It has been about three weeks since the school board approved a plan to move the Wootton High School population.
“They could call it a relocation, a transfer of assets, or whatever other makeup words that they want to use. But it doesn’t change the fact that this is a school closure,” said Elisa Sukhobok, Wootton cluster parent. She spoke on behalf of the Community and Education Policy Alliance, the organization of parents leading the effort against the plan.
Montgomery County Public Schools claims Wootton is not closing, rather it is moving to a new building, one that MCPS calls a state-of-the-art facility.
The group of parents have asked the state to step in and press pause on the plan.
“At its core, the filing makes a straightforward claim: MCPS cannot bypass school closure requirements by calling it a ‘relocation,'” according to a Monday statement by the group of parents Monday.
They are asking for a 60-day stay for legal review by the Maryland State Department of Education.
An education department spokesperson confirmed with MCM that they received the request and the State Superintendent is aware of it.
Wootton’s aging campus has maintenance issues like heating, cooling and plumbing problems.
The Wootton building will turn into a holding school under the plan that was approved by the Montgomery County school board 7-1 in March. Wootton students and staff will move to the new Crown High in Gaithersburg fall of 2027.
The group of parents is planning to file an appeal with the State Board of Education.
Featured photo from Feb. 2026 “Save Wootton” rally
