A few months after the school board voted to move Wootton High School students based on a boundary study, Montgomery County Public Schools officials announced there will be a new boundary study.
Just like the recently completed studies they will include potential school closures. This time elementary and middle schools will be targeted.
This study also follows the proposed closure of Silver Spring International Middle School — an idea that board members put on hold in December.
Superintendent Thomas Taylor recently noted MCPS is having a “significant dip in enrollment.”
“We do need to adjust for it and to think about things differently,” Taylor said during a July 16 school board meeting.
The board already approved a $1.9 million base contract for a consultant. The boundary study will happen in two phases. A board decision on school consolidations and closures will happen in May of 2027. A decision on boundary reassignments is expected in May 2028.
Decisions will go into effect in Aug. 2029.
MCPS Enrollment Projections
Metrics for closures and consolidations could include factors like facility condition and enrollment.
Both MCPS and the state project declining enrollment. The state’s projections are slightly higher than MCPS’.
Taylor has previously noted that international enrollments are sharply down, and fewer households are having children.
Since 2007, births have been gradually decreasing, said DJ Connelly, MCPS Director of Planning and Construction.
The state projects increases in births — which MCPS calls “optimistic.” MCPS projections show a slight decline, but follows historical trend lines, according to Connelly.
“The state’s projection is not just optimistic. It assumes that there is a complete reversal of fortunes, and that there is a 180-degree change in direction,” Taylor said. He added, “We are not confident that there is compelling data that supports that.”
Taylor said even MCPS’ projection of decline is optimistic compared to current birth declines.
But even if the state’s “optimistic” projection is correct, it would still be below the 2022 levels, noted Andrea Swiatocha, MCPS Deputy Chief of Facilities Management.
Wootton and Silver Spring International
Feb. 2026 – Wootton community rallies to keep school’s location
Parents have protested the boundary proposals related to both Wootton High and Silver Spring International.
While the proposed closure of Silver Spring International was suspended, the Wootton proposal was approved. An appeal from parents challenging Wootton’s relocation is currently going through the state. It was recently referred to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), where an administrative law judge could do an independent review.
Following the high school boundary study, Swiatocha said this time around, MCPS wants to center the student experience.
“I think that definitely gets lost in the conversation so much,” she said.
School Board President Grace Rivera-Oven noted MCPS just went through the high school boundary process.
“This is a much heavier load in number,” she said, regarding the number of elementary and middle schools versus high schools.
“It’s going to be a lot,” Swiatocha said.
MCPS has school facility condition reports available online.
