Join the Fight to Keep Wootton Open and For MCPS Accountability
The Board of Education voted 7-1 to approve the permanent closure of Wootton High School. We are fighting back — and an independent judge has now set a three-day evidentiary hearing for December 8, 9 and 10.
The Hearing Is December 8. Help Us Be Ready.
MCPS asked to have our case thrown out. Instead, an independent Administrative Law Judge set a three-day evidentiary hearing for December 8, 9 and 10 — and discovery is underway right now. The coming weeks are exactly what your donation buys: documents, data, depositions, and expert testimony. A suggested donation is $150, but no contribution is too small. Gifts of $250, $500, and $1,000 directly expand what our legal team can pursue. If you have been considering a second donation, now is the time. Wootton alumni: add your graduation year to the payment memo!
Key Milestones
BOE VOTE RESULT
March 26, 2026 — 7-1
Board of Education voted 7-1 to approve Modified Option H. CEPA has retained legal counsel to challenge the decision. Read Press Release –>
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL FILED
April 27, 2026
CEPA filed an administrative appeal with the Maryland State Board of Education challenging the March 26 Board decision, supported by affidavits from more than 300 affected households. Read Press Release –>
CASE ADVANCES TO ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
July 14, 2026
The Maryland State Board of Education refused to end the case at the preliminary stage and referred it to an independent Administrative Law Judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings. Read Press Release –>
EVIDENTIARY HEARING SET
December 8-10, 2026
At the September 1 pre-hearing conference the judge dismissed MCPS's motion to dismiss without prejudice and set a three-day evidentiary hearing on the merits. Discovery is underway now. Read Press Release –>
Legal Update — September 2, 2026
At the first pre-hearing conference on September 1, the Administrative Law Judge dismissed MCPS's motion to dismiss without prejudice. The case is moving into discovery and a full evidentiary hearing on the merits.
The judge noted that the State Board sent this case to the Office of Administrative Hearings so that a full factual record could be developed. Discovery will now allow the parties to examine the documents, data, methodologies, and testimony underlying the decision — and MCPS will have to defend that decision on the evidence.
A three-day evidentiary hearing is scheduled for December 8, 9 and 10, when we expect to call MCPS and county personnel and other relevant witnesses to testify. This was not a ruling on the ultimate merits — but it sets the roadmap for getting there. Read the full press release –>
Why This Matters Beyond Wootton
Wootton is the first Montgomery County high school to be closed this way. The question before the judge is whether it will be the last.
Decisions This Big Deserve a Real Process
We are asking MCPS — and, by precedent, every school board in Maryland — to show its work: publish the data and the methodology, hold genuine community dialogue, and apply Maryland's school-closing protections based on what a decision actually does, not on the label attached to it.
Your School Could Be Next
MCPS is running further boundary studies and openly weighing which buildings remain sustainable. Repairs at Wootton were deferred for two decades — and the resulting condition of the building became an argument for closing it. That pattern can repeat in any cluster.
It Is Your Money Either Way
MCPS accounts for more than half of all county spending. Nearly $100 million in state funding for Crown rested on enrollment projections that have since shifted, and $36 million was just moved out of the capital program that maintains school buildings.
Schools and Housing Move Together
A 60-home redevelopment across from Wootton was suspended after the closure vote, with the developer pointing to the school as a primary driver of buyer interest. A county cannot use housing projections to justify school decisions while ignoring how its school decisions move housing.
The question for Montgomery County families is no longer simply, “What happened to Wootton?” It is: “Could this happen to our school?”
The Wootton Closure Plan
On 2/5/26, Superintendent Thomas Taylor formally recommended a plan to close Thomas S. Wootton High School and relocate all students to the new “Thomas S. Wootton at Crown” High School in Gaithersburg.
This plan, approved 7-1 by the Board of Education on March 26, would turn the existing Wootton campus into a “holding school” for other high schools during their renovations. The Board of Education voted 7-1 on March 26 to approve this plan.
