The Save Wootton parent coalition filed an emergency request on Mar. 31 with MCPS to delay Option H, alleging that MCPS did not follow proper procedure before approving the plan.
Option H is a major boundary and relocation plan to move students of this school to the newly constructed Crown site in Gaithersburg. The MCPS Board of Education approved this plan on Mar. 26 for implementation during the 2027-2028 school year.
Students, teachers and parents have different positions regarding Option H. Those in favor look forward to the new building with improved infrastructure that this school cannot provide. “I think the classrooms, the athletics facilities and the layout of the building is going to flow a lot better,” math teacher JD Marchand said.
Save Wootton is a community coalition of parents, students and alumni dedicated to keeping the school at its current location. Alarmed by the irregularities in enrollment projects, transportation analysis, as well as a lack of transparency and potential school closures of MCPS, the group has spent thousands of volunteer hours to investigate the Option H decision-making process.
The emergency request involves a 60-day pause to review if the Board followed proper procedure before approving Option H. Save Wootton is accusing the Board of failing to provide a formal analysis of the decision, written justification of how this would affect students and proper public notice.
Beyond this, Save Wootton worries the Board intends to permanently close this school, bypassing the system for school closures by labeling it as a relocation. Additionally, they argue that the option was introduced late in the boundary study process, and approval was too rushed for the impacted families to respond.
Without comprehensive data supporting the decision, concerns have risen over disruption of transportation and school community norms. Families currently living near the school’s current campus will face disruptions regarding transportation and property, as living near the school allows walkability, and moving the school will lower property values.
Students and staff have mixed opinions regarding the lawsuit. One argument against it is that the legal action is not fair to those inside the building. “I think that [Save Wootton is] being a little selfish, because a lot of kids complain about going to Wootton where everything is falling apart,” sophomore Sabreen Thukral said.
Others do not think the lawsuit will have any effect on the progression of Option H. “In my mind, we’ll go on, and we’re looking forward to moving in the Fall of ‘27,” Marchand said.
Save Wootton launched defense legal funding against Option H sponsored by the Community and Education Policy Alliance (CEPA), a Maryland welfare organization. Legal action has been brought to the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General, the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education and the Maryland State Department of Education.
Overall, the coalition avers that the Board failed to provide the required planning analysis and transparency, resulting in families feeling in the dark about the Option H decision. With this lawsuit, Save Wootton’s goal is to prevent the closure of the school while bringing visibility to the Board’s lack of transparency.
