Councilmember Barry Jackson

The Mayor and Council of Rockville sent this letter late yesterday to the MCPS Board of Education and MCPS Superintendent.

The City is united in our position. All 7 of us signed the letter.

First we support a "Modified Recommendation" which would result in Wootton students attending Crown TEMPORARILY and then returning to a rebuilt/renovated school. Wootton should not be closed.

Disappointment With Superintendent’s Recommendation to Close Wootton

The Superintendent's recommendation regarding the Crown/Wootton boundary study is utterly disappointing and frankly infuriating. His suggestion to close Thomas S. Wootton High School and relocate students to the Crown Farm site ignores the reality and history this community shares.

He claims that safety concerns at the current Wootton site justify its closure, yet he then proposes using Wootton as a holding school for other students. If Wootton truly needs repairs, why on earth would it be used as a temporary stopgap for other schools' students? This inconsistency is maddening.

Let's be clear: this is a closure. No matter how it's dressed up with diplomatic language, everyone in Rockville—especially in Wootton—knows that this school, this institution, and all it stands for are being closed down. No mere linguistic change can distract or appease the community.

The flaws in this approach are glaring. First, it completely ignores the expected growth in Gaithersburg and Rockville over the next 5 to 10 years. Both City Councils prioritize economic development and new housing, much of which will be in the Crown/Wootton corridor. If MCPS admits that enrollment is declining and their data was flawed, then they have a duty to investigate why their models failed—not to accept now declining enrollment as a justification for closing Wootton.

The Maryland Building Industry Association also raised substantive concerns about Option H’s long-term planning implications. (https://montgomeryperspective.com/.../builders-oppose.../) When school communities, elected officials and an organization focused on housing, growth, and enrollment demand reach the same conclusion, it underscores that this is not a localized issue, but a countywide planning concern with lasting consequences.

Second, MCPS and the Board of Education have a poor track record of repurposing their unused properties within Rockville. The community around Wootton has watched a neglected, aging property decline further without any clear plan for its future. Now MCPS wants to add another one.

Third, relocating students to Crown as Wootton becomes a holding school will only cause more traffic congestion and logistical nightmares, especially with limited roads into and out of the area. The community's legitimate concerns cannot be ignored.

Finally, it’s obvious this option appeared out of nowhere. After months of debate over options A through G, suddenly this new proposal emerged with little warning and leapfrogged to the front.

Why? That’s the real question.

I expect the City, Mayor, and Council to demand answers and scrutinize this recommendation thoroughly. I will work with my colleagues to uncover the logic behind this decision and to push for transparency.

More than anything, Wootton students and their families deserve answers. The community must continue to meet, to speak out, and to fight against the closure of Wootton. They should not be silent and should stand firm until their voices are heard.

Barry

Unanimous Passage of Rockville’s King Farm Farmstead Master Plan

The Mayor and Council voted unanimously – 7-0 - for Rockville’s King Farm Farmstead Master Plan.

I am beyond thrilled to vote for a plan to start utilizing the buildings of the Farmstead for childcare, meetings, events, City programs and more while also protecting the historic aspect of the space as well as the Community Garden and the site’s green space.

For nearly 30 years, Rockville’s residents and various Mayors and Council’s have grappled with how to use this site. No longer. I am proud to be on this Council that passed this historic plan that marries Rockville’s future with Rockville’s past and will be enjoyed for generations to come.

I want to say a few words of thanks to everyone who helped get this plan over the finish line. To everyone who came out to Listening Sessions or Filtering Sessions in King Farm, Twinbrook, at Glenview Mansion and at sessions. To everyone who called, met with your representatives, emailed or otherwise made your voices heard and had great input. And organizations like Peerless Rockville and commissions like the Historic District Commission had vital advice as the plan advanced forward. I am sure moving forward the Boards and Commissions of the City will continue to be involved and have vital input.

This would not have been even possible without the work done in past years by the past Mayors and Council and City staff who prepared the site, shored up the buildings - in addition to the volunteers who held various listening sessions which captured ideas we could build upon. Former Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and former Councilmember Mark Pierzchala were both instrumental in keeping the Farmstead planning process alive and putting forward ideas for discussion.

Closer to home, the King Farm Farmstead Community Garden was diligent about keeping up with meetings and providing input on every draft and being certain to circulate it among its members. I could be certain to hear from them on items they liked or items they disagreed with. Additionally, the King Farm External Affairs Committee held a number of  meetings to discuss the plans and the King Farm Citizen Assembly led by President Paul Scott weighed in as well and communicated with the members of the community.

A special thank you goes out to the Rockville City staff who worked so hard to engage residents from all of Rockville, capture their ideas and feedback in-person and via a website (Engage Rockville) and wrote, revised and presented multiple comprehensive reports. A special shout out to our former Parks and Recreation Director Tara Stewart who was instrumental in the final plan passed by the Mayor and Council.

I know we have a lot of work yet to do, and this is hardly even the beginning of the end of the work. But I think we can consider it the end of the beginning.

And for that I am grateful, and I am hopeful all of Rockville can begin to enjoy these wonderful planned uses of the Farmstead for generations to come.

Barry