what's needed.
• Enrollment is declining or flat: MCPS projects a drop of 6,000 students over six years (from ~165,000 in 2019 to ~149,700 by 2031), indicating that capacity expansion is not the urgent priority.
• Surplus capacity is emerging: By 2030-31, MCPS will have over 2,000 surplus high school seats and over 10,000 surplus elementary seats.
• Critical safety and health issues exist in aging facilities, including failing HVAC systems, structural problems, and outdated infrastructure.
• Without a holding facility, schools with urgent needs cannot be placed on the renovation schedule, perpetuating inequitable conditions across the county.

What We're Asking:

1. Designate Crown High School as a holding facility for secondary school renovations, prioritizing schools with the most critical infrastructure needs.
2. Pause boundary changes associated with Crown's opening until this holding-facility approach is fully evaluated and enrollment data confirms a genuine capacity need.
3. Accelerate the Capital Improvement Plan for schools currently waiting for renovations, using Crown as the temporary space that makes these projects feasible.
4. Provide transparent data on enrollment projections, facility conditions, and renovation timelines so the community can understand how resources are being allocated equitably.

This Benefits All Students: This proposal isn't about any single community—it's about addressing the real, urgent needs across Montgomery County. Students at Wootton, Magruder, Damascus, and other aging schools deserve safe, modern facilities. Using Crown as a holding facility is fiscally responsible, operationally sound, and advances equity by enabling renovations at schools that have been waiting the longest.

Sign to support using Crown High School as a holding facility and prioritize needed renovations at our existing schools.