This closure recommendation places an inequitable burden on the Wootton cluster in a misguided attempt to make up for years of compounding mistakes, poor leadership, and broken promises. It would uproot a thriving school community, increase commute times, and separate students from their neighborhood school. We believe there are better solutions. The City of Rockville Mayor & Council proposed a modified recommendation that would have kept Wootton open, but the BOE rejected it. Read it here.
Take Action
Contribute to Legal Fund
Discovery is underway, and a three-day evidentiary hearing begins December 8. This is the most resource-intensive phase yet. Your donation funds every step of this fight.
Demand Oversight
Email the County Council, state legislators, State Board of Education, and Inspector General. Demand real oversight of MCPS — do not rubber-stamp a flawed decision.
Join the Community
Sign up for email updates on the legal challenge and ways to help keep Wootton open.
A Growing Coalition
Our campaign has united voices from across Montgomery County – elected officials, business leaders, neighboring schools, and community members standing together to fight the Wootton closure.
Elected Officials
Senator Cheryl C. Kagan
Maryland State Senator, District 17
Read the statement ->
Watch the statement ->
Rockville City Mayor & Council
Unequivocal: Keep Wootton in Rockville
Read the statement ->
Andrew Friedson
County Councilmember, District 1
Read the statement ->
Izola Shaw
Rockville City Councilmember
Read the statement ->
School Communities
Wootton High School PTSA
United against closing Wootton
Read the statement ->
Magruder High School PTSA
Standing with Wootton families
Read the statement ->
Richard Montgomery HS Parents
Vocal against closing Wootton
Watch the BOE testimony ->
Business & Civic
Maryland Building Industry Association
Forcefully oppose the closure plan
Read the statement ->
Kids Eye Care of Maryland
Warns of safety risks, advocates against permanent closure
Read the statement ->
6,000+ Petition Signers
Community members speaking out.
Add your voice ->
Rockshire HOA
Neighborhood association opposing closure
Read the statement ->
Fallsmead HOA
Neighborhood association opposing closure
Read the statement ->
Voices for Wootton
“If the School Board moves forward with the recommendation to close Wootton High School, it will decimate an important area of the City and County. Long dormant, the Rockshire neighborhood is FINALLY slated to feature more homes and businesses. To snatch away the local school rather than renovate seems counter-intuitive and not smart community planning.”
Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan
Maryland State Senate
District 17
“Wootton should remain Wootton, and Crown should remain Crown. Preserving strong, neighborhood-based schools is not only sound educational policy, but also common sense.”
Reardon Sullivan
Candidate
County Council District 1
“Using Wootton’s existing building as a holding school is a financial and operational mistake.”
Adam Van Grack
Rockville City Council & Wootton Parent
“The cohesive society we have now would take years to rebuild if the students are transferred to another location.”
Ananya Sharma
Wootton High School
Junior
“This recommendation is not a routine boundary study outcome, it is a de facto school closure.”
Save Wootton Committee
Community Coalition
“This proposal threatens to undermine successful academic programs, waste taxpayer dollars, and disrupt stable, functioning school communities.”
MD Building Industry Assn. (MBIA)
Business Association
“This decision is too important to rubber stamp. Our families deserve better.”
Andrew Friedson
County Council District 1
Candidate for County Executive
In the News
BETHESDA MAGAZINE
September 3, 2026
Evidentiary hearing date set for Wootton High relocation case
MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY MEDIA
September 3, 2026
Wootton petition to keep school building open advances
MONTGOMERY PERSPECTIVE
August 31, 2026
Wootton Is a Warning About How Montgomery County Plans Its Schools
Legal Fund
Our appeal survived MCPS's motion to dismiss and heads to a three-day evidentiary hearing on December 8, 9 and 10 before an independent Administrative Law Judge. Discovery is where the evidence comes out — and it takes resources. More than 500 people have already given, and 76% of what we have raised came from outside our twenty largest donors. Donate now →
Join the Community
Connect with neighbors, stay informed, and coordinate our efforts together.