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McGrder parents press board to restore high school to CIP and use Crown Farm as holding site
Summary
Parents, PTA leaders and cluster coordinators testified that McGrder High School — cited by speakers as having one of the highest Facility Condition Index (FCI) ratings among secondary schools — must be returned to the CIP. They proposed using Crown Farm as a temporary holding school to accelerate McGrder and Wooten renovations.
Dozens of McGrder parents, PTA leaders and cluster coordinators urged the Montgomery County Board of Education to restore McGrder High School to the FY27–FY32 CIP and to consider using Crown Farm High School as a temporary holding school while renovations proceed.
"We are being asked to wait another decade," said Dan Silva, McGrder cluster coordinator, who described McGrder as the "most depleted" secondary school in the county and warned that continued deferral risks critical system failures that could force closures. PTA leaders described recurring problems at McGrder — mold, HVAC failures, a recently collapsed auditorium ceiling — and said decades of deferred maintenance have produced systemic inequity.
Kim Glassman, president of the McGrder PTSA, pressed the board for clear answers: "If Wooten is too unsafe for its students, why is it acceptable for ours? When will Wooten be renovated to be a holding school? With what money? How will McGrder then be prioritized?"
A holding‑school proposal
Many speakers framed Crown Farm as a practical opportunity to accelerate renovations for multiple high schools. Crown Farm was built and is scheduled to open in 2027; community advocates argued the facility could temporarily house students from McGrder or Wooten sequentially, allowing their home campuses to be rebuilt sooner than a six‑year CIP would otherwise allow.
Speakers requested specific commitments from the board and district: (1) restore McGrder to the CIP schedule; (2) designate Crown Farm as a temporary holding school in the near term; and (3) create a transparent plan for funding and sequencing so McGrder does not remain deferred indefinitely.
District response and fiscal constraints
MCPS staff and the superintendent acknowledged that systemwide capital needs exceed available funding and said the district relies on a mix of priority metrics, including Facility Condition Index, programing, projected enrollment and funding availability. Board members and staff warned that a six‑year CIP is a short planning horizon for systemic problems and that funding limits will require hard prioritization.
Community equity concerns
Multiple parents framed the McGrder fight as an equity issue: they said delays in capital investment disproportionately affect students in historically underserved neighborhoods and urged the board to prioritize repairs that address health and safety (mold remediation, HVAC replacement, plumbing fixes) over lower‑priority aesthetic items. Public testimony asked the board to commit to specific funding at follow‑up meetings and to provide a clear timeline for design and construction.